May 16, 2008
It would be difficult to say what the highlight of last week was for me. It was not –as you would expect- one restaurant or another, though there were a number of those, what with a double celebration of Mother’s Day. But I can say that one of the highlights was definitely the phone call from my friend, Paco Renteria, yes, the famous virtuoso «nouveau flamenco» guitarist. He and I developed a mother-son type of friendship many years ago, when I first started attending his concerts, before he became «rich and famous». His birthday happens to be the same as one of my sons, so it wasn’t hard for us to understand each other – and become truly good friends. To quote him, he once told me I was his «Vallarta mama», which was just fine with me.
Well, as you may have noted in the May Festival calendar, or if you read the little article we inserted in Joe’s page, you know that he will be appearing this Sunday at Los Arcos. I for one can’t wait. We’ve truly missed him around here. Paco used to come to PV at least twice a year, if not more. But that was then, and this is now. Now, he’s the proud daddy of two children - as are many of his band - and he’s famous. He’s also sporting a new look which I personally find very complimentary to his style and his persona. If you want to get an idea of his type of music, I suggest you log on to his blog at http://pacorenteriagitano.blogspot.com There are a number of different videos there in which you’ll hear some of the different types of numbers he performs and then, if you find you like it, you can go see him live on Saturday, and experience the thrill of a Paco Renteria concert – live!
Obviously, this was much better news than what has been filling the printed press and the airwaves over the past week… floods and earthquakes, an incredibly stupid junta government whose leaders care more for their personal welfare than for millions of their countrymen, millions of Chinese working tirelessly to rescue as many of theirs as is humanly possible, and now the Hizballah declaring that it will never recognize Israel’s existence, during President Bush’s visit to that beleaguered area. And to add to it all, the polar bears have now –finally and inevitably- declared in danger of extinction. What else is new?
What I do know is that, compared to all that, including the increase in the price of gas and airline fares, we do live in paradise. There’s no doubt about it. So what if the local headlines are deriding the Mayor for defending an allegedly «bad» police chief? So what if the Urban Planning Department is composed of half good and half bad staff, the former trying to somehow assuage the errors committed by the former administration, while the latter continues in its corrupt path? So what if so many restaurants have closed their doors in recent days? It’s still paradise, though the law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest, reigns here as it does everywhere.
«Restaurant Week(s)» will be well underway by the time you read this. As if I didn’t get my fill at Archie’s Wok and Xochitl for my two Mother’s Day celebrations, I now have a full calendar of establishments to visit with my friend Gary, the author of the now famous «Beck’s Best - Restaurant Guide to Puerto Vallarta», and sometime reviewer for this publication. And that’s without taking into account the events scheduled at Los Arcos for the annual Festival de Mayo, or the Altruism Festival. So many things to do, to see, to enjoy, and oh so little time! This should only be my greatest problem…
Good news: a common friend of Brenda Martin and me (one of the many who donated thousands of dollars to corrupt lawyers two years ago, lawyers who just took the money and disappeared instead of using it to try to free her, as promised) spoke to her this week, by phone. He told me she sounds like a totally different woman. I can believe that. Every time she called me collect from that godforsaken jail, she always ended up crying. She’s free now. Thank heavens.
At the risk of sounding truly motley, I think we should all thank heavens for the beauty that surrounds us, for our good health, our family and our friends.
Take care of yourselves, dear readers, and of each other. Hasta luego. pvmom04@yahoo.com
posted by Anna Reisman @ 10:15 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home