BY GIL GEVINS

Most of the sales managers I have known over the years have been what Mexicans call "special." Ronnie O'Meara was no exception.
A tall oafish man, Ronnie had a head of wild prematurely grey hair which grew in six or seven gravity-defying directions at once. He was manic to the point of being dangerous and, had his photograph ever been published in a newspaper, beneath it would have appeared the caption: A legend in his own mind.

Everyone assumed that Ronnie was on drugs; unfortunately for him, he was not.

On one less than memorable occasion Ronnie had attempted to "help" me to close a deal, a surreal experience if ever there was one.

I was sitting with a couple from Iowa trying vainly to convince them that the twenty thousand dollars they had scrimped and saved for their son's college tuition would be better spent on a vacation club membership in Mexico. They were naturally suspicious people who had never before been outside of the United States. Simply winning their trust had taken me well over two hours of hard work.

Then Ronnie came bouncing up to our table, all wound up like a rubber band, and said without preamble, "Listen, folks. Everything this man has told you is a complete lie. But from now on you're going to hear nothing but the truth."

Ronnie wore around his neck a massive gold chain with which at that moment I would have gladly strangled him. My clients, their faith in humanity most likely damaged beyond all hope of repair, began to squirm in their seats.

"Go get me some coffee," Ronnie said with disgust as he dragged me to my feet and took possession of my chair.
Five minutes later, after having demolished a small trash basket, I was feeling somewhat better. From the back of the large salesroom I could see Ronnie leaning into the table, deep into his pitch while my former clients looked frantically all about them, as if for the nearest exit.

Several months later, just before he decided to return to Hawaii where "you can order a cup of friggin coffee without a goddamn dictionary for crying out loud," Ronnie delivered a truly memorable motivational speach to a roomfull of bewildered sales people.

Standing before us with his legs spread and a huge styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand Ronnie stared at everyone for a full minute before saying, "Ants don't sweat."

Ronnie then took three enormous gulps of coffee, making his Adam's apple bounce up and down like a ping pong ball.

"The other day I was over at John and Mary's house," he finally went on.

John and Mary, most of us realized, were not real people, but rather an imaginary couple who played the role of the clients in Ronnie's favorite sales manual: "The Eye of the Tiger" by Vick Vixby.

"And I saw," Ronnie said, striding back and forth, spilling coffee everywhere, "the most amazing thing."
Ronnie paused for dramatic effect for what seemed like an hour, glaring at each of us in turn with the burning intensity of a medieval saint.

"But I'll tell you something," he finally said, lowering his voice to a conspiritorial whisper. "Most people wouldn't have thought it was so amazing. Most people, in fact, wouldn't even have noticed what I saw."
"Unless," mumbled my neighbor, an ex-surfer with one too many wipe-outs under his belt, "they were on the same thing you was."

"There in John and Mary's front yard," Ronnie rolled on, "was a small mountain. A miniature mountain about three feet high. That's strange, I thought to myself, I could've sworn that little mountain wasn't here a week ago when I stopped by to return John and Mary the fifty dollars I had borrowed. What was even more strange was that the baby mountain was shaped exactly like a volcano. A volcano. I could've been back on Maui."

Ronnie paused again to take another swallow of coffee and to stare up and off into space. We were all reasonably sure that Ronnie was supposed to be back on Maui in what was left of his mind staring up at a volcano.

"'What's this?' I asked John and Mary. 'What's this little volcano in your yard and how did it get there?' 'Oh,' John and Mary said, 'that's just the ants.'"

"Just the ants," Ronnie said bemused. "Just the ants," he repeated matter-of-factly. "Just the ants!" he thundered, waking up two closers in the back of the room.

Fortunately Ronnie's super-jumbo styrofoam cup was by now almost empty, because Ronnie always accompanied the raising of his voice with a violent gesture. As it was, he managed to spray the first row with brown drops and dislodge his shirt tails from the tight confines of his black and white striped Bermuda shorts.

With his white shirt tails hanging out and over his ample gut Ronnie looked a lot like a pregnant polar bear who has just stuck his paw into a light socket.

"So I began to observe," Ronnie said, quieting down again. "And what I observed were a whole lot of ants - thousands, maybe even millions of ants. And these ants, these tiny little creatures, what were they doing? I'll tell you what they were doing: each and every one of them was doing exactly the same thing. I know, because I sat there watching them for three hours."

Everyone knew that Ronnie was definitely making this part up. Short of receiving a massive blow to the head there was no way Ronnie could sit anywhere for three hours, let alone in a garden watching ants.

"On top of that miniature volcano," Ronnie rampaged on, "was a miniature crater - just like Haleakala back on Maui. And inside that crater was a teeny-weeny hole. And that hole was just like a two-lane tunnel I used to drive through when I was managing the Poconos Ski Club in Pennsylvania. One lane was for going inside the hole, and one lane was for going out of the hole. Entrance and exit. Egress and egret."

"I think an egret's a bird, Ron," one of the wise-guys in the back row called out.

"Yeah, but what's an egress?" his partner wanted to know.
Ronnie took advantage of this silly interruption to pour himself a full cup of coffee, causing everyone in the first three rows to visably cringe.

"Now all of the ants," Ronnie roiled anew, "going into the hole were empty-handed. But every single ant exiting the hole was carrying a single grain of sand (which would be like me or you carrying a Volkswagen). And when the ant carrying the grain of sand reached the rim of the crater, he dropped it over the side. And down, down, down it tumbled along the slope of the miniature mountain, making that miniature mountain just one grain of sand bigger."

Long pause. Three gulps.

"Immediately," Ron resumed, "I mean absolutely at once, without even a second's hesitation, that ant turned around and went back into the hole to go get himself another grain of sand.
"And on and on it went. In and out. In and out. Grain by grain. Grain by grain. The mountain on the outside got bigger and taller; the ants' house on the inside got deeper and better. Because that's what those ants were doing: home improvement - making their common world a better place in which to live.

"And I'll tell you something. It was awful hot in John and Mary's front yard. But the ants never stopped to take a single break. Never complained. Never wished out-loud that they were someplace else, doing something different. They just kept on working, hour after hour, day after day, with nobody to pat them on the back. No one to offer them cash bonuses for exceeding their monthly goals. No one to give them special developer's discounts or bonus vacation incentives, or free trips for two to Mazatlan. No one there to say, 'good job, take the afternoon off.' No sir, those ants just kept doing their jobs, uttering nary a complaint, even though they knew in their heart of hearts that their job would never ever be done."

Ronnie's pause had an air of finality this time. He stood there gulping from his eighteen ounce styrofoam cup, soaked from head to toe despite the air-conditioning. Then he stood there some more, staring at us, and we sat there staring right back.

At that moment every person in the room was feeling excactly the same thing: a strong urge to pee, whether we had to or not. Just watching Ronnie drink all that coffee...

Finally, Trudy, one of our rookie sales people, someone so new to the business that she still suffered from the delusion that this was the kind of thing one was supposed to take seriously, raised her hand.

Ronnie inclined his dripping jungle of hair in her direction, gratitude written all over his face.

"I don't understand, Ron," Trudy said. "What's the point?"

Ronnie's head snapped back as if he'd received a physical blow.

"What's the point?" he repeated in amazement. "What's the point?"

"Yes," Trudy trudged intrepidly on, "what's the point? I don't get it."

"The point," Ronnie said ever so softly, "is quite simple. The point is something any child should be able to understand. The point is this: ants don't sweat!" he screamed.

Everyone in the front row ducked. But fortunately for all concerned, Ronnie had once again run out of coffee.

Author Gil Gevins' latest book "Puerto Vallarta on a Donkey a Day" is on sale at The Book Store, V. Carranza 334a at Insurgentes in The Zona Romantica, Puerto Vallarta. Call 223-9437.

Leafcutter ants hard at work here in the tropics, cutting leaf. As you can easily see, they are not sweating.

Mexico's President to Inaugurate*

By Eduardo Rincón-Gallardo

I have always celebrated Mexico's pacifist vocation, "What better way to show it than having a soccer field as the main attribute and most prominent item in our Navy Base?

I always tell our visitors that if any country wants to go to war against Mexico, we will always be willing to cordially challenge them to a soccer game.

Well, this time we will be showing a little more of our resources, though most of the equipment coming to Vallarta is not armed but prepared mainly to deal with ecologic issues.
You may have seen the helicopters on our Navy Base's soccer field and on our docks' gardens, an M17 and a Volco Super Fire as well as two APC70 amphibian vehicles and two "Urals" personnel transport units. Other vessels will be added to these, among them a Piranha vessel, a swamp hidrofoil, a vessel for the control of oil spills and two rescue units called Nor Safe, though the name does not necessarily build on someone's confidence.

It will be an interesting week as Vallarta will host the national governors' conference (Conago), today and tomorrow, with the President as host and presiding also over the Navy Day festivities on June 1st (that day the exhibit will not be open to the public but most vessels, amphibian vehicles and helicopters will participate in a parade Vallarta has not seen before).

*Rescue unit to be inaugurated*

Another surprise is that part of the resources coming to the exhibit will stay in the bay area; these are fast vessels for search and rescue operations, they can make 180 degree turns without tipping over and can reach speeds of 33 knots an hour with a ratio of 150 miles, so they can cover 75 miles each way covering the whole of the bay area; another plus as locals, visitors and authorities from both Jalisco and Nayarit will benefit from these additions to the bay's resources.<p<
Entrance is free for all through gate 15 (the one located right by the traffic lights in front of Sam's Club), the exhibit will open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., May 25 to June 4th, see you there.

By Barbara Sands

Long-time Vallartans Burt Hixon and Jerry Battle decorated up their digs—at least the pool area—on Tuesday May 22 to fete Jenny McGill and introduce to the world at large her new book, Drama and Diplomacy in a Sultry Mexican Beach Town. The setting was true to the title with a heady breeze from the bay sweeping over the grounds as the decorations in Red, White and Green and Red, White and Blue swayed to the music of the Marimba and accompanying instruments.

The crowd may not have been counted, since there were no tickets, but the books were flying out of the cartons onto the table and under Jenny's hand to sign "something special just for me." Aiding Jenny were her guest from Guadalajara Carol Wheeler, senior editor of MexConnect, Sally Conley of the Pitillal Children's Library and Laura Cardenas of I Do Vallarta.

Among guests were too many of Jenny and Howard's old friends to name, but Luis Reyes Brambila (Vallarta Opina and Vallarta Today) and Jenny exchanged autographs in their own gift books while others of long duration in our community including Mayo Warren, Eva Montecon and Margaret Tolton enjoyed the drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Jenny pointed out that her stunning linen dress and perfect accessories were thanks to Toody Walton "who dressed me."

Many have already been able to read Jenny's book and reviews are great and always seem to include a reference to how much was learned in the pleasant, lively read.

Look for more information on where the book will be found. At the moment, try The Book Stores, both downtown and Plaza Caracol, other book stores, Galeria Vallarta, and Rizo's.

By Rincón-Gallardo,Eduardo

At the beginning of the year I went to visit the old docks at Nuevo Vallarta Marina. I shared many great moments with that wonderful community of mainly American and Canadian sailors while I lived aboard "Drifter".
During the winter season they usually hold a "Swap Meet" every other Saturday at 10 a.m.

When you live on a boat you must have it clear in your mind that you cannot take everything home. And that you cannot keep forever that creap prize you won at the fair, or that memento from a baptism you attended once. Once in a while you must revise and clear all those things you know you can do without. That "Swap Meet".works precisely to that effect, it is a place where you can exchange that stuff you have to let go of, for other stuff you may be using for some time.

I figured I could maybe find a hat, a used one, of course.

But not as used and abused as the one Bill proudly displayed.

He asked me if I was interested in it and I told him I was interested in one in a somewhat better shape.

Bill set it on my head, told me it fit perfectly and that it was mine. He did not remember if he had bought it in Nicaragua or Costa Rica.

What I did remember though, was that Bill, sailing all on his own down the coasts of South America, shared with me the habit of refreshing himself constantly with sea water, by means of a bucket tied to a piece of rope (you don't say rope, you say line, well, never mind..)

Thing is, on one of those occasions, upon leaning on his sailboat's lifeline, the lifeline gave in and Bill fell into the ocean. At that precise moment, all of Bill's earthly possesions turned into a bucket and a piece of rope; possessions he had to let go of, because they were not going to be a great help during the, I believe they were 22 hours of swimming until he found the closest coastline.

There he had to swim another while until he found a stretch of beach because the rock breakers were not too welcoming.

After he finally landed it took him a couple of days to find the remains of an abandoned biological station where he could find something to cover himself and be better prepared for his first confrontation with whomever could help him start finding his long and strenuous way home.

Today Bill, tall, slender and with a full set of white hair, looks great and so self confident that he will challenge anyone to a boat race. I therefore preferred to risk this story to the imprecisions of my memory than to bring up the subject.
I got no compliments from walking around wearing Bill's hat, but coming from him, I wore it for the rest of the day with all the haughtiness I was capable of.

Sometimes the possession of something, as small at it may be, can mean a lot to you..

Picture Eduardo Rincón-Gallardo with 'Bill's hat.'

Alberto Perez Releases New CD

From classical music and traditional jazz to new age, rock & roll and rhythm & blues, the live-music scene in Puerto Vallarta and along the shores of Banderas Bay is as diverse as its people, culture, and beauty.

In 2002, with the help of his friends and fellow musicians Oscar Terrazas, Rigoberto Mora and Aaron Carranco, Alberto recorded his first CD, Noches Romanticas, which features some of the songs he's been performing at La Palapa over the last twenty some-odd years, and is available for purchase at his performances.

Noches Romanticas was such a hit that Alberto decided it was time to make a new CD, so in February, he and fellow musicians Memo Suárez, Alexis Guevara Muñoz, Bob Tansen and Carlos Hudson went to Blaine Selkirk's Ancient Sun Studios to record.

The result of their efforts is Noches en La Palapa, a fabulous new CD recorded by some of Puerto Vallarta's very best musicians, who together with friends and fans, celebrated the release of their new CD earlier this week at La Palapa.

Featuring Alberto's beautiful voice, Memo Suárez on percussions, Alexis Guevara Muñoz on guitar, and Bob Tansen and Carlos Hudson on flute, Noches en La Palapa is a collection of sentimental favorites and soulful songs in both Spanish and English that is sure to bring out the romantic in every listener.

By Sands,Barbara

Former Puerto Vallarta Since the informal book signing on April 15th, quite a number of old-time Vallartans have had a chance to check out what's between the covers of Jenny McGill's new book, Drama and Diplomacy in a Sultry Mexican Beach Town . . . and they're loving what they have read! Judith Ewing Morlan even complained that she had to buy her own copy since she couldn't wrest hers from husband Ed's grasp. Reveals "Drama and Diplomacy"

Since the informal book signing on April 15th, quite a number of old-time Vallartans have had a chance to check out what's between the covers of Jenny McGill's new book, Drama and Diplomacy in a Sultry Mexican Beach Town . . . and they're loving what they have read! Judith Ewing Morlan even complained that she had to buy her own copy since she couldn't wrest hers from husband Ed's grasp.

Don Gallery, who has headed the Writers' Group of Vallarta for some years found it a "couldn't put it down" experience, saying that he and wife Patricia had known quite a few of the people mentioned in the book and were meeting others. Don, who has headed the Writers' Group of Vallarta for years also said it gave him a great appreciation of all that an agent was expected to do. Jenny described her position as dealing with "the four Ds," death, destitutes, detentions and disappearances.

Jenny was the US consular officer in Vallarta for fourteen years and has loads to tell. Her prose is lively, the experiences she relates are at times surprising and other tales are tinged with sadness for many of those who once trod, as we do now, these adored bumpy, cobbled streets.

Pamela Thompson (get well quick, Pam!) cursed the author vilely for taking her away from the "millions of things" she absolutely had to get done. Sally Conley wrote to congratulate Jenny on a "beautiful baby" and Toy Metzler was reminded of her years in Casa Kimberley and told Jenny she was reading the book aloud to husband Morrie.

To repeat the perhaps apocryphal "recommendations" on the book's cover, "Jenny McGill is a wonderfully wicked woman" C.W.; "She took dead aim and created a zipper of bullet holes from his navel to his crotch" H.M. (could that be Howard McGill?) and "It reads like she's sitting on the terrace with you sipping a margarita." G.B.

Jenny and Howard came to live in Puerto Vallarta in 1973 and now make their home in Talpa de Allende. Jenny suggests that parts of her book may be considered a bit far-fetched, but all of the persons and situations are totally true though some names may have been changed to "protect . . . innocence and identity."

The book Drama and Diplomacy in a Sultry Mexican Beach Town is on sale at Rizo's and The Book Store in Plaza Caracol for $200 pesos or $20 USD and will become available in a number of other shops, hotels and locations to be announced. It's a great insider's view of Vallarta of some years back, but is also educational—which may not be the absolutely correct word—let's just say we can all learn about others' lives and jobs and it's a pleasure to do it with Jenny as a guide.

It's a grand, adventurous read that presents life as it was "back then" for those who weren't lucky enough to have been here—or even to have been born yet. Most will also learn a lot about the ins and outs of preserving a foreign country's integrity and presence in the adopted home of "we fortunate few" who live here.

Picture, Author Jenny McGill at a recent book signing.

On average there are around 2.4 million weddings per year in the United States and roughly 15 percent of those are destination weddings. These events are taking place outside the couple's hometown.
The Bay of Banderas, offers a unique location for a small ceremony or a big bash with all the trimmings. Your wedding coordinators will assist you in planning the celebration of a lifetime.

All couples are winners when they decide to start their new life together on the shores of The Bay of Banderas. We are located at the southern of Los Muertos beach in front of the boy riding the seahorse in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Your wedding coordinator, takes the worries and hassles out of planning this truly unique destination wedding.
The marriage takes place right on the beach.

Picture a recent wedding party obviously having a great time.

Feel free to contact us. www.VallartaWeddingsbylana.com

Given the interest from diners in the 3rd Annual Vallarta Restaurant Week, participating restaurants from A to Z. Look to Ztai, whose gorgeous balcony bar overlooking the Malecon is pictured here.

by Barbara Sands,
Imagine having all the best restaurants at your beck and call and within footsteps of each other. That's what all who paid their 300 pesos and attended the Fourth Annual Altruism event at the Casa Magna Marriott had on Sunday. Among others, Archie's Wok, Four Seasons, La Petite France, Boca Bento, Trio/|Vitea, Daiquiri Dick's and Café des Artistes. Among MANY others that should read including smaller ventures with a big flavor power punch such as the Xocodivas whose divine chocolates could go into the ring with the best from Belgium or Switzerland.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect as the crowd numbering more than 1,200 made difficult decisions about where to dine or taste next or which show on the outdoor stage to catch. Kelly Trainor, the originator of the event was overseeing the success of her endeavor with communication facilities firmly in hand.

Each adult and child would have his or her own culinary or just plain fabulously delicious remembrance to share. As two examples, Daiquiri Dick's satay and marvelous rare grilled tuna medallions with garnishes and La Petite France's Nacho Cadena's sublime mashed potatos with fresh, fresh shrimp in a mystery sauce and a very French sauced corbetina.

It is probably a good bet that nowhere in the North American land mass could such an assemblage of chefs and their masterpieces be gathered in one place.

And, of course it was all for the best of causes whose list includes more than two score of the organizations that keep *Vallartenses* healthy and furnished with services that were only dreamed of a few years ago. Photo Dru and Marco Anderegg taking in the Altruism Festival.

As the only gallery in Puerto Vallarta that hosts year-round cocktail receptions for the opening of their art exhibitions, Galeria Octavio Arte en Bronce welcomes Steve Fischer this Saturday, April 28th from 8-10 p.m. On April 28th from 8-10 p.m. the gallery will be welcoming artist Steve Fischer, a diverse painter with various techniques in oil and mixed media.
About Steve Fischer

Originally from the New York area, Steve Fischer also spent many years in San Francisco working and taking classes in art before deciding that the best place for inspiration for his career as an artist was in Puerto Vallarta, where he has resided full-time for over 10 years.

Having studied at the University of Virginia and San Francisco State University, after arriving in Puerto Vallarta he continued his education by taking art classes at the Isla Rio Cuale Art Center.

Today, Steve has mastered oil, acrylic and watercolor techniques and often works in mixed media. He specializes in large abstract oils on canvas, ideal for combination with contemporary decor, but he is equally adept at realistic studies of indigenous people and human figures. His paintings are rich in color and often accented with touches of gold and lavish textures.

Galeria Octavio will continue hosting art exhibition cocktails receptions on the last Saturday of every month throughout the summer season. For more information, stop by the gallery at 1115 Av. Mexico in downtown Puerto Vallarta.

By Twila Crawford
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - World-class music with Katmandu and Don Pope on sitar with world-class dining the evening of April 18 thrilled Puerto Vallarta music lovers and diners of fine food in the beautiful multi-level garden of internationally known Cafe des Artistes.

With twinkling lights and candles, incense, natural flowers and plants of the garden, and beautiful costumes, this event put together by Don Pope, Vancouver area and Puerto Vallarta resident, with former Second City´s Blaine Selkirk, formerly of Kitchner, Canada, and Puerto Vallarta resident, was sold out with an enthusiastic audience. World-renown owner/chef Thierry Blouet hosted guests for the evening.

The music, beautiful belly dancers and an elegant dinner setting could have placed the audience in any first-class major city of the world.

The concert featured a blend of East India and Latin jazz and blues sounds found on Katmandu´s new CD, ¨Ragamazo.¨

The unique instrument, the sitar, ¨is an Indian long-necked, 20-stringed instrument dating back about one-thousand years,¨ Pope says. ¨Originally the sitar was three-string dating back about three-thousand years.¨

Other well-known musicians performing with Pope are Rhonda Padmos on keyboard and vocals, Guillermo ¨Willow¨ Brizio on electric guitar; Oscar Terrazas on soprano saxophone and flute, and Memo Suarez on drums and percussion.

Pope explains the title of the CD, ¨'Raga´ means scales and songs of classical Indian music. ´Palomazo´ basically means a jam session.¨ Five of Pope´s original compositions are featured on the CD. ¨Nina´s Song,¨ an instrumental composition, is a tradional song of the Middle East. ¨Ravana´s Blues¨ is a medley of four songs including ¨Krishna Invocation,¨ a traditional mantra of India sung by Rhonda Padmos; ¨Rasa Dance,¨ a lively dance of Krishna and 1,000 cow-herding girls, and ¨Norwegian Wood¨ with Rhonda Padmos´ vocals, an homage to the Beatles´ late George Harrison; ¨Öm,¨ an instrumental piece about the beginning and end of the universe; ¨Shiva,¨ with all of Katmandu´s musicians, dedicated to the Creator and Destroyer of the universe, featuring a musical motif from the song, ¨Tequila,¨ with Latin jazz influences. ¨Namaste,¨ which opens Katmandu´s concerts is a customary Indian gesture of greeting the audience to ¨honor your soul.¨

As background, Katmandu was formed in 1984 in Katmandu, Nepal. Guitarist Don Pope studied sitar for five years in London, England, and in Calgary, Alberta, with Aashish Khan, nephew of Northern Indian sitar master, Ravi Shanker. Don Pope and Rhonda Padmos, who is a classically-trained pianist, were original proponents of the East/West fusion movement of combining traditional Indian melodies with Western jazz sounds when touring India with Aashish Khan in 1983. Pope continues his studies on the sitar with teachers from Vancouver, B.C.

Pope and Katmandu will perform in concerts this summer throughout the Vancouver area and other parts of Canada. For information about concerts of Katmandu, or Don and Rhonda, and purchase of the CD, ¨Ragamazo,¨ email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Katmandu will perform again during the winter in Puerto Vallarta.

Mexico's Best Hope
By Polly G. Vicars

In my first book, "Tales of Retirement in Paradise," published in 1995, I wrote: "They came scrubbed and dressed in their best.. They were bright eager, polite, handsome and full of hopes and dreams."... They are the intelligent, ambitious, scholarship boys and girls of Puerto Vallarta's America-México Foundation, Inc., a U.S.A. (Now Becas Vallarta, A.C.) tax deductible foundation. The occasion was the annual fiesta for the students and the foundation members."

"There were awards from the Mayor of Puerto Vallarta for the highest of the honor students . There were words of encouragement from former scholarship recipients who are now school principals, newspaper columnists, artists, teachers - - all successful, respected, active citizens. There were words of hope and wisdom from current scholarship students who are now in various universities throughout the country."

"Strange, but touching conversations took place between the English speaking Foundation members and the Spanish speaking students. These conversations, filled with empathy and love, breached language and age barriers. And of course there was the traditional food and music present at any gathering of more than two in this hospitable country."

"America-México Foundation... is a group of dedicated Americans, Mexicans, and Canadians who put their money and their work where their mouths are. This is an organization that has no salaries or travel allowances ... All work is contributed by Foundation members and their friends. Most supplies and services are begged or borrowed. Every dollar raised goes directly to pay for a book or a uniform or a bus ride for one of the becados (scholarship students). Thousands of Puerto Vallarta youngsters have reached their educational goals throughout the more than thirty years of effort put forth by this Foundation."

N0W on March 9, 2007 Becas Vallarta will be celebrating 45 years of providing scholarships for Juans and Juanitas of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. You can be a part of this noble effort! First, if you haven't bought your tickets for the Becas Ball, call me at 223-1371 or any member of the foundation for tickets. Then prepare for an evening like none you have experienced before. Bask in the sea-edged patio of the Westin Hotel and Spa that will be turned into a grand and glamorous spectacle of light. From 7:30 to 8:30 the Westin is offering a free cocktail hour that will be graced by Los Bambinos, voted best Vallarta musical group of 2006, strolling, strumming and serenading. This will be followed by a dinner that the "Tasting Committee" assures me will be the best ever.

There will be dancing interspersed with a tango demonstration by Joe and Kirstie Johnston, who have just returned from Argentina where they polished their skills, and a live auction of the five most asked for items from past years. You can be the high bidder for an Ada Colorina's painting, "Los Mariachis en La Plaza," two rounds of golf each for two at the unique Four Season's Golf Course at Punta de Mita, dinner for eight at the glamorous Villa Verano and dinner for four prepared in your own home or condo by Marta Huante Robles.

Ada Colorina's paintings for the International Sailfish Tournament and her colorful depictions of life in Puerto Vallarta have made her work much sought after. Ada is a Vallartense who was influenced by her artist father, Lepe and local artist and scholarship recipient many years ago, Javier Niño, but her style is her own. Whoever buys "Los Mariachis en La Plaza" will have a painting that embodies all the joy and color of this paradise by the sea.

Lynne Bairstow and the Dine Corporation, generous supporters of the foundation, have once again come through for us with two rounds for two golfers at the famous Nicklaus-designed course at the exclusive Four Seasons Resort at Punta de Mita. The winning bidder will be playing a course that is "distinguished by breathtaking ocean views and 200 pristine acres of lush, rolling hills and flowering landscapes. The 7,104-yard, par-72 course features eight ocean-side holes and an optional "19th" par-3 hole with a natural island green, making it the first of its kind in Mexico."

The last two auction items are for gourmets. Burt Hixson, long time supporter of the foundation, has once again donated dinner for eight at his glamorous Villa Verano. Known as the "Showplace of Puerto Vallarta," Villa Verano was featured in Robin Leach's Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The estate has been televised in over 31 foreign countries, and has played host to many celebrities and dignitaries from all over the world. The expert staff will confer with the winning bidder on your preferred menu and on the night of your dinner you will be served cocktails and hors de oeuvres in a setting overlooking the bay that is unmatched any where else in the world. Then you will dine on an expertly prepared dinner served by efficient and friendly waiters who will make you feel as if this famous home were your own. I can attest to all of this as Husband and I were the high bidders last year and entertained six of our good friends in a style to which we all would love to become accustomed.

Marta Huante Robles, whose card reads, "Your beautiful HOME, my delicious FOOD, one fabulous PARTY," has once again donated her services to prepare and serve a dinner for four in your home or condo. Marta, a Mexican by birth, grew up in the states so is incredibly bi-lingual. She traveled the US, Europe and Mexico preparing parties from intimate dinners for two to movie openings for 5,000. After 9/11 she felt a compulsion to return to Mexico and chose Puerto Vallarta to be her home where she has become an integral part of our community, a staunch supporter of Becas Vallarta.

To attend this Becas Ball and auction and help the 300 Juans and Juanitas currently in school, 8th grade through university, call me to reserve your place at this prestigious event. Hit the ATM machine to be ready to bid on one of those fabulous prizes. Guys don't need a coat or tie-- just slacks and a sport shirt will be fine. However, you should know that Husband, a genuine Kentucky Hill Billy, is going formal, which in his book means he is wearing not only shoes, but also socks. You gals can dress up or down as much as you like. All we want is for you to feel good, have fun, bid high and perhaps drop a few bucks in the donation box to keep this incredible foundation doing the work it has done for forty-five wonderful years. Ya'll come! Ya Hear!