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March 7, 2004, ISSUE 45
News and Features about Puerto Vallarta on Mexico´s Gold Coast
Tips and Topics on Living in Your Own Dream Location
[Go to the Archives]
CONTENTS:
· SPRINGTIME IN PARADISE
· CLOSING THE MALECON
· SOCIAL SECURITY PLAN
SPRINGTIME IN PARADISE
The pink and yellow primavera trees are in bloom against a background of our robin's egg blue skies, and cool breezes are keeping our temperatures just right. Ideal climate for our Art Walks. Now, new villas and condominiums are being built all over town to make room for the many tourists who have decided to make this paradise their home, either part time or full time. Some spectacular condos are in construction in Marina Vallarta.
The first Old Town Art Walk of th oils by Steven King at Galeria Vallarta, which will continue until March 16.
Galeria Uno presented a joint show of Goeff Watkinson and Martina Goldberg, a famous local couple who always produce wonderful art. Galeria Corona hosted the renowned Juan Paulo Luna and Abdon Punzo.
Friday March 5 was the date of the opening of a special at Galeria Vallarta in Plaza de Neptuno, featuring Tomas Bravo with dramatic landscapes in color, Alberto Korda of Cuba with his artistic nudes and Arturo Pasos with his photos of celebrities who have visited Puerto Vallarta such as Jose Luis Cuevas, Alejandro Colunga, Manuel Lepe, and more. The amazing portraits of Javier Zaragoza continue to be shown also at Galeria Vallarta's Plaza Neptuno location, along with still lifes and indigenous paintings by Carlos Cuevas.
Galeria Dante had a wonderful opening for several of their artists on Sat. March 6. They always have the best selection of sculpture in town.
Sat. March 13 is the date for the Beca Ball, our big charity ball of the season benefiting scholarships for our deserving local young people. If you don't have your tickets, there is still time to get them for $500 pesos each, which includes a cocktail hour, a fabulous dinner and chances to bid on the silent auction of art, gift items, dinners, trips and services, plus great raffle prizes, and a great dance band. All at the Westin Regina Resort at 7:30. Tickets available at Galeria Dante and Galeria Vallarta.
The art auction and style show for benefit of the Los Mangos Public Library was a big success, with a great selection of art by local artists and famous Mexican masters. The style show was beautiful, with clothing and jewelry from several boutiques and the entire event was very well organized.
Happy St. Patrick's Day on Wed. March 17, which is also the date of the next Old Town Art Walk. There will be many special events at the restaurants and night clubs, in addition to the art openings in the 12 downtown art galleries, so watch the local newspapers for more information.
Galeria Vallarta is pleased to present Ruben Garcia's mixed media paintings. He uses oils, gold leaf and lots of texture for his impressive portraits and studies. Ruben was selected from 40 different artists to paint the murals at the University of Guadalajara campus in Vallarta. His paintings always sell quickly, so be sure to come to his exposition on the 17th to see his new creations.
Friday, March 19 is the date for the last Decor-Art Night of the season at Marina Vallarta with Alicia Bueno sculptures at Galeria Arte de las Americas, molded glass by Carlos de Anda at Glass Galeria EM, Mystic Images by Claudia Nery at Galeria Vallarta and collective expositions at Galeria Flores, Arte Primitivo, Rodo Padilla galeria, Artell, and Equililbrio in Plaza de Neptuno, from 6 to 10 p.m. And the next to the last Old Town Art Walk will be on Wed. March 31 with an array of artists.
CLOSING THE MALECON
A big contraversy in Vallarta is the new mayor's plan to close the Malecon to traffic on weekend nights after 6 p.m. from the Rosita Hotel to the Sea Horse statue. The plan which is supposed to be a trial, has caused almost all the businesses and residents in the Central Historic district to complain about the lack of business, the traffic congestion, the removing of parking on the Malecon and Morelos Street, which causes the tourists to walk many blocks to get where they want to go.
A ridiculous idea of having people park their cars at outlying Mega Comercial supermarket parking lots and come downtown on little electric carts, will never work, and no plans have been announced to build parking lots
in the center of town. The main plaza and Los Arcos where our free concerts and events are held is not included in the pedestrian zone, so the noisy, polluting buses still roar by these cultural presentations, as they do all over the entire city and vicinities now of Puerto Vallarta, sadly enough!
Also the plan is to be allowing more and more street vendors, who pay no overhead or taxes as do the established businesses, to have the best locations in the heart of the tourist crowd, with no signs or information for new visitors to find the hundreds of tourist oriented shops, restaurants, galleries, and services which are struggling to survive on the streets off the Malecon. The image of Vallarta as a wild party place such as featured on the TV Wild On Mexico Series on E! entertainment, may be enhanced if this particular area is established as THE TOURIST SECTION instead of the charming main plaza and the typical Mexican pueblo that was once being successfully promoted worldwide.
We now have wider sidewalks in the central area, the Malecon walking area has been renovated since hurricane Kenna, so there are ample walking areas without having to walk in the middle of the cobblestone street. From talking with many tourists who love Vallarta, it seems our most important job is to have quiet, non polluting buses, central parking areas, control of the time share salesmen who molest the tourists, and information booths and signs to properly orient visitors to our many attractions. If you have opinions on this plan, please send an email to webart@prodigy.net.mx, with ---Malecon closing-- in the subject line, so your ideas can have a part of the outcome of this new plan.
GET A BILL STARTED TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOCIAL SECURITY
2004 Election Issue!! This must be an issue in "2004". Please! Keep it going.
SOCIAL SECURITY:
(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.) Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it. You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no congress person has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan. For all practical purposes their plan works like this:
When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die. Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments. For example, former Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their lives.
This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two dignitaries. Younger dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives. Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA....ZILCH....
This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds; "OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"! From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire - (which amount is matched by our employer)- we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement.
Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits! Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made. That change would be to jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us... then sit back and watch how fast they would fix it. If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve. How many people can YOU send this to?
If you would like to receive photos of new paintings or sculptures by Galeria Vallarta artists, please send an email. We are just about ready with our website and will announce it next issue.
SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE INFORMATION:
About Living Your Dream is by free subscription to our own mailing list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to WebArt@GaleriaVallarta.com with "subscribe or unsubscribe to Dream" in the subject line. If you would like to place an ad or submit an article, please contact Barbara Peters, Galeria Vallarta, Juarez 263, (322) 222-0290 or at WebArt@GaleriaVallarta.com
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