Last night’s Gran Maratón del Pacífico fireworks, called the Festival de la Luz, were spectacular! As usual we watched them from our pool deck with a few friends who happened by.
I love being in the middle of the 15 launch locations here, but I’m always pulled and torn which way to look: left, right or forward. There is no way to capture the magnitude of the event all in one glance or photo from the middle of things. On the other hand, being in the center of things does rock… One year I do want to go to one end or the other to watch them, as the perspective would be so different. It’s just so comfy sitting at home with a glass of vino!
I got out the tripod and did my best to capture some of the glory of the evening’s main event. It’s fun to finally be learning and practicing how to use all the manual settings on my camera. I’ll eventually get there. Thank you for your encouragement during my learning journey! Click on any photo to enlarge or view a slideshow.
Note the moon in this one
This year this terrific annual event included four flyboard performances. The flyboarders performed at different locations around the bay. One was very close to us; it started with one performer and ended with two. I spliced footage from the fireworks and the flyboard together in the movie below. Enjoy!
One of our favorites every year, Festival de la Luz/The Light Festival sees the launching of fireworks from 15 locations along the malecón, this year along 4 kms from Playa Norte on the southern end to the Don Pelayo Hotel on the northern end. It will happen on Saturday night, 29th November, at 8:00 pm, as a lead-up to the Maratón del Pacífico on Sunday morning. Thank you to the Tres Islas Hotel and Motel Association for this terrific annual event!
This year’s 25-minute show, expected to be attended by 50,000 people, will also include laser lights, four LED-illuminated flyboard (those cool waterjet-propelled thingies that they practiced with a couple of weeks ago) acrobatics, and four LED-illuminated paramotors (like we used to see at AeroFest).
Laughing is good for your health; there are loads of studies showing that. Do you get enough laughter in your life? One of our own local expats, Cheryl Gaudet, singer and guitarist extraordinaire, is looking out for us. Soon, everyone in Mazatlán will be able to easily and enjoyably improve our health with loads of laughter therapy at the new Mazatlán Comedy Club (MCC).
Nationally recognized comedians from the US will be joining us for five all-English shows, one Sunday each month, November through March. The comedians have all been on primetime TV and have played some of the best clubs in the world. Many of them have multiple albums. Each show includes performances by two comedians.
Doors open at 5:30 so that the show can begin at 7:00 pm. Get there early to eat, so you don’t choke while you’re laughing at the show! Each 500 peso ticket gets you a buffet dinner, OPEN bar, parking and the double-headliner performances. What a deal!
The shows will be “clean,” family-friendly, and will take place at the gorgeous Venados Showroom in the Hotel Playa. Tickets can be purchased at the concierge’s desk in the lobby of the Hotel Playa. The venue seats 350 people, at tables set up for anywhere from 1 to 15 people. You can choose your seats on a chart at the concierge desk, and you can reserve a table for your family and friends. Get all your mates together and enjoy a night of fun! There is also balcony seating. Please note that only cash is accepted.
We bought our tickets a couple of weeks ago, and today I sat down with Cheryl to see if I could get some of the inside scoop. I learned that she has always led a double life, and a very interesting one at that. This is what she had to say.
December 21st is Bobbie Shropshire (she has performed with Andrew Dice Clay, George Carlin and Richard Prior, and at the Comedy Store and The Improv) and Larry Elliott (Santa incarnate, for a terrific family holiday show—he’s the Hollywood Christmas Parade Santa). See more on the event page on the MCC site.
January 25th brings Al Ducharme (He’s a looker! Al has performed on Comics Unleashed, Today Show, Inside Edition, Comedy.TV, and at Caroline’s and in Heineken commercials) and Bernadette Pauley (The Gossip Queens, Comedy.TV, Comedy Central, New York Post). Videos of both comedians are on the MCC site.
February 22nd we’ll hear Kat Simmons (The Improv, Catch a Rising Star, Comedy Channel, Candid Camera) and Marc Yaffee (Showtime, American Indian Comedy Slam, Comics Unleashed, Latino Laugh Festival, Pow Wow Comedy Jam). You can find more details and videos on the MCC page.
March 29th will showcase Rocky Whatule (Friends, Showtime, Sunset Stripped, Rockin Wrap Up) and Bubba Bradley (Last Comic Standing, Nashville, 700 Club). MCC shows videos of the performers.
When you go, remember to bring non-perishable food items to donate to Friends of Mexico, who will get it out to those who need it. I’m proud to learn that Cheryl continues her lifelong passion for inclusivity and community outreach by partnering with FOM in this way. We hope the Mazatlán Comedy Club will be laughing its way into our hearts and to success!
I’ve had quite a few friends and colleagues ask me how the reaction has been here in Mazatlán to the horrifying and heartbreaking Ayotzinapa events. I tell them that everyone here that I talk with is outraged, but, sadly in my opinion, not much is being done about it. I have told them disappointedly that we on the west coast are a long way away, both geographically and psychologically. I tell them about one march that was held here, but that it seemed to me to be like so many other peace marches…no real public engagement and nothing very meaningful other than, perhaps, to those who participated.
I was so happy, therefore, to be proven wrong in the Plazuela on Saturday night. God bless the students—they are not giving up! They will hold another march this Thursday, November 20, from 4:00 pm. Please put it in your calendars! Gather in front of the Palacio Municipal in the Plaza República, and we will march towards UAS. Thursday there is a call for people nationwide to wear black, in memory of the lost students, so I assume we will wear black in the march as well. Once we arrive there, the students will hold a cultural festival in the library, in memory of their departed fellow students. The festival will include live music, theater and dance.
The students were letting people know about this march amidst the happy revelry in the Plazuela on a Saturday night—amidst the live music, dancing and dining, during the world premiere of the Angela Peralta opera. And they were doing it in a most magnificent way! I’m sure many of you saw it, and perhaps, as I did, participated. The students had hung out photos of the kidnapped (and supposedly murdered) students, with brief biographies. They had white paper and markers ready to hand to anyone who wanted to express themselves. Some pictures below; click to enlarge or view a slideshow.
And express they did! The outrage, the disgust, and the hurt were palpable. The resulting display was heart-wrenching and powerful. It was gratifying to me to see Mazatlecos make their voices heard. I pray it has influenced even a few more people to become more civically engaged, and help to make our beloved, adopted home the best it can be. We all need to say “no” to corruption, north and south of the border. Honesty, respect and responsibility begin with each of us.
Earlier I shared with you our photos of the Cuauhtémoc’s arrival in Mazatlán, as the cadets and staff stood on the spars of the three-masted barque, singing the anthem. It was a once in a lifetime experience, for sure! Many of you seemed to think they were just standing up there, but we could tell they were fastened on in some way. As we toured the ship yesterday, some of the staff members demonstrated the harnesses they use to climb up into the rigging. They also told us some of the favorite ports of call they’ve had, and whether we’ll be able to see the Cuauhtémoc with its sails up. See the video below.
The captain of the Cuauhtémoc is Juan Carlos Vera Minjares. The ship is traveling with 254 people on board, including 69 fifth-year cadets who will receive degrees in Naval Science Engineering. 19 of the cadets are women!!! Woot woot! I most unfortunately did not meet any female cadets, or you’d be hearing from her. 😉 We were also told that on Sunday 4300 people toured the vessel.
Upon boarding the Cuauhtémoc, the first thing that struck us is just how many thousands of kilograms of rope this Class A tall ship uses! Rope, rope, everywhere rope! Officially called cordage, we saw everything from thick halyards (used to raise heavy yards) to thin, smooth, flexible sheets (used to control the orientation of a sail). We even saw rope tied around steel cable. The rigging looked incredibly complicated and intricately woven. And, of course, we saw impressive knots as well. Click on any photo to view it larger or see a slideshow.
Second to the quantity of rope everywhere, we were impressed with the beauty of the wood on the Cuauhtémoc. The deck itself was gorgeous, most of the pulleys we saw to help hoist that rope were made of wood, but also the stairways of the ship, the lifeboats, seating areas and doors were all wooden. After leaving Mazatlán the ship is headed to an astillero in Acapulco for repairs and refinishing, but it looked in fine shape to us.
What would a historic replica barque like this be without brass? Lights, portholes, binnacles, telegraphs, cleats, bells, propellers… all shined to a brilliance. There were even brass plates on the deck where heavy equipment is serviced, so that it doesn’t scratch the wood decking.
Binnacle (compass)
Telegraph
One very interesting bit of trivia that we learned is that the Cuauhtémoc sports a unique innovation: tercudos, or handwoven yellow “fluffy things” that cushion the rigging to protect the sails from damage. A cadet told us that when they are punished for misbehavior, they are often ordered to make tercudos.
As with any community, part of what makes the Cuauhtémoc so special is its crew. Everyone we talked with during our tour of the vessel was outgoing and friendly, ready to tell us stories and answer our questions. We learned that the staff (tripulación) wear blue and white striped shirts, and the cadets, the day we visited at least, were in white uniforms. They all seem to enjoy purchasing gifts for family and friends as they travel, but the huge challenge is where to store the gifts, as they only have very skinny tall lockers into which to cram their loot. The cadets sail on the Cuauhtémoc in their final, fifth year at the Naval Academy. Most of the staff are older and have family at home, and have made multiple journeys: Istanbul, Barcelona, Tokyo, Shanghai, Alexandria, Ukraine, Venezuela…
Because this ship is so special, even the signage and trademarks are very cool. See below.
Because it is such an old-fashioned ship, I converted a few of our pictures to black and white. I like how they turned out; I hope you’ll enjoy them.
I guess the photographic opportunities of this gorgeous vessel have seduced me, because we drove over to the port again today at sunset, just to see if we could get some shots with the colored sky and, closer up of the lights at night. The sky, unfortunately, didn’t cooperate so well—not one of those over-the-top sunsets that we are so frequently blessed with.
Thank you for reading and watching along with me! I sure have enjoyed the Cuauhtémoc’s visit. Thank you to all the staff and cadets who helped us learn and kindly showed us how things worked!
Last night’s Gran Maratón del Pacífico fireworks, called the Festival de la Luz, were spectacular! As usual we watched them from our pool deck with a few friends who happened by.
One of our favorites every year, Festival de la Luz/The Light Festival sees the launching of fireworks from 15 locations along the malecón, this year along 4 kms from Playa Norte on the southern end to the Don Pelayo Hotel on the northern end. It will happen on Saturday night, 29th November, at 8:00 pm, as a lead-up to the Maratón del Pacífico on Sunday morning. Thank you to the Tres Islas Hotel and Motel Association for this terrific annual event!
¡VidaMaz! 