Kika Gomez and Ernesto Garragos are Local Vallarta Artists Who Teach and Organize Classes and Workshops on Isla Cuale
Expats Sunny Rossi and Mitch Kushner Talk about Volunteering to Help Restore The Isla Cuale in Puerto Vallarta with The Amigos de la Isla Cuale
The Vallarta Garden Club Merges With The Amigos de la Isla Cuale, The Green Heart of Puerto Vallarta
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Hello fellow travelers, welcome this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel show. I am your host Barry Kessler, and I am just so happy to be introducing you to my favorite vacation destination, and maybe even yours, Puerto Vallarta Mexico.
That music you were just listening to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. Those are La Palapa, Puerto Vallarta’s Oldest Restaurant on the famous Los Muertos Beach, and The El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club right next door so you can enjoy that fantastic view of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors, or during the day in its grand splendor for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
Information For Isla Cuale.org and Amigos de la Isla Cuale The Green Heart of Puerto Vallarta
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/640812693888470
- Website for islacuale.org. https://islacuale.org/
- Become a Volunteer- https://islacuale.org/volunteer/
- Donate: https://islacuale.org/donation/
Contact Information for Ernesto and Kika
- centroculturalv@gmail.com
Website for the Puerto Vallarta Garden Club and Facebook Page
This week we are going back to the Isla Cuale to visit with two very special artists Kika Gomez and Ernesto Garrigos, who will talk about the Cultural Center, the progress on the beautification of the Isla Cuale, and about their lives as artists in Puerto Vallarta. And
keeping with the theme of the Island we will be talking with Sunny Rossi and Dr. Mitch Kushner from Amigos de La Isla Cuale: The Green Heart of Puerto Vallarta. That’s the
group founded by our friend Guy Weeks who I had on the show a few months ago. If you remember, Guy saw how the Isla Cuale needed help after Hurricane Nora did a number on the Island last August, and put together a crew to preserve the last green space in Town. We have news and more so before we get to Kika, Ernesto, Sunny and Dr. Mitch, let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 28th of December, 2022…
Vallarta Getting Ready For The New Year Celebrations
The Malecon is decorated festively this Christmas with a Huge tree, life-sized camels, elephants, mangers and nativity scenes lights and all the holiday decorations. In fact, the artist who painted the big catrina calavera that won the Guinness World Record for height, Alandra Muca, also painted many of these decorations too. It’s a wonderful time of the year with high season in full swing. Today, the 28th of December is the Mexican version of April Fools Day, Dia de los innocents, it’s called so beware. Don’t lend anyone any money, if it sounds impossible, you are likely being pranked. They even play tricks on you in the newspapers so take what you read with a grain of salt on the 28th.
Hotel occupancy is at 90% this holiday coming up on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations. The firework shows will be spectacular and tables at your favorite restaurant are filling up fast so if you haven’t made any reservations…what are you waiting for?
And with the high season and holiday celebrations always comes pick-pockets and petty thievery and crime. Most of the pick-pocketers hang out at the supermarkets and places like Walmart. So, you should be thinking about how you will be carrying your valuables. Your identification, your money, your credit cards, your cell phone. Will you be wearing a money belt? A cross body bag? Cargo shorts with a hundred pockets? Do you have a plan? Do you take proper care when you enter a cajero/ATM? What do you do to keep your things safe?
Speaking of safe, there was an incident, a shooting on December 3rd, on the Malecon extension in front of the Plaza Mar where the Red Onion is near the OXXO. When I first hear about the location, I thought it may be a drug dealer situation because that’s a very active spot for the pipe, cigar, pot, cocaine, hooker, dealer/salesmen. But I have inside information that it was actually a domestic dispute. The dude was stabbing at his woman with a knife and the folks at the OXXO called the cops. By the time the cops arrived the abuser had already pulled a gun out and was firing the thing indiscriminately and according to my source, the “Police challenged him and then he shot one cop in the leg, of course he became target practice for the others and went down immediately”. Queso Suisa…
It’s pretty frightening seeing as it was a very busy time of day, around 5:30-6 in the evening. Around sunset.
I have a picture of a couple of cops and a puddle of blood in the show notes. It’s dark but you can make it out.
International Charro Championship January 31-February 5th at Arena Vallarta
If you want to enjoy a bit of the wild west without the gunfire, the Charros will be back in town the end of next month…From Vallartaonline…
The eleventh edition of the 2023 Hacienda Serena International Charro Championship is approaching, which will take place from January 31 to February 5 at the Arena Vallarta facilities, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco.
Charros are elegant horsemen, Charros, and escaramuzas, horsewomen, who compete and show off their riding skills as well as their talented horses. I’ll be reminding you about the Charro Championship as it approaches, but if you are going to be in town during the period of January 31st till the 5th of February, you may want to make plans to get out to Arena Vallarta.
I have a link to that article from Vallartaonline in the shownotes..
Arena Vallarta is in the flight path if you take the time l look out the window flying in. It’s out past Ixtapa, Desembocada, around Colonia El Colorado on the Carreterra Las Palmas. And it’s very close to Restaurant Las Cazueslas, which, by the way is a very popular roadside restaurant out that way. You gotta try it one day as well. Las Cazuelas serves great authentic Mexican food. You very well may be the only tourists eating there.
They have a large parking area, or if you come by bus, let the driver know you want to get off at Las Cazuelas and be ready to jump off when you get there.. They are open every day from 8-5.
http://restaurantlascazuelas.com/
By the way, behind the restaurant there is a milking area for cows. They have some horses that children can see. And on weekends they prepare chocolate cow’s milk for the kids, and traditional pajaretas for the adults. What’s a pajarete? A Pajarete is a party, in a barn early in the mornings when the cows are being milked. It is also the name of the drink that they make out of fresh cow’s milk, liquor, chocolate, sugar and instant coffee.. We’ve heard some of our guests talk about their experiences with the stuff…Personally, I’ll pass. Especially after reading this article…from Mexican News Daily…
Having killed 25 people, pajarete is known as the drink of death in Jalisco
Susy Buchanan
June 12, 2020
Having killed 25 people, pajarete known as drink of death in Jalisco
A cup of pajarete, Bottoms up, but beware.
A drink made from fresh milk, chocolate, sugar and cane alcohol is coming to be known as the “drink of death” in Jalisco, where 25 people have died and 20 more have been sickened after drinking the concoction, known as pajarete.
Health Minister Fernando Petersen Aranguren is asking residents not to consume artisanal drinks because the quality, purity and safety of cane alcohol used in their production cannot be guaranteed.
Family members of Gustavo Chávez Anaya, who died on April 29 at age 61, say he only had one serving of the popular regional beverage before falling ill.
“He felt his hands grow numb, his body heavy, and he could not see well after drinking it,” said his niece, Carolina Chávez.
His symptoms were typical of what occurs after drinking alcohol tainted with excessive levels of methanol.
Typically used in solvents and antifreeze, methanol can metabolize to formaldehyde and formic acid in the liver and become toxic within a few hours of being ingested.
Symptoms included dizziness, blurred vision or blindness, difficulty breathing, seizures and severe abdominal pain.
The pajarete tradition is popular on ranches in Jalisco, Michoacán and Guanajuato, where many drink it in the morning for energy.
Many cattle ranchers also produce it for profit, as the market for fresh milk is oversaturated and a liter of pajarete, which uses milk as an ingredient, fetches a higher price.
The president of Jalisco’s Regional Livestock Union, Adalberto Velazco, estimates that hundreds of ranchers across 45 municipalities are dedicated to producing pajarete, but as deaths mount their industry may be shut down by authorities.
Adulterated liquor, like the cane alcohol used in pajaretes, has been responsible for at least 189 deaths in Mexico since May 1.
Source: Milenio (sp)
I have a link to that article from Mexico News Daily in the shownotes.
Of course I’m not casting aspersions on Las Cazuelas or any of the local purveyors of pajaretes….just buyer beware.
Restaurant El Set is Being Shut Down for Condos
Have you spent any time or visited Restaurant El Set over the years…Well kiss it goodbye…From Vallartaenlina December 5th,
GOODBYE, cowboy! A HISTORIC restaurant closes to make way for “progress” The panoramic restaurant “El Set”, located in the Conchas Chinas area in #PuertoVallarta, closed its doors after nearly 50 years of serving lunch and dinner in its privileged location. In its place, they will build a 14-unit luxury condominium building, so the restaurant will be demolished. Its objects of historical value, such as the old movie camera, which evokes the filming of the movie “The Night of the Iguana in the area”, will be sold. Did you spend any special moment in that restaurant? Tell us!
https://www.facebook.com/vtaenlinea
and if you did…you may want to share with them at Vallartaenlina and I have a link to them and the article in the shownotes.
Taxi From El Tuito to Mayto Should Cost Approximately $30 US 600 pesos
I received an email from listener Jeff who asks “Barry, did you really say you paid $300 to have the taxi driver take you to Mayto? …so I want back to the last episode of the show and sure enough I said that. I said he charged me 600 pesos, that’s 300 US, and what I meant to say was that’s $30 US, so my bad. You should be paying about 600 pesos each way to Tehuamixtle or Mayto, and that’s $30 US each way.
Babel Bar is now in Mayto
Speaking of Mayto, last week I told you about our stay at the Hotel Mayto Paradise Club, and forgot to tell you that our friend Arancia from Babel Bar has moved her Babel Bar to Fernando’s place, at El Rinconcito.
She has a good sized breakfast menu, Soups, salads, pastas and seafood dishes for lunch and dinner.
They are open 8-10 daily so a great addition to the Mayto food scene and a great reason to visit El Rinconcito. I’ll be visiting with Arancia when I get back in February.
And speaking of beautiful beaches….
https://www.facebook.com/babel.vallarta
Yelapa Gathering 2022
How many of you have been to a rave? Either you love them or you hate them….Well, this coming March is a rave you either don’t want to miss, or you really, really want to miss, it’s the Yelapa Gathering from March 9th thru the 12th, where for three days and nights, you can enjoy the thump, thump, thump of techno-raga ton music…while well here’s their Why, How and What here…
Why? This is a safe space for transformation where you can express yourself and let others do the same
How? Raising Vibrations about social/environmental responsibility through expressiveness and unity while dancing in paradise.
What? Yelapa Gathering is a sustainable, intimate, congregation focused on music, art and human awareness.
They request you bring your own water containers and any singly use plastics you might need…tickets are now on sale and make your reservations now, and reserve your accommodations right away.
That is…if it’s for you of course. I’ll be staying miles away from that place March 9th through the 12th.
I have info in the show notes…
https://yelapagathering.com/
Mexican Army to Run an Airline called Mexicana Airlines
For over a year now I’ve been flying to Vallarta from Tijuana and now that airfares are getting a bit more reasonable, at least out of LAX I finally broke down and bought round trip air for $289 non stop to Vallarta and back for 12 days beginning on February 21st. But maybe late next year, I’ll fly Mexico’s newest well not so new airlines…We talked about this a few weeks back when I discussed Mexico’s version of WikiLeaks, Guacamaya Leaks, where AMLO was said to be planning an airline run by the military….From Mexico News Daily…
Army-run airline will begin operations by the end of 2023: AMLO
December 7, 2022
Mexico’s state-owned commercial airline will begin operations in late 2023, President López Obrador announced Monday during his regular morning press conference.
The airline will be run by the Ministry of Defense (Sedena) as part of its airline and tourism firm Olmeca-Maya-Mexica Airport, Railroad and Auxiliary Services Group. The army-run company is also responsible for operating the Maya Train railroad and the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA).
“The new airline will begin operations in a year, this is the plan for the end of next year, along with the operation of the [Maya] Train and the appraisal of the Mexicana brand,” President López Obrador said.
The airline will lower the cost of airfare while serving cities that current routes do not frequently reach, according to the president. He added that the country’s entire aviation system will be improved.
The name Mexicana comes from the former national airline that ceased operations in 2010. The airline’s downfall was marked by corruption and mismanagement, leaving over 8,000 employees without jobs. President López Obrador has said that the new airline, consisting of a fleet of 10 leased planes, will be staffed by these individuals.
The airline will also include the presidential plane, which the president has failed to sell. It will be used to reward airline workers and their families, he said in November.
Information about the proposed airline was first leaked by the Guacamaya hacking group, which infiltrated Sedena’s internal communications and resulted in a breach of millions of emails.
The airline’s viability has been questioned, as its operating costs could be between 1 billion and 1.8 billion pesos (or around US$50-90 million). Moreover, it is illegal for a company to operate an airline and an airport simultaneously, although this could possibly be circumvented by presidential decree. There is also doubt that travelers would be willing to fly with a military-run airline given the armed forces’ record of fatal aviation accidents.
President López Obrador also announced that Sedena will be charged with managing the Chetumal, Palenque, and Campeche airports. The Navy (Semar) will operate the airport in Ciudad del Carmen.
“In the case of Campeche, it will be [Sedena] because of the Maya Train, and in the case of Ciudad del Carmen it will be the Navy because they are in charge of serving the entire sea of Campeche and our country’s oil region,” the president said.
President López Obrador has been widely criticized for his heavy reliance on the military for tasks such as public security and the construction of several key infrastructure projects.
With reports from Mileno and El Financiero
I have a link to that article from Mexico News Daily in the show notes….
Yes, AMLO has brought in the army for the airport he changed plans for and moved in Mexico City, for the Tren Maya, which deserves more time than I can give it today, and for other projects that he is trying to get done before he leaves office in 2024. I’ll talk about that next week, but for now, let’s get to our guests and to The Vallarta Cultural Center on The Isla Cuale, and to the Amigos de la Isla Cuale, The green Heart of Puerto Vallarta.
Amigos de le Isla Cuale The Green Heart of Puerto Vallarta
Several months back we had Guy Weeks on the show. Guy, a retired teacher from
Southern California got involved in a big way, by organizing regular people to do something about the upstream part of the Isla Cuale which was buried in sand after Hurricane Nora.
The group just got a huge boost from a very well established organization, The Vallarta Garden Club…Here’s an announcement…
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE VALLARTA GARDEN CLUB AND AMIGOS DE LA ISLA CUALE ALLIANCE BLOSSOMS INTO MERGER Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco (Dec. 7, 2022): The board of directors of the Vallarta Garden Club (VGC) and the leadership of the Amigos de la Isla Cuale (AIC) are pleased to announce the groups will be merging as of January 1, 2023. VGC Board President John McKinney will continue leading the board of the combined organization, and Guy Weeks will join the board as the head of a permanent Amigos de la Isla Cuale subcommittee. Weeks was part of a crew of volunteers who dug the island out from beneath tons of sand left behind after flooding brought by Hurricane Nora in August 2021. Following the initial cleanup effort, Weeks assembled a core group of volunteers that began organizing and raising funds to restore the plants and trees that had been decimated by the flood. In cooperation with local government authorities, other non-profit groups and generous donors, the group also took on several other improvement projects including security lighting, erosion management, establishing new planter beds and building a children’s playground. Dozens of volunteers, including VGC members, contributed sweat equity in the work to revitalize the Isla. In addition, the VGC board allocated funding to the project to purchase plants, soil, fertilizer and other supplies. “We have been honored to support, and become friends with, the Amigos de la Isla Cuale since March 2022. Joining together to care for this Green Jewel for the long term was an easy decision for both groups,” said McKinney. In 2020, the VGC decided to focus their volunteer work and contributions on community projects where there is a real need and a local commitment to care for the planting. Last year, the Club built a garden for the Vallarta Food Bank, which serves the hungry across the entire Banderas Bay community. “After several conversations with Guy and other AIC leaders, everyone agreed it made perfect sense for the Isla Cuale to become an ongoing special project of the Club.” In addition to helping complete and maintain the Isla gardens, the VGC will soon begin a landscaping project for the new Vallarta School for Girls in Cinco de Diciembre. The Club also will continue to maintain the boxes of bougainvillea and other flowering plants in the tourist areas of Old Town, with the help of the City. Weeks said, “The Garden Club has been beautifying Vallarta for more than a decade. They’re an established non-profit with a tremendous reputation. As the AIC’s efforts began to expand, it just made sense to become a special project of the Club. This way, we can devote the majority of our effort to doing what we do best – improving and protecting the last green space in the heart of Vallarta – and less effort on administrative tasks.”
Website for the Puerto Vallarta Garden Club and Facebook Page
So what great news for both groups and much needed exposure too for both.
And this week, I wanted to introduce you to two expat volunteers, Sunny Rossi, and Mitch Kushner, and two very special artists who teach and organize classes on the Isla at the cultural center, who are volunteers on the Isla and who are local artists and muralists for hire.
I was invited by Kika and Ernesto to join in an after planning meeting for The Amigos de la Isla Cuale over at El Granero, the sister restaurant to Los Muertos Brewing. We’ve been
to both places with the podcast, haven’t we? El Granero is on Francisco I Madero 333 in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood of Puerto Vallarta, not far from the cultural center.
So let’s go right now to this Gastropub, El Granero Madero 333 for some beer, some pizza and some good conversation with Sunny Rossi, and Dr Mitch Kushner, we talked about how they got involved in beautifying the Isla, and how you can too. volunteers with Amigos de la Isla Cuale, The Green Heart of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico…
Listen to The Podcast
Sunny’s and Mitches Favorite Restaurants
Breakfast
- Soco’s Place, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Mi Cafe, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Fredy’s Tucan, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Vallarta Factory, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Lunch
- Oscars, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- River Cafe, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Blue Shrimp, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Coco’s Kitchen, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Fancy Dinner
- La Cappella, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Cafe des Artistes, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- La Madalena, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Next we go to the Isla Cuale, to the cultural center to talk with my friends, artists, Kika and Ernesto. Now when I asked Kika if she would be more comfortable doing the interview with me in Spanish, she said yes, and when I asked Ernesto, he said he could do his part in English, so less work for me having to translate for two.
Now a couple of weeks ago I was so excited about a new tool I found that through AI, I could generate a female voice to overlay over Kika, who was speaking Spanish, but the
female voice kept saying Puerto Vallarta like that, and well, other Spanish words were butchered, so I asked my wife if she would read Kika’s part for me, which she did, so thanks for that Debbie.
Let’s go to the Island..to the Cultural Center on the Isla Cuale, and let’s meet a lovely couple of artists, Kika Gomez and Ernesto Garragos, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico…
Listen to The Podcast
Kika and Ernesto’s Favorite Restaurants
Breakfast
Lunch and Dinner
- El Granero, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Cenadoria Celia, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Tacos de Cabeza El Chulo, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Restaurant Mariscos Colera, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Balam Balam, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Bonito Kitchen, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Desserts
Information For Isla Cuale.org and Amigos de la Isla Cuale The Green Heart of Puerto Vallarta
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/640812693888470
- Website for islacuale.org. https://islacuale.org/
- Become a Volunteer- https://islacuale.org/volunteer/
- Donate: https://islacuale.org/donation/
Contact Information for Ernesto and Kika
- centroculturalv@gmail.com
Okay thank you Kika and Ernesto! Great information. I will have pics of some of their work and contact information too is you have an art project for them.
I also have contact information for Amigos de la Isla Cuale and the Vallarta Garden Club too in the shownotes.
Okay, that should do it for today…next week Stay tuned for more on the ground reports from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, with travel tips, great restaurant and excursion ideas and
more. Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.
And remember, if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you must go to Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through
him, right from his website. Remember the value for value proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way
of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe you
can come on-board and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again, contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message. Don’t forget his maps, his DIY tours and his revitalized Happy Hour Board. I have links to all of those in the show notes.
And once again, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe and follow share with a lover of Puerto Vallarta or give me a good review wherever or however you happen to be listening. That way we can get the word out to more and more people about
the magic of this place. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember I made it easy for you to do just that with each episode I create. But if you haven’t been to my website, you really
need to have a look there. I have the links to the places we talk about, interesting pictures and the more all right there in my blog-posts and show-notes for each episode of the show so check them out for sure if you haven’t already all-right? All right.
Thanks so much to Kika Gomez and Ernesto Garragos from the Vallarta Isla Cuale Cultural Center. Check out their classes as things get into full swing for the high season.
Thank you so much to Mitch and Sunny. Thanks for what you are doing, inspiring all of us to pitch in and lend a hand and help preserve the Isla Cuale, the last green space in the heart of Puerto Vallarta.
And thanks to all of you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos.
