Pechakucha Makes it to Mazatlán!!!

Pechakucha Mazatlán

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.

1240017_330699953734189_1719241184_nPechakucha 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.

Have You Noticed?

new 50 peso bills

Old one on top, newly issued bill on bottom

I will admit that I had not, until Greg pointed it out to me. But it’s very cool. In its never-ending quest to prevent counterfeiting, and probably to line the pockets of politicians by partnering with tech companies, the federal government has restyled the 50 peso bill. The new ones have much cooler markings. Be sure to take a look!

The Faro after Heavy Rains

I thought you might enjoy a few slideshows of the lighthouse this time of year. If you live here seasonally, you may not have seen the lush greens vegetation, and the heavy, heavy ruts and mud slides past which we hike this time of year.

First, a slideshow of the ruts and the terrain, after some heavy rain.

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Second, a slideshow of a few of the views as we climb up. These were taken Friday morning Sept. 20th at sunrise:

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And, finally, after we hiked back down, we walked over to see the pirate/clipper ship currently being repaired in our happily recovering ship repair docks. Apparently this one is from Los Cabos:

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We hope to see you hiking the lighthouse sometime soon!

Terrific Evening of Old Mazatlán Photos and Stories

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I have never understood a society, or a city, that doesn’t value its history. How can we here in this gorgeous port city of Mazatlán, with its history of riches, high society from all over the world, such a diverse mix of cultures and trades, and interesting story after exciting story, and not have a historical museum?

We own quite a few books, in Spanish of course, on the history of Mazatlán. They are very good. We’ve attended previous events on the history of Mazatlán at the Archeological Museum. Greg has, for years, collected items (postcards, record albums, tourist flyers, letters) from Mazatlán’s history. Most of them he has purchased on e-bay, and he has a rotating collection displayed on one of our walls. Here’s his latest:

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1234998_200998880069821_407501431_nBut the Photo Expo last night was especially excellent. Why? The first ingredient was a terrific panel of knowledgable local historians: Mario Martini, Joaquin Hernandez, Luis Antonio Martínez Peña, Fernando Higuera, moderated by Guillermo Osuna. The second ingredient was a series of six photos of Old Mazatlán. As each photo was displayed, members of the panel took turns telling a story or two revolving around something in the photo. The third ingredient was a gorgeous old, very rustic room, with exquisitely tiled flooring and vigas overhead. Oh, there was also free beer, wine, water and soda. The evening was lovely, and the room was packed with interesting people. The evening was quite magical.

This morning we’ve already had several people contact us, asking if the exhibition is ongoing. Sadly, it is not. The grand opening/ribbon cutting was last Friday at SECTUR, and the main event was last night in a rustically beautiful room at the back of La Querencia. We definitely need space to display some of these photos and a bit of the history of our fair city!

Family member of a person in the photo?Last night, for example, I sat next to a gentleman who I later learned had purchased a certain photo of a group of young women standing in front of a classic car on the malecón in Olas Altas, with the burned-out ruins of Casa Echegurén on the hill in the background. My guess is that the photo includes the grandmother or great-grandmother of the guy who purchased it. How very cool is that?

The organizers of the event last night are a group of people called “Amigos de Mazatlán.” They host a page on Facebook, where Greg and I have long loved seeing the photos shared, and the comments posted by family members, friends, great-grandchildren… sharing memories of our beloved adopted home. We recently met two of the group’s key players, Fernando Higuera and Briza Sánchez, when we went down to Casa Canobbio to buy a CD of photos in support of the group’s efforts to build a photographic museum of old Mazatlán. They are extremely passionate, and a whole lot of fun, so next thing you know, we were helping to sponsor and working in support of last night’s event. I’ll post a few photos below. Click on any of them to enlarge or view a slideshow.

By the way, after the panel discussion, the photos were all put up for sale. And, even cooler than that, the money is going to the victims of the hurricane here in Sinaloa!

Here is the exhibit!
Sweeping and mopping the salón
All clean and shiny
Luring the people to the inside with some photo displays
Double-sided taping of the exhibit photos
Taping, taping…
And more taping.
Ready to go from the outside
Gorgeous old building
Ready to set up chairs and tables
Closeup of the intricately tiled floor
Chairs set up, photos getting displayed.
Ready to go
Happy Dianne
Happy Greg!
A keg of beer, wine, sodas and water
By the end of the night there wasn’t even any standing room left.

The goal is, hopefully, to have a Museum of Old Mazatlán. I trust the dream will become reality. You can help support this effort to preserve and promote the history of Mazatlán in several ways.

  1. If you are in Europe, the US or Canada, Asia, or South America, check out your local photo archives. Many of the historic photos of our city have come from photographers and collections abroad. During the revolution, many of the old photos were packed up and removed along with the wealthy families who populated our city.
  2. You can get involved with the group, helping to plan and conduct efforts to make the dream come true.
  3. Your donations are welcome, and the group is also selling CDs of photos in order to raise money.

10th Anniversary Concert of Banda MS

Banda MS 10th Anniversary ConcertLast night, immediately after the big Mayweather-Canelo fight, we headed over to the Banda MS concert in Salón Bacanora. The band was celebrating its tenth anniversary, and we were ready to have a good time!

There were several opening acts leading up to the main event, including Proyecto 5, Banda Legal, and Horacio Placencia.

Banda MS came on stage at exactly midnight, as planned. We were shocked! They looked incredibly sharp in their Independence Day garb. I don’t think I’ve ever before seen colored flies on men’s slacks! You can click on any photo below to enlarge it or scroll through all the photos.

Fireworks over the stage
Pan of the crowd
The entrance with screens for the fight

Last night’s was not the most polished performance we’ve ever seen. Despite being their tenth anniversary, playing en casa/at home, and amongst their friends and families, the band didn’t exactly seem into it, as you can tell from the clips below.

The audience was huge, but very calm. There wasn’t a lot of shouting or singing aloud as we usually experience at a banda concert. There were many couples, and way more groups of women than is usual at such an event. We saw some wonderful pointed tribal-esque boots and rhinestone-bedecked belts, and dancing that made me feel I am never going to get the right banda moves.

We in Mazatlán have experienced SUCH a long drought without banda concerts (other than the annual Coronation of the King of Joy during Carnavál), that even last night’s lackluster performance was still very welcome.