Category Archives: To Do in Mazatlán

AWESOME Musical Event You Don’t Want to Miss!

By now you know how much Greg and I love to support young people and their success. One of the highlights of last summer for us was rooting on the Mexican national champions/Mazatlán team in the Pony Leagues in Indiana. We had so much fun!

Last week I shared with you the awesome news that 24 young graduates from our local professional school of dance are heading to Florence for an international workshop, on scholarship. I told you they only need the airfare and other travel expenses.

Now I have even BETTER news! You can help them get to Italy AND attend one of the BEST dance parties EVER! The date is Wednesday, March 16, and the venue is the Hotel Playa. Our absolute favorite local band, La Falsa Orquesta Cubana, will be playing. The 650 peso price includes a 3-course meal and dance performances. This is indeed going to be a night to remember!

I do NOT want to have you tell me after the fact, “Why didn’t you let me know?” So, please, share this news widely with all your friends! Get a table together and come, let’s dance and have some fun! And, oh yeah, support the kids 😉

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Two businesses have tickets on sale: Look Gallery and HelArte ice cream shop across from the Nid Art Gallery. Isa Medina will be selling tickets at Allegro Café on Wednesday March 9 from 9-11am, and at the same times on Tuesday March 15 at Allegro in the Zona Dorada. You can contact her and she will deliver tickets to you: isahudgins@gmail.com

Secondly, I want to let you know that TODAY, Friday during Art Walk, the about-to-graduate dancers will be performing short pieces and contemporary dance fragments at four different galleries around town: BAUPRES, DELIRIUM, LOOK, and NIDART. The kids and their friends/family will be collecting donations and selling tickets for the fundraising dinner. The schedule is:

  1. Baupres, Delirium and Nidart: dance performances at 5:00, 6:00 and 7:00 with live music in between/during the break.
  2. Look: continuous dance performance from 5:00 onwards to recorded music.

See you there!

 

A Chance to Visit a Mazatlán Organic Farm

v1Just over four years ago, we had the opportunity to go to the community of Guillermo Prieto on the outskirts of San Ignacio and visit the totally organic and innovative farm of Sacramento, one of the regular vendors at Mazatlán’s Organic Market (or MOM for short).

Now, you all have a chance to do the same thing, coming up on Sunday, March 13. This event is coordinated by Verónica Rico, one of the founders and motivating forces behind MOM. At 8:30 a.m., guests will be taken by bus from Plaza Zaragoza to Guillermo Prieto, where you will be shown up close and personal how Sacramento and her team work, teach, learn and live. Highlights include: the water collection system, creation of compost, worms, and the gardens where they grow their beautiful produce.

Later, you will enjoy lunch / brunch in the fields with organic produce, prepared by Sacramento and her team. The cost is only 380 pesos, including the transportation, tour and lunch. You should be back in Mazatlán around 3:00 p.m. or so. This is a great way to understand the origin of organic produce in a small local farm and the people who grow them!

Here is a link to our tour in 2012. I can only imagine how much they have grown since then. Here are a few shots from a similar tour in 2013:

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You can write to Verónica Rico at mazmercadoorganico@hotmail.com or give her a call at 6691-48-4010 for any questions. Verónica speaks English fluently. Tickets will be available at the Organic Market in the Plazuela Zaragoza this coming Saturday from 8:00 to noon.

This is an opportunity that does not come along very often and we encourage you to go if you are able.

More information and updates are available on the MOM Facebook page.

Ballenas Jorobadas: Whale Watching in Mazatlán

©2.DSC_0552-EditDo you know that only two types of whales sing? Lucky for us, the humpbacks that frequent the waters of Mazatlán are most definitely singers! The males are the ones that sing, and they do it to attract a mate. They invent new sounds in order to get noticed, and then, just like humans, other whales then copy their innovations.

Our family goes whale watching at least once each year (lots more info and pics in my posts from 2015, the trip with thousands of manta rays, swimming with dolphins in 2013, and a trip back in 2009 in which the whales approached nearly close enough to touch, and engaged in a lot of slapping and wrestling). We go out with Onca Expeditions, and they have a cute little gizmo (amplifier) they stick into the water to allow all of us on the boat to hear the whales’ singing. It’s awesome!

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Not only do the humpbacks sing, they also love to do acrobatics. Often you will see them curling up out of the water and then diving down, tail raised into the air. When they’re competing for mates you can watch them slapping each other around. The humpbacks will breach, often with their full body in the air above the water, in an attempt to impress a female. Once couples pair off, the acrobatics tend to die down as well; lovers in love are more gentle than that. Often times mothers arrive here with their calves, which is gorgeous to watch. Click on any photo to enlarge it or to view a slideshow.

Whale watching season here is during the winter, and it is one of the activities I most highly recommend for you to do here in Mazatlán. Onca’s guides are marine biologists who are actively engaged in researching the cetaceans that frequent our waters. According to Jesús, who took us out this time, Onca has catalogued 420 whales since Oscar Guzón started his research in our waters, but they’ve only gotten through 2010 data. Jesús told me he believes they have photos and data on 1100 unique tails!

While I’ve been told humpbacks live to be about 50 years old, Jesús said they can live to be 80 or 100. He told me the age of a whale is determined via DNA testing and sometimes via photo ID. They’ve also found whales with bone harpoons stuck in them—sort of reminiscent of Moby Dick, don’t you think?

The official viewing distance for whale watching is 16 meters; no boat in our waters should approach closer than that, although if the whales approach your boat, lucky for you. I was told the humpbacks swim about 10 knots per hour, and the babies drink eight liters of milk per day.

Do not miss your chance to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat! We do it every year, and never tire of the experience.

 

4 Cruise Ships and a Lighthouse Walk

Fisheye view

Some fun with the “fisheye” setting on my little Canon PowerShot.

Sunday was so clear after the rain, but I hadn’t taken a camera. Today I took my little PowerShot, and then wished I’d taken my good Nikon. On today’s trip up the lighthouse we saw butterflies and birds galore! And, of course, four cruise ships and loads of passengers out for a stretch.

I was fascinated watching the final cruise ship come in and have to “parallel park”—the other three were already moored, and this final one had to work sideways to squeeze its way into the berth. Pretty cool. I felt really sorry for all the tugboats idly standing by waiting to help. It hurts my soul to think we have this much ship traffic and the tugboats aren’t getting paid.

4 ships in a row
Parallel parking…
Arribo
Parallel parking…
Parallel parking…
Arribo

I’m not adept enough with the little camera to catch butterflies or birds, but I was able to photograph a couple. They are below. Enjoy!

Buggy eyed
Sunning
Lighthouse cat
Birds and a boat
Lookouts
Clear view of the port

Here’s wishing you’re able to stay out of traffic today—10,000 extra people in town. And, if you service tourists, may you earn a lot today! Have a great one.

Go NOW and Get Your Tickets for Playapalooza!

11826044_1668255580056760_2044999750367621509_nWe went last night, it ROCKED, and you don’t want to miss the next one!

Lance Vient and the Hotel Playa have a new series of shows this year, and if last night is any indication, Mazatlán is indeed blessed! Called Playa Palooza, last night’s show had a nearly full house dancing till we dropped.

Headliner was a Patsy Cline impersonator, Amberley Beatty. Her voice is sultry and sweet, and her personality sassy. She most definitely charmed our audience. Below is a short clip of her opening her set with “Pearl Bailey:”

Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

Amberley Beatty as Patsy Cline in Playapalooza Mazatlán
Amberley Beatty as Patsy Cline in Playapalooza Mazatlán
Amberley Beatty as Patsy Cline in Playapalooza Mazatlán

Amberley came out into the audience several times to engage the crowd. Below is a clip of her flirting with one happy man from the audience:

Opening for Patsy was Buddy Holly impersonator, Jeff Scott. He had the energy and the moves, and included some Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens and Johnny Cash tunes in his repertoire. Here’s a short clip of him singing “That’ll Be the Day:”

And a few pics of Jeff; click to enlarge or see a slideshow:

Jeff Scott as Buddy Holly in Playapalooza Mazatlán
Jeff Scott as Buddy Holly in Playapalooza Mazatlán
Jeff Scott as Buddy Holly in Playapalooza Mazatlán

And here’s a short video of Jeff singing “Peggy Sue:”

Both Patsy and Buddy were wonderful, and they were what drew Greg and me in, but what really made the night for all of us was the INCREDIBLE rockabilly group from Culiacán—Los Moustros del Espacio Exterior. Yes, weird name, but the group is AWESOME! Very, very tight; excellent musicians. The lead singer, “Voodoo” Sanchez, is completely bilingual, which adds so much feeling to those old favorites. Guitar, bass, sax, drums, and keyboards combined to get even this more “seasoned” crowd jumping to their feet and dancing in the wings of the Venado Showroom. I know we’ll be contacting them for our next party! Check out this short excerpt of just one song:

The group had nearly everyone on our feet, shouting like teenagers. They know how to rock! Click photos to enlarge or view a slideshow.

Los Moustros in Playapalooza Mazatlán
Los Moustros in Playapalooza Mazatlán
Los Moustros in Playapalooza Mazatlán
Los Moustros in Playapalooza Mazatlán

The Hotel Playa has long been our absolute favorite hotel in town. It’s gorgeous—the architecture, the lighting, the setting, the beach. We can rely on the Playa to have excellent dance music in the evenings, though we do miss their weekly fireworks displays (hint, hint).

For three decades before we moved to Mazatlán full time we stayed at the Hotel Playa on family trips, and we hosted our wedding party here as well. Our son Danny grew up with Paulina, who worked at the pool café. And now, keeping it in the family, Lance Vient is managing things. Below you can see a pic of him last night with his beautiful wife Brooke.

Entering the Hotel Playa for Playapalooza last night
Brooke and Lance Vient
The final bow last night

There isn’t a bad seat in the Venado Showroom, everyone, so run over to the Hotel Playa Mazatlán right now and get tickets for the remainder of the series! Mazatlán is home to some of the world’s best musicians; music runs in the blood of patasaladas. So, it’s especially encouraging to see the Hotel Playa bringing music front and center via its innovative Playapalooza!