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Day of the Dead in Puerto Vallarta

Our first Day of the Dead experience in Puerto Vallarta was long before 2008, when UNESCO recognized the holiday on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, those traditions that are passed down from generations. Día de los Muertos is an occasion of the reaffirmation of indigenous life and is celebrated by all Mexicans, regardless of religious or ethnic or origins. You will be fascinated by the ofrendas, magical altars covered in marigolds, emanating with their rich earthy scent, multitudes of candles, and intriguing offerings to the dead.

While we walk along, admiring the ofrendas, moving from one display to another, most of us miss the meaning of this important day for the locals of Puerto Vallarta. The entire purpose of the Day of the Dead is about honoring those who have passed beyond this world and in doing do, asking their guidance for when it’s time for us to follow such a pathway. Ofrendas are found in various plazas, in private homes, on doorsteps, and in the cemeteries. The expectation is that loved ones will pop in for a visit and to lure them, friends and family place photographs of those who are gone, plus items they loved when they inhabited this world. It’s not unusual to find cigars, a pack of cigarettes, a favored lighter and matches, shot glasses with tequila, bottles of alcohol and cans of beer or soft drinks. Books, letters written in this realm, candy, food, perhaps a piece of clothing they wore. Chocolate, a cup of tea or coffee, fruit, tamales, lipstick, a pipe, jewelry; an unfinished crocheting project, embroidery scissors, thimbles, a pack of cards, dice, dominoes, musical instruments. It’s sad to see toys, well loved dolls, small trucks and cars, but we must remember the whole purpose is joy. Candles are everywhere, to help light the way back from the land of the dead to that of the living for this one night of the year.

Recently in Puerto Vallarta, people have taken to having La Catrina painted on their faces. The Catrina, a symbol of death itself, is a reminder that no matter who you are, how much money or social status you have, we all end up dead; the great equalizer. You can paint your own face (there are great tutorials on youtube) or pay a small fee to have someone with talent do it for you. It’s fun and a safer way to costume yourself than wearing a mask and a welcomed new tradition in Old Town Puerto Vallarta.

You won’t want to miss the procession along the malecón, a presentation of creative costumes, mariachi bands and minstrels, dancers, riders on horseback and decorated cars, marching down the street and winding in and out of revelers.

The Day of the Dead grows every year in Puerto Vallarta to expand on the traditions and invite more celebrants!

Que cómo es es.

Roma: We don’t often write movie reviews for this blog but are so inspired by the recent Mexican film Roma, for many reasons. We were far into the film, a scene at the ocean in Veracruz, before we astonishingly realized this movie was shot in black and white. There is so much color in the culture, the people, and the language that hues and tones burst out of each scene. It’s a testament to the colors of Mexico, which has drawn many of us here, to brighten our lives and that of others.

Roma, which is love in Spanish spelled backwards, is a movie packed with everyday Mexican life. Though is takes place in 1971, there is much that has not changed and life of many generations continues to thrive. Roma is a section of the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City. which during the era it is set, the early 70’s, was an upper to middle class vicinity. It was beset with decline over the years, and more recently taken over by hipsters.

Alfonso Cuarón wrote, directed and took over the cinematography of Roma and is known for a variety of successes, including the highly acclaimed Gravity; his first major success. Other projects include Y Tu Mamá También; Children of Men; and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Bent on authenticity for Roma, Cuarón gathered furniture from his family’s assorted homes throughout Mexico; most of the movie is filmed on location, relying on few sets. Anyone who’s been in a furniture store in Puerto Vallarta will see the complete accuracy of the upper level establishment where Cleo, the protagonist, goes with her matron (employer) to buy a crib for her unborn baby. There are no details untouched by authenticity of the era.

Vendors will be recognizable by anyone living in Puerto Vallarta; their street calls remain the same over many decades. Unless you are Mexican or have lived in the country for long enough to recognize him, the alfiliador who appears in Roma will hold little significance but it is a major turning point in the film. As Cleo sits mourning in her humble quarters, Adela, another maid, calls out to Cleo the presence of the afilador, the knife sharpener, warning his arrival with his familiar piccolo. In Mexican lore, the afilador carries portent, and is commonly used to scare little children into behaving. Adela is letting Cleo know it’s time to pull it together and get on with life.

There are subtleties throughout. Airplanes flying overhead in many scenes, as well as the opening and closing, represent the constancy of air travel above Mexico City, a major hub, and they also indicate a vast world outside this small one encompassed in a massive city.

The ocean scenes will have an effect on those of us in Puerto Vallarta, and Alfonso Cuarón does nothing to lessen the deafening roar. There is no doubt to the attraction, the pleasure, and the imminent danger.

We struggled with some of the language without knowing certain characters were speaking Mixtec, an indigenous idiom, but the film is subtitled. Roma is currently available on Netflix.

Que es cómo es.

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Timothy Real Estate Group is a locally-owned and operated real estate brokerage with a strategic location in the Romantic Zone of Puerto Vallarta in the Colonia Emiliano Zapata. Because the Puerto Vallarta area has varying neighborhood personalities, we practice localized real estate. We believe neighborhood knowledge is a top factor in solid sales, and we know our communities well.

We enable our clients to realize their vision for the future.  We understand and plan for their concerns and are dedicated to transforming those concerns to peace of mind and joy.

Our philosophy of transparency, integrity, and professionalism imbues our culture with a tangible sense of purpose and results in the length and depth of the quality relationships we enjoy.  We believe buying or selling a home is first and foremost about people. Of course we have the latest technology, marketing tools, statistics and research, but a successful real estate transaction really comes down to people. Connecting the right buyers to sellers or investors our professional agents structure solid transactions with successful solid outcomes.  We believe in collaboration by connecting people in ways that bring satisfaction and success.

When you combine extensive local knowledge and our long standing reputation for honesty and sound judgment, you have an unbeatable resource at your disposal.  You have Timothy Real Estate Group, a constant leader in Puerto Vallarta real estate

Love Our Geckos!

Our first experience with geckos in Puerto Vallarta began as an annoying clicking that we thought was someone monkeying around with our window latch. We got up and stumbled around in the dark, saw nothing disturbing and went back to bed. Not to sleep. The clicking continued. In time, we learned the annoyance came from a tiny creature called a gecko. Now we sleep through the night with the same comfort as Grandma’s ticking clock in the echoing foyer, knowing that everything is as it should be. Geckos are out hunting in the dark and still of the night, capturing mosquitoes and other bothersome bugs.

There are many definitions for gecko sounds and logical explanations for them. Scientists have had a lot of fun observing geckos and attempting to explain their social interactions. The geckos you hear in Puerto Vallarta chirp, bark, click, etc to deflect other males, attract females, fight, flirt, announce and claim their territory, and perhaps throw a fiesta for reasons known only to geckos. We have turned on the light at night to see as many as a half dozen on our ceilings and walls.

Geckos are only fearsome to the insects they devour and we are eternally thankful for this. Though one mosquito may do great harm to us, a gecko simply sees him as an appetizer. Geckos eat insects much larger than themselves and if you’re interested in going beyond the images of your own imagination, check out youtube for dramatic videos.

We have been startled during daylight hours when moving furniture or art on the wall, to have a gecko run out with great urgency to locate another hiding place. It is our nature to apologize. Cats will go after geckos, and since cats have nocturnal tendencies, we try to keep Fluffy cornered in bed with us, though it doesn’t always work. Cats will only eat the bodies and leave the head of a gecko for your astonishment in the morning. Geckos in Puerto Vallarta can be seen during the day; they are not strictly nocturnal, but it’s a rare occurrence to see them on a bright sunny day.

If you try to catch a gecko, we must advise against keeping them as pets. Instead consider them your own personal pets who are allowed to roam your home, much like cats do, with no boundaries. You will, in fact, most likely be left holding a wriggling tail, while the rest of the gecko escapes. Not to worry. Geckos are built to be able to release their tail along an actual predestined line, which allows them to flee quickly with nominal harm to the remainder of their body. In their own milieu, the continued thrashing of the tail provides distraction from a predator and allows the gecko to hide once again.

Geckos can live a long time in Puerto Vallarta, up to five years in the wild. So keep them around; they are considered good luck and nothing seems better than old wise geckos protecting us at night.

Que es cómo es.