Talented Singer and Entertainer in Paradise Kevin Anthony II Talks About His Life in Puerto Vallarta Theater and Entertainment Venues in Addition to His New Real Estate Career
An Open Microphone Meet-Up At Nacho Daddy Puerto Vallarta Meet Listeners and Expats Catherine Caldera and Jim Doucette Talking Moving to Vallarta and Learning Spanish
Learn How To Infuse Your Tequila With Natural Flavors
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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.
This week we are going to be visiting with a really interesting man on the Puerto Vallarta entertainment scene, his name is Kevin Anthony II, and Kevin sings, and performs, and brings his unique very personable and likeable demeanor , his friendly and outgoing brand of showmanship to the Vallarta stage. You will really love Kevin. We are also going to Nacho Daddy to our open microphone meet-up we had last month, the beginning of November. We had a great group of listeners stop in to talk about events, moving to Vallarta, and even had time this meet and greet to talk with JR. I did crash his meet and greet, so it’s only fair we get a few words of wisdom from my friend and yours, JR from vallartainfo.com.
We have some Vallarta news and more so let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, the 31st of December, 2023. Happy New Year.
Actually, this show marks the beginning of year number 8 of the podcast. The first episode dropped on December 29th, 2016. So, thanks for listening and hanging in there with me. I have a couple of emails form some of you I’d like to read today. Thanks for those amigos. Hey, let’s go another couple years at least. There’s so much more of this town to cover and to bring you.
That Los Muertos Pier I talk about every time I begin the podcast got a big old facelift over the last few months…12.5 million pesos worth and the beginning of December all the big wigs came to inaugurate it..…from Vallarta Reporter Online…
I have a link to that article from Vallarta Reporter Online in the show notes. If you don’t have a paid subscription like me, it won’t work for you. Sorry. Just listen to the podcast for the important stuff like you do already.
Los Muertos Pier Shines Bright After 12.5 Million Peso Overhaul
So the governor of Jalisco came to visit, and the Pope came to Mexico to bless and join in on the inauguration of the Tren Maya which I still haven’t talked about. Coming soon, I promise. Lots of developments regarding trains in Mexico, all that coming as well.
So, it’s the 31st of December and if you are in town, brace yourselves for quite a firework show with lots of music for everybody…from Vivapuertovallarta.mex.
Puerto Vallarta will have a great party in the heart of the city, to say goodbye to 2023 and welcome 2024, with an attractive program organized by the municipal government that will begin at six in the afternoon at the Arcos del Malecón.
This December 31 and the first hours of the New Year, through the Vallartense Institute of Culture, in coordination with SEAPAL Vallarta and the Directorate of Tourism and Economic Development, the program will begin with the presentation of the northern group Los Tres del Ranchito, to later give It happens at 7:30 at night to live mariachi music. At 8:15 p.m., the stage will welcome the Vallarta band Komando MR with its attractive melodies and moving lyrics in its distinctive fusion of Latin rhythms and traditional Mexican sounds, and at 10:15 p.m. the group will make its appearance. versatile ‘Los Dináticos’ with its great repertoire and guaranteed atmosphere with cumbia, salsa, merengue, grupera, northern ballads, rock in English and Spanish, music from memory and more.
So lots of great musical talent with the latest Latin beats. Be ready to have a fun time and ring in the new year tonight on the Malecon. I have a link to that article from Vivepuertovallarta.com in the show notes.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it or not this season but whale watching season is now in full swing. If you are planning on being in Vallarta during the next few months you might want to book a whale watching tour, or keep your eyes peeled, scanning the bay for a water mist spout from one of those humpback whales out there, doing their yearly migration to have babies and to fool around and make others.
Malecon Sculpture Tour Begins January 9th At The Millennium Sculpture
Gary Thompson and his Malecon Sculpture tour will be beginning in a week. Gary had to postpone the regular start of his tours he gives during high season in Puerto Vallarta, he usually starts in November, but because it was so hot in November, and some of Gary’s assistants had some issues pop up at the same time. So here’s what Gary says…
“The first sculpture tour of the year will be Tuesday, January 9, starting at 9:30 AM at the Millennium Sculpture by the rear of the Hotel Rosita and the north end of the Malecon. We are hoping to get your help then and now, as we seek to to get this popular tour up to the levels of attendance it enjoyed before losing its momentum after missing a season due to government COVID closures.
Although the tour is free and doesn’t require a ticket or reservation, there is an opportunity at the end to voluntarily make a donation to our local nonprofit Los Mangos library and cultural center, which depends on fund raising rather than government support to operate. Thanks in advance, and I send wishes that you have very Happy Holidays.
Peace and Love,
Gary Thompson
So, thank you Gary. By the way, Gary’s Gallery Galeria Pacifico has moved to a new location, 259C Calle Hidalgo, just 120 feet south of the Guadalupe Church. You know, the one with the crown. I have a map to the new location of Galeria Del Arte, in The Show Notes, and thank you to Gary Thompson for volunteering for the Biblioteca Los Mangos. The public library in Vallarta. Go, learn about the sculptures and donate every Tuesday Morning at the Milinium Sculpture at the Hotel Rosita, near their pool by the beach. Ve te…go!
New Location For Galeria Pacifico 259C Calle Hidalgo
- Contact Information For Galeria Pacifico Del Arte Puerto Vallarta
- Address: 259C Calle Hidalgo Puerto Vallarta Centro
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/galeria.p.delarte
- Phone#: +52 322 222 1982
- Website: Galeria Pacifico Del Arte Puerto Vallarta Website
Vallarta Art Walk Wednesday’s 6-10pm Till The End of June
Remember also that there is an Art Walk that takes place every Wednesday in Downtown Vallarta. Let me give you a quick synopsis from their website…
Puerto Vallarta has established itself as a vibrant center of art creation, exhibition and promotion. An important contribution to the city´s art scene is Puerto Vallarta´s ArtWalk which this year will be held, every Wednesday 6 to 10 pm, from October 25th., 2023 to June 26th., 2024. The participating galleries in Centro Historico exhibit works by important national and international artists. Remarkable paintings, exceptional sculptures, fine ceramics and jewelry are offered.
There are 17 participating galleries and it’s really a fun way to spend time taking in the incredible talent in this town. I have a link to their webpage with all the participating galleries, map and hours…every Wednesday 6-10, till the end of June.
10 Vallarta Restaurants make best of list for All of Mexico
A list came out last month of the top put out by the food reservation apps Open Table and Timeout, and according to them, 10 Puerto Vallarta Restaurants made the list of the best in all of Mexico.
In alphabetical Order…
- 100% Vegan Taqueria (#16 on Timeout): https://www.facebook.com/TaqueriaVeganaPV
- Cafe des Artistes (OpenTable): https://cafedesartistes.com/welcome/
- La Cappella Italian Cuisine (OpenTable): https://www.bellviewhotelboutique.com/lacappella
- Hacienda San Angel Gourmet (OpenTable): https://haciendasanangel.com/dining/
- The Iguana Restaurant & Tequila Bar (OpenTable): https://casakimberly.com/the-iguana-restaurant-tequila-bar/
- Mezcal y Sal (#11 on Timeout): https://www.instagram.com/mezclaysal/
- Ocean Grill Vallarta (OpenTable): https://oceangrill.mx/
- La Tienda Grande (#3 on Timeout): https://www.facebook.com/LaTiendaGrandepv
- Tintoque (OpenTable): https://tintoque.com.mx/
- Vivero Wine Bar (#19 on Timeout): https://www.viverowinebar.com/
So good for them. We’ve been to a few of those places on the podcast.
Best Margaritas in Puerto Vallarta
I need to make a list, speaking of doing work. I’ve been asked by listener Jeff from Minnesota to review that list of best honest margaritas in Vallarta. Here’s Jeff’s email…
We are in PV now. Just listened to your latest podcast and had to respond. We have already hit the Circle Bar and La Huerta (old El Río BBQ) among several others. Highly recommend both places. Had a nice chat with the guy you interviewed at La Huerta (Jesus). He definitely remembered you. Have also been to San Lucas twice. (Thinking that is a margarita place you talked about in a previous podcast). Margaritas were “fishbowl” sized at each place and all very good! We will be stopping at Qulture and Frida 4.0 next week. Anyway, with high season coming soon, maybe you want to mention on a future podcast some of the Margarita places previously noted (as a refresher for your listeners). Also, one better have a high alcohol tolerance if you are going to hit all four places in a day. Haha!
Take care.
Jeff and Jo from Minnesota
I got this one from Erin…
Hi Barry, I can’t recall which episode it was, but you mention a place up the Cuale River that one could take a bus or pay to have a taxi drop off and pick up. I can’t find which show it was!!!! What is the show and what is the name of the restaurant? I want to go when I am in Paradise next!!!! Also, I went to Qumixto and met Andreas at Andy Bar, that guy is great and so is his spot!!!!
And Erin, that spot is El Moro Paraiso in Paseo del Guayabo, up the river in the ejido. By the way, there is a new addition to the world’s biggest or longest expansion hanging bridge the Jorullo Bridge up at Canopy River above El Morro Paraiso, and that’s a see through glass platform, suspended up there, like a glass bottomed boat. It’s not free, but it does look like a lot of fun. And if you haven’t been up at the Restaurant Los Coapinoles up at Canopy river for their all you can eat weekend brunch, you are really missing out. Make it a part of your weekend one of these stays. You won’t be disappointed.
Now as for that list, Let’s see what we have here…
My favorite is, and has been for some time now is
- Restaurant San Lucas
- Bar La Playa
- Listener Laura wrote about The LSD Margarita at Casa Traditional. I’ve yet to try that one
- The Big as Your Head fishbowl Margarita at Pipi’s
- La Playita in Conchas Chinas
- El Moro Paraiso which I just talked about with Erin, up in Paseo del Guayabo
- And Qulture, in The Zona Romantica
Let me know if I forgot any or if you have any to add. The list needs to grow.
Speaking about tequila. It’s interesting doing what I do because many times after an interview at a restaurant or a club, I’ll be invited to sip an adult beverage and many times, these guys will bring out tequila or raicilla that’s their special brand. Booze that’s been altered, enhanced, infused with a particular flavor. One morning for example Jorge Zambrano, the owner of Andale breaks out a bottle of tequila with his label that he had aged in an oak cask. Delicious. I had a couple of flavored tequilas and raicillas in Quimixto at El Volador with German. He had the cuastecomate raicilla as did my buddy Jesus at La Huerta. They have this creamed Raicilla that will blow your mind. Anyway, this got me to thinking because when I was a little kid, my mom used to make her own Kahlua, under the sink. She’d buy a bottle of cheap vodka, and mix it up, here, let me look here…
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup instant coffee crystals (such as Folgers Classic Roast)
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 cups lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 (750 milliliter) bottle 190 proof grain alcohol (such as Everclear)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and halved
You take the water and the instant coffee to a boil, then add the brown sugar, turn down the heat to a simmer then stir and reduce it down for 15 minutes.
Then she’s let it cool down completely and pour it into a mason jar where she’d then add the vodka, the vanilla bean and vanilla extract. She’s seal it up and let it sit under the sink, in a dark place for 4 weeks, shaking it up every once in a while. Then she’d divide that bottle up into smaller bottles to give as gifts. But she really made it because she would make herself chocolate chip kahlua milkshakes to treat herself after running after 4 little kids all day long. Hey, at least she waited till the end of the day when dad was home.
So I looked up infused tequila on the internet, and low and behold, you can take a fairly inexpensive tequila, and make it taste out of this world. Pick a fruit that you think will pair well with your tequila and try it. Here’s what I did after reading the suggestions on the interwebs. First of all, use white tequila. I used three different kinds. Centenario Plata, Cazadores Blanco and Hornitos Plata. All inexpensive, but decent tequila. I sterilized pint mason jars, boiled them, let them cool, then added a half a chopped jalapeno, washed, seeds and all to each jar, then, to a couple of those jars I added a cut up slice of canned pineapple, and to a couple of other jars, the pineapple and some sun dried strawberries. Put lids on. By the way, I didn’t boil the lids, just the jars. Then I put the jars in the refrigerator for 4 days, giving them a gentle shake each day, and man…..we were blown away. They say you can keep the infused tequila in the refrigerator for a couple of months, but I don’t know who can, to be honest. Just make sure to give the mixture the sniff test. By the way, you keep the fruit in, At least we did. Than just strain the liquid when you pour it into a glass. I guess you can eat the jalapenos when you’re done…never tried. But man, you need to try this out. I hate to be a bad influence and all but seeing as I push the green hippie lettuce a lot, I figured it’s time to go full bore on the infused tequila.
By the way, other items they suggest you add to your infused tequila are habanero pepper, almost any herb or spice or fruit, citrus like lime, orange or lemon can be used, just make sure they’re fresh. It’s delicious. My new year’s drinking tip for you.
Now I have been doing a lot of talking about the dirty old weed. The hippie lettuce. So, I need to balance that out with alcohol tips.
Speaking about tequila and drinking, let’s get to the meet up at Nacho Daddy to start things off.
Whenever I get a chance to spend time in Vallarta, I like to drop in on JR’s weekly meetup he has at Nacho Daddy in the Zona Romantica. JR meets up with friends and fans around 6:30 for a couple of hours to tip a few Presidente’s and soda, and meet with friends and travelers looking for tips and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. So I asked my listeners to stop in if they were in town, this was the beginning of November, so just about 2
months ago, and we had a good turnout. I first have Catherine Caldera, Catherine has been on the podcast a couple of times, and this time she wanted to talk about expats learning English, so let’s go right now to Nacho Daddy at Basilio Badillo 287, and let’s see what Catherine has to say.
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Thank you Catherine. I have Catherine’s WhatsApp number in the show notes. Contact her and let her help you get started at the right level. You’ll be helping yourself and a local Mexican child as well.
Catherine Caldera’s Contact Information For Spanish Lessons with American English Tree
What’s app #322-135-2463
By the way, Eddie Rodriguez just got engaged to be married! Felicidades Hermano! Felicidades!
Next up we have a listener, Jim Duchette by way of Sacramento California, who has one foot in Mexico, and the other in the US, Let’s meet Jim…
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Last, I got a chance to interview the host of the meetup himself, that was JR. My wife, Debbie was impressed by the fact that JR still gets around at the ripe old age of 83. So we had him fill us in on his recipe for the fountain of youth…Take it away, JR.
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Thank you, JR., Yes, I often times think about those freezing Mexican rescue dogs up in the cold tundra.
I forgot this time to talk with him about the Mexican Health Care System and his experience with it. That will need to wait till We return to paradise the middle of February. I’ll be talking about that maybe next week. We are very excited to be returning to paradise to continue our home search.
Kevin Anthony II Entertainer and Realtor in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Contact Information For Kevin Anthony II
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.anthonyii/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b2productions/
- Kevin Anthony II Realtor in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico https://ryandonner.com/agents/kevin-anthony/
Next up, the headliner to this podcast, a man who makes his own headlines. Entertainer, singer, performer Kevin Anthony II. I was introduced to Kevin
about a year ago by my buddy Marcia Blondon of the PV Mirror, at an event at Act 2, at a charity event raising funds for the Vallarta Food Bank. And by the way, I have embedded a very lovely video sent to me by Jimmy Plouff from Vallarta Food Bank in these show notes, do check it out. It’s very touching.
Watch The Vallarta Food Bank Video
So yes, I met Kevin at that event, but was later sent a message by listener Chris from Colorado who suggested I have Kevin on the podcast. Well, the universe was reaching out to me, so I took the opportunity to reach out to Kevin, invite him for, and ply him with a delicious breakfast at MI Café, then get his story for you.
Now it was really loud at Mi Café, so I used a few tricks to eliminate most of the noise for you, and I think you will like the result.
A couple of weeks back, when I was interviewing Jesus from La Huerta BBQ and Sport’s Bar…yes, they now have TV’s to watch the games guys. Good
idea. Anyway, if you listen back to that interview, you may think we are raising our voices to one another but in reality, I had taken out all the music from the band that was playing behind him. It worked like a charm without compromising the audio between Jesus and me. Listen again if you get a
chance. It’s like magic. So, I did a similar thing this time around. So let’s go right now, and meet a guy you are really going to like. Let’s go to Mi Café, Madero 505 in the Zona Romantica and let’s meet Kevin Anthony II. Let’s talk about entertainment, oh and a little real estate, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Contact Information For Kevin Anthony II
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.anthonyii/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b2productions/
- Kevin Anthony II Realtor in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico https://ryandonner.com/agents/kevin-anthony/
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Okay thank you Kevin. You are amazing. I have all his links to his Instagram, his Facebook, his You tube pages all in the show notes at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com
Okay, that should do it for this week, 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 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.
Thank you to Kevin Anthony II, Check him out wherever he happens to be appearing. Stalk his Facebook Page for his schedule. Thanks to Catherine Caldera, Jimmy Ducette and JR for coming to the Meet and greet and for your contributions to the show.
Once again check out the links and the maps in the show notes.
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.
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