You know that Greg and I have been so excited by the younger, hipper, more creative energy taking over Mazatlán lately. We’ve written to you about cool new restaurants, activities and programs. It is very exciting, and the energy is palpitating. It is our dream that it will take us to a point where we reclaim what is uniquely Mazatlán, rather than wasting energy trying to imitate Vallarta or Cabos or feeling jealous of Cancún. Building on this theme, I was ecstatic to see that the worldwide “Pechakucha” movement has finally made it to Mazatlán!

Started as a one-off event in my beloved Tokyo in 2003, Pechakucha has spread worldwide, and remains a grassroots effort. The basic theme is for creative people, whoever they may be—architects, artists, designers, musicians, filmmakers, you name it—to present 20 slides for 20 seconds each slide. The idea is that in 6 minutes and 40 seconds, they give us a solid feeling for what they’re working on, what they’re proud of, how their creativity works. And maybe, just maybe, that stimulates some other ideas for those in the audience, some cross-pollination, some interdisciplinary creative breakthrough.

Pechakucha Mazatlán was held on Thursday, September 19, as part of a global event series of 600 same-day events. Come on now, for a global event of 20 slides in 20 seconds, don’t you think it should have been held on Friday the 20th?

The event was held in the bar area of El Parador Español in the Golden Zone. It was very well attended; our guess is about 150 people crammed into the space. And, it was definitely a young crowd; while Greg and I were not the oldest, we definitely stood out. But it was oh-so-much-fun!

Our favorites, as always, were CrisArth’s Carlos Loaiza and Daniel Larios. You have seen many of their urban art paintings here on this blog, from random street scenes to Día de la Música live video. They are terrific artworks, and bring a values-based message to our streets. They have done unbelievably good work in this city, IMHO. Kudos!

Another favorite was the presentation by my favorite local singer, Julio Recinos from La Falsa Orquesta Cubana Sazón. I didn’t realize that he is actually a videographer! And an extremely talented and successful one at that! We have so many multi-talented people in this city!

The mosaic below includes a few of the presenters and slides. Click on any of them to enlarge or to view a slideshow.