Category Archives: Life in Mazatlán

Congratulations to Friends and Launch of a Great New Resource

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Photo courtesy Líderes Mazatlán

When we move to a new place, it naturally takes us a while to settle into a routine, to discover what is going to stoke our passion, and to get comfortable with our “selves” in the new environment. I think sometimes it takes me longer than others, since I work such long hours and in the privacy of our home; it’s hard to get out and about meeting people as often as I’d like and still “bring home the tortillas,” so to speak. One thing I’ve discovered over the past five years is how much diversity there is here in southern Sinaloa, and how much I enjoy its rich traditions, bio-diversity, and friendly people. I absolutely loved attending the frasca, the harvest of fresh shrimp in Agua Verde. I thank goodness we have marine biologists here in town who can take us up close and personal to whales and dolphins while being respectful and mindful. I love meeting people who are good at what they do, and watching them glow as they tell me about it—whether it’s oyster diving, farming in Los Llanitos, open water swimming, giving food to the hungry, or selling meat.

Sandra and Hector, center and right, with their first issue

Sandra and Hector, center and right, with their first issue

Well, a few years ago I discovered kindred spirits online in Sandra Luz Moreno and Hector Lizárraga Vencis. While I didn’t know it at the beginning, they are the people behind Mazatlán Interactivo (MI), a portal that, over the years, I have grown to enjoy and depend on more and more. Through their articles I have learned so much about Mazatlán, the histories, celebrations and unique cultural offerings here and in our nearby towns, and they’ve enabled me to connect with some really interesting people. MI is an important part of my day. (It’s all in Spanish, btw.) While it has taken me a while to connect the dots—I first “met” Sandra via the SIFoto conference and later in groups on Facebook, and didn’t realize her connection to MI—she is kind and funny, and has made me feel welcome and valued in our adopted home. Yesterday she and Hector celebrated the 18th anniversary of their terrific Mazatlán Interactivo—18 years of unflaggingly promoting the diversity, authenticity, and sustainability of Sinaloa (particularly southern Sinaloa), with an anniversary party at the Convention Center. The party included the launch of an exciting new venture: Sinaloa Tour.

It was a wonderful event! We were greeted personally at the door by Sandra and Hector, as well as by beautiful, traditionally dressed folkloric dancers. After a welcome speech, there were introductions by several of the municipios in southern Sinaloa. P1040443We very much enjoyed the presentation by Marcos Osuna, of El Quelite/El Mesón de los Laureanos fame. You no doubt know him and have enjoyed the terrific experience his restaurant provides. We take most all our visitors up that way for an enjoyable day trip. I know Marcos because he helped Danny with his quest to get to World Scout Jamboree. For decades he has been an incredible leader and visionary for El Quelite, working tirelessly for education, for the welfare of the local people, and to promote tourism to the town. While he spoke a bit long for my taste, he is charming, very, very funny, and incredibly inspirational. He admonished everyone in the room (primarily tour providers, artists and crafters, restaurant and hotel owners, plus government leaders and media) to:

  • constantly up their skills and to behave as professionally as possible,
  • to learn cross-cultural communication in order to differentiate the needs and desires of a diverse (national and international) customer base, and, interestingly to me,
  • to dedicate themselves to providing new experiences for tourists: experiences they can’t get at home, and
  • not to compete on price, as people will pay even in down economic times if the experience is unique and memorable,
  • to be honest and AUTHENTIC, reaching into local traditions, customs, flora and fauna, being proud of it, and translating it in an accessible way to our visitors.
Photo courtesy Mazatlán Interactivo

The representatives from El Rosario showed us two very terrific, creative ways to learn introduce a place. First, the group Sófocles, directed by Fernando Barraza, acted out with much dramatic flair two legends of the town. What a talented group, and what a terrific way to introduce and communicate the soul of a place! They followed that with the presentation of a gorgeous dress, designed by Sergio Antonio García Peinado, that showed representations of the various locations and claims to fame of the municipality. No boring talking heads today!

P1040464Cosalá was also very enjoyably represented by Gregorio Corrales , who, wearing a large sombrero and a beautiful leather zarape, sang a few traditional songs and corridos of the region for us, to the accompaniment of folkloric dancers. The music got the best of most everyone in the room, as people in the audience as well as on stage paired off to dance.

We were pleased to be able to meet Maestro Faustino Lopez Osuna, composer of our state anthem, and enjoyed the storytelling of Joaquín López Hernández, who recounted some legendary lies from the book, “El Güilo Mentiras”, written by Escuinapan author Dámaso Murúa.

P1040504Sinaloa Tour is something I’ve been looking forward to. Right now it’s only in Spanish with GoogleTranslate in a pull-down menu, but the great thing is that they have put together a bunch of information on the small towns in southern Sinaloa, to make it easier for all of us to explore and get to know them! In addition to the public-service aspect of the site (a partnership with the state), there is a commercial tour side. And again, to me it’s exciting, as they are planning tours that highlight the diversity and rich tradition that Sinaloa has to offer: religious, nature and environmental, cultural, sports, gastronomy, and adventure tourism.

At the time of this writing, the site seems to still have its glitches and typos, as with most any new launch, but I am hopeful that it will become a resource to help all of us enjoy both our gorgeous Mazatlán and the surrounding areas more fully, in the process learning more about what has been here for hundreds of years before we set foot.

Hector and Sandra, and staff, congratulations and thank you!

Why Do We Love Mexico?

DFThe Huffington Post ran a piece a couple of days ago that captured a lot of important information into fewer than a dozen beautiful slides. Covering everything from food and diversity to economics and questions of violence, the slide show helps the viewer get beyond stereotypes to a glimpse of the real Mexico that many of us know and love.

Here is there list, or click here to view their slide show.

  1. Mexico buys more US American products than any country other than Canada. Some 6 million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Mexico,according to the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute.
  2. Despite the common conception in the United States that Mexico is a poor country, Mexico’s economy is growing faster than its northern neighbor’s — 3.9 percent compared to 1.7 percent in 2011, according to the UK Independent.
  3. Mexico has more professional elections than the United States. According to Robert A. Pastor, a professor and co-director of the Center for Democracy and Election Management at American University who has observed Mexican elections since 1986, the Mexican system is more professional, non-partisan and independent than the US American one.
  4. Mexico gave the world chocolate, along with corn, avocados, chili peppers, tequila and many other awesome foods.
  5. Mexico has amazing cultural diversity. While Mexico may be the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, that’s not the only language spoken in the country. More than 60 indigenous languages are spoken in Mexico.
  6. Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, with a population of 112 million Spanish speakers.
  7. Mexico City is massive. With around 20.5 million inhabitants, it sits among the world’s largest cities. And it’s massiveness has a long history — when the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century in Tenochtitlán, the heart of the Aztec empire where Mexico City currently stands, it may have been the largest urban area in the world.
  8. Mexico has awesome beaches, ancient ruins, mountains, and incredible food.
  9. Mexico is not as violent as you may think. Mexico had a murder rate of 23.7 per 100,000 residents in 2011, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. That’s about equal to Brazil’s and roughly half as high as Detroit. Mexico’s murder rate isn’t particularly high by Latin American standards. Plenty of places in the region have higher murder rates — including Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.
  10. Mexico has a thriving film industry. Many people are already familiar with crossover successes like Gael García Bernal, Salma Hayek and director Guillermo del Toro. But those stars account for just a small fraction of a booming industry.
  11. Mexico is home to some of the oldest civilizations of the Americas. Mexico’s first major civilization, the Olmecs,established themselves by around 1200 BC.

Art Education Exposition of Southern Sinaloa on the Malecón Today

18.P1000922As we were eating lunch today we were thoroughly enjoying the sailboat regatta that is taking place in the bay. A beautiful day for a regatta! (Click any photo below to see it larger.)

Then, looking down more directly, we noticed lots of people putting up children’s artwork along the malecón. Once we went down to check it out, we learned that between 3500 and 4000 original pieces of art are being displayed on the malecón this afternoon.

1.P1000896Student artists from all over the southern part of the state are exhibiting. It seemed each teacher was taping up his/her own students’ work. We talked to one teacher who had come from Teacapán, and another from Escuinapa. They were so proud, and the students were just glowing! What a terrific use of our beautiful seaside promenade.

At the northern end of the exhibit they have the chairs, podium and sound system set up for the opening ceremony at 5:00 today. In that area they have displayed the work of several invited special artists. That slide show is below. You can click on any photo to see it larger.

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The display reaches from just south of Fiesta Land, where the inaugural ceremony with all the dignitaries and families in attendance will be held at 5:00, all the way down to Monos Bichis/Monumento al Pescador. We got in the car to videotape the length of the exhibit, and the video is over ten minutes long! It’s a whole lot of artwork! (Once it’s uploaded I will post that video below.)

The exhibition is only this afternoon/evening, so I urge you to go out and take a look! Congratulations, students!

Life is a Parade! (¡Especially on the Malecón!)

birdsmalecon

Since we’ve moved here, I find myself frequently telling people, “Oh, it’s another parade,” as I rush out to the terrace to enjoy the festivities.

In the spring, during the festival season in the city’s schools, we can get three or four parades pass by in a day. You might think that after five years of living here, the enthusiasm diminishes, but who can NOT smile when you see colorful balloons, hear oompah bands, and usually get to see young people with smiling faces, crowns and sashes? Everyone shouts and hoots, beeps their horns, waves a flag or banner, and there is always a police escort with lights flashing and siren blaring.

No, the malecón is not the place you live for peace and quiet. It’s a pulsating artery of the city, and we enjoy that completely. Several times a week we also have terrific fireworks to watch, and there is always a rush in the house to discover whether the fireworks are out front over the bay, or out back over the stadium at the city. Ah, life’s challenges.

I took a bit of video of today’s parade. I think it’ll bring a smile to your face…. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do! Simple but sweet. Video is below.

For those of you who wanted to view the video but couldn’t, because I’d used a clip from a song, I’ve now deleted that clip and the revised video is above. You should be able to see it no problem now.

A Lazy Saturday Bike Ride

Frigates wtih fish
After a most wonderful Mothers’ Day yesterday, which went from early morning till early this morning, we were more than happy to sleep in a bit. Thus we got a late start on a Saturday morning bike ride.

This is our favorite time of year: quiet, without crowds, perfect weather. The sky was blue, the air was warm with a light breeze. We biked down the malecón and around downtown to run a few errands. Below are a few of the sights that caught my fancy (you can click on any photo to see it larger, and then click through a slideshow if you’d like).

I always love to watch the fishermen and their boats or pangas. It reminds me of the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka, where I lived in Japan for so many years. Somehow, fishing villages worldwide share so much in common. (Again, you can click on any photo below to enlarge it, and then click through a slide show if you’d care to.)

Today there were so many birds out and about. They were loving the fishermen, and the tourists and others who were buying fish who were willing to feed a bit of their purchase to a poor, starving sea bird. As if…

The sun was just a bit too tempting for Greg. He laid down for a bit, enjoying soaking it in. Soon it will be too hot to enjoy doing this, but for now, it’s absolutely perfect!

Relaxing in the sun