June 10, 2007

So much has been going on lately that I don’t know where to begin. As I write this, I have just returned from a meeting called by Sr. Abel Villa. This gentleman is a Vallartan, owner of the Buenaventura, Premier and Hacienda Buenaventura hotels in this town. He has been very active in PV’s cultural aspect, the preservation of the downtown area, and a most vociferous opponent of the mega towers being built at the mouth of the river, the Peninsula and the Gran Venetian. Now he’s taken on the Amapas - Conchas Chinas situation. It is everyone’s hope that the new administration will listen…
The meeting was attended by a couple of dozen Amapas residents, and a dog (who appeared just as interested in what Sr. Villa was saying as the rest of us). This gentleman who speaks for a group called the Business Council of Puerto Vallarta, in conjunction with the Coastal University Center (CUC) of the University of Guadalajara, intends to confront the Mayor with the urgency of the situation at a meeting set for next week, and politely present him with an ultimatum of sorts: either he attends to the matter immediately, or it will be made public to the national and international media. Sr. Villa also intends to garner the support of all the organizations in town, i.e.: the Hotel Association, Chamber of Commerce, restauranteurs, ecological groups, urban planning folks, etc. He is most passionate about this, unlike the “apathetic and sometimes scared” townspeople whom his group is attempting to rouse through radio and press announcements. I for one wish him success.

On that topic, Amapas resident Bill Holtz sent us an email that says it all:
Susan (Wiseman) and Anna,
I'm sure I speak for every present and future homeowner in the Amapas area when I say "thank you" for the work you're doing to try to rein in the chaos that is occurring in our area.
The time has come to form an organization to deal with the issues of our area and you have my full support.
Like most condo owners in the area, I'm only in P.V. a few months out of the year, my Spanish is limited, and I don't know who to turn to to express my concerns.
The developers are there only to make their quick money and they don't care about anything else.
First of all, the roads were not built to support the heavy trucks that are using Hortencias, Pulpito, Gardenias, and El Callejon de la Igualdad. They've turned the cobblestones into sand and crashes are occuring on a daily basis it seems. On a recent cab ride up Hortencias, the driver had to take me up in reverse, because there was no traction. These roads should have been prepared years ago before the first development started.
Secondly, with the increase in traffic along the highway, it's become much more dangerous to cross the highway and a pedestrian path is needed between Callejon de la Igualdad and Pulpito.
Thirdly and most importantly, a moratorium on future building needs to be put into place and inspections need to be increased on the ones that are going up now. Those who are putting workers’ and residents’ safety at stake must be penalized.
As for the damage to the environment, don't even get me started.
The destruction to the building that Colinas caused a few months back was outrageous and should never have happened!
As Gomer Pyle used to say: “Shame! Shame! Shame!”

Mr. Holtz, I could not have put it more succinctly myself.
And on the matter of condos, an article was published in the Tribuna de la Bahía today, Wednesday, June 6th, stating that there were no permits whatsoever in the records at City Hall for the construction of yet another condominium complex where the Posada Rio Cuale sits. Hmmm… so then, why so many rumors?

I had a business partner here for a while, who did not speak or read Spanish. Every day, when I would pick up the daily papers, he would ask me, “So what’s in the funny papers today?” In retrospect, he was right. As our friend Barry once said, “Puerto Vallarta? You either laugh or you leave.” Truer words were never spoken - until the events of the past year or so. When our safety and that of our residences are questioned, physically speaking, it is no longer a laughing matter.

But getting back to the laughable… Tuesday, June 5th, was celebrated as the Day of the Environment. There were conferences and seminars and cocktail parties and the whole shebang, organized for the authorities and the renowned speakers they invited. Turns out that our Mayor addressed the audience to express his intention to acquire Puerto Vallarta’s accreditation as a “Green Destination” - as defined by the Federal Department of Natural Resources (Semarnat). He added that the goal was a difficult one to attain… 15 Mexican towns have applied for it, and only Aguascalientes has acquired it. I read that and wondered… with the thousands of trees cut down over the last couple of years to make way for parking garages, widened streets (in Nuevo Vallarta) and high towers, plus the public transportation problem that hasn’t been solved to date, the one causing the noise and air pollution, etc., etc… Who is he kidding?

Here’s an important date for you to mark down in your agenda, friends: Sunday, June 24th. At 8:30 a.m. on that day, everyone is invited to Take A Walk. The $50. Peso inscription fee will go towards setting up a shelter for battered women in Vallarta – something that is missing and direly needed here. For that donation, you will receive a beautiful T-Shirt and other little goodies, and you’ll feel a whole lot better at the end of The Walk. We will give you more information in next week’s issue of the Tribune, but if you can’t wait, you can get it by calling 293-5348 or 222-8621.

On that positive note, I will leave you, and wish you all a most enjoyable week. Do take care of yourselves, and of your less fortunate neighbor. Hasta luego. pvmom04@yahoo.com