Enjoy a weekend at The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort and participate in this fun summer beach festival with great races, fine cuisine, exquisite cocktails, live music, artisan Mezcal & Mexican whisky, ice-cold national beer, DJs pumping out funky beats across the sand, a spectacular sunset and plenty of fun.

The Hard Rock Hotel obtained this distinction, which the Marival Residences, Marival Resorts and Rancho Banderas are in the process of acquiring; all four also received their “Distintivo H.”

The hotels of the Riviera Nayarit are committed to offering tourists the best in quality and service, and they continue making an effort to obtain the certifications that position them among the best around the world.
 
After having received its EarthCheck certificate, the Hard Rock Hotel went on to acquire the “Distintivo S,” which celebrates Sustainability and is awarded by the Federal Secretary of Tourism, making it the first hotel in the Riviera Nayarit to acquire this distinction.
 
“We were in contact with the EarthCheck organization over a year ago and they gave us their support with everything that had to do with sustainability within the activities of the hotel,” commented Luis Entrala Fábregas, the Operations Direction of the Hard Rock Hotel.
 
There are several ways the hotel qualifies for the “Distintivo S,” including electricity-saving measures, the adequate consumption of gas and water, the use of environmentally-friendly products and a low rate of wastewater emission.
 
The Hard Rock Hotel also received its “Distintivo H” (Hygiene), which recognizes its excellence in everything related to the sanitation and hygiene of all the F&B and the employees who comes in contact with it.
 
Marival Residences, Marival Resorts and Rancho Banderas are all in the process to receive their own “Distintivo S.”
 
The two Marival hotels are being recertified for their “Distintivo H,” while Rancho Banderas is obtaining theirs for the first time.
 
There are nine hotels in the entire Riviera Nayarit that already have the “Distintivo H,” among them Hotel Villa Varadero, Grand Velas, Grand Palladium, Four Seasons Punta Mita, Hotel Cinco, Hard Rock Hotel, Marival Residences, Marival Resorts and Rancho Banderas.
 
The Paradise Village Nuevo Vallarta will be joining the list eventually, as it is also in the process of receiving the “Distintivo H.”
 
The Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau would like to congratulate these hotels for making improvements that only add to the destination’s many attractions.

Special 30% OFF sale, to celebrate 30 years of Creation.

To celebrate his thirty years of non stop creation, Yvan Genest launches a special discount sale to help him realize a long time dream, the publishing of a fabulous table book about his art, an illustrated anthology that will cover three decades of creation.
 
Yvan's career as a painter had unconventional beginnings. At first, his artistic temperament drove him to music. From the age of 17,  he traveled throughout Europe as a singer performer until his return to Montreal, many years later. But without the tradition of coffee shops & bars where one can sing, as in Paris, Yvan couldn't make a decent living as a singer. So he started selling watercolours, door to door and on the street. This survival activity was the beginning of an unforeseen but fertile ground for his unique imagination.
 
Since his first watercolours, 30 years ago, Yvan has lived, painted and exhibited in many cities and countries, while building his unique iconography. He has created thousands of original paintings, drawings, watercolours, pastels, etchings, engravings and digital works.
 
Why this unique special sale now?
 
This unique sale will help to finance a period of time where Yvan will concentrate on the preparation of an anthology of his 30 years of painting. Yvan will use KickStarter funding platform to pay for the publishing of the book but, prior to this, he needs to work on the writing, the research, the photography and the editing of his anthology,  all of which requires lots of time and professional collaborations.
 
Every person who will acquire an Yvan Genest’s painting during this special and unique sale will receive, at the end of the project, a special edition of Yvan’s anthology, including a signed original watercolour (6 po. X 8 po. min.). Each contributor’s name will also be mentioned in this special book, alongside a full page reproduction of the acquired painting.

This table anthology book will cover three decades of Yvan Genest’s art, including his European, American and Mexican periods. It will include many quotes (from Yvan but also from artists he admires) about art and the practice of art in general and in particular as well as a biography.
 
The anthology will be illustrated with hundred of photos of Yvan’s works and studios over the years.
 
This is a unique opportunity to acquire a Yvan Genest painting while collaborating to the creation of a unique piece of anthology, a very special moment of a career of 30 years of non stop creation.

Yvan Genest

The summit is directed towards health professionals (psychologists, physicians, therapists, social workers), special education professionals, dancers, artists, students and anyone interested in their own personal development.

Puerto Vallarta: The Cuban-Venezuelan singer Maria Conchita Alonso was present at the Hard Rock Hotel in Nuevo Vallarta, where she spoke of her recent artistic work and gift to the Hard Rock Hotel, of a dress she used in her presentations.

Beauty queen, singer, and and Eva Longoria's mom in "Desperate Housewives": we are proud to pamper International Star María Conchita Alonso on her visit to Riviera Nayarit. Hotel Director Luis Entrala Fábregas was portrayed moments previous to her Press Conference.

Conchita Alonso Biography

(born June 29, 1957), better known as María Conchita, is a Cuban-born Venezuelan-raised three time Grammy Award–nominated singer/songwriter and actress.

Early life
María Conchita Alonso was born María Concepción Alonso Bustillo in Cienfuegos, Cuba, the daughter of Ricardo Alonso and María Conchita Bustillo. Her family moved to Venezuela when she was five years old, in 1962. She had her first experience in show business when she was crowned Miss Teenager of the World in 1971, and was Miss World/Venezuela in 1975 where she became sixth runner-up in the Miss World pageant won by Puerto Rico's Wilnelia Merced; she quickly became a top model and a popular singer/actress in Venezuela

Career
Alonso's first gold album and number one song in the charts was "Love Maniac" in 1979, her name as a singer back then was A'mbar, after that followed her second number 1 with "The Witch" and soon after "Dangerous Rhythm". In what is generally considered to be her best known song, she was asked by Giorgio Moroder to write the lyrics in Spanish and sing "Vamos a Bailar" which he had written to be part of the soundtrack for the film Scarface. The song instantly became a classic amongst Spanish speakers despite failing to garner any major attention outside of Cuba where it was recorded. As her two albums with Ambar and her solo debut were recorded in English, it was her second album "Maria Conchita" from 1984 that made her a singing star in the Spanish-speaking market, receiving a "Best Latin Artist" Grammy nomination for it in 1985.

She made her Hollywood film debut in 1984 in Moscow on the Hudson with Robin Williams, and also starred in movies like Extreme Prejudice, The Running Man, Predator 2, The House of the Spirits, Vampire's Kiss, Colors, and the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. She was one of the few Latin-born actresses to star in a Broadway show in 1995, playing Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Alonso also acted in romantic comedies Chasing Papi (2003) and The Last Guy on Earth (2006).

Alonso was cast to play Lucía, the mother of Gabrielle Solis, on the ABC hit show Desperate Housewives. The episode was aired on February 19, 2006. She was also in the Latin version Amas de Casa Desesperadas for Univision Network. She was a guest star in the live-action film of the comic book El Muerto and appeared in the film Material Girls (2006).

Alonso hosted VH1's Viva Hollywood! on April 13, 2008 with Carlos Ponce. She portrayed Sam in the Werewolf horror film Wolf Moon, which was directed by Dana Mennie.

Trivia
Miss Distrito Federal 1975

Miss Teen World 1971, Miss Venezuela 1975.

Has 2 dogs and 2 cats and works with many animal protection groups

Loves motorcycling, snow skiing and water skiing

Schooled in Switzerland and Spain

Speaks 4 languages - Spanish, English, French and Italian

She has her own record label Ambar Entertainment, and her own production company called Ambyth Prods.

Was considered for the role of Eva Peron in Evita (1996).

Was initially offered the role of Lupe Lamora in Licence to Kill (1989), but dropped out, and the role was given to Talisa Soto.

Was originally considered for the part of Matron in Edmond (2005), but had to decline because she had a tour in Mexico during the time the film would be shot. The role was eventually given to Debi Mazar.

"Love Maniac" was her first album. It was released on 1979 under the nickname of Ambar. The album was recorded in English and the songs were heavily influenced by Donna Summer and other disco music artists from that era. The record label decided not to use Alonso's picture on the cover for the promo single and the release of the song was surrounded by mystery. The marketing strategy paid off and the song went to become a huge hit, topping the Venezuelan charts in September of that year.

In 2005, she launched her own fashion line called "Soy".

Became a US citizen on 10th October 2005.

María Conchita Alonso

197 travel agents from seven of the top wholesalers in Sao Paulo were present at training seminars where they received all the information needed to sell Mexico’s Pacific Treasure.

The Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) coordinated several training seminars at the call centers for seven of the top wholesale agencies in Sao Paulo during the month of March.

The workshops were handled through the public relations agency the destination works with in Brazil. A total of 197 Brazilian travel agents were trained.

The final report indicated the agents were especially interested in Nuevo Vallarta and Punta Mita thanks to their important hotel infrastructure, since the Brazilian tourists really enjoy luxury accommodations.

Among the many important areas covered during the workshops for the agents the team highlighted the clean beaches, informing them about the possibilities for tourists to be able to enjoy calm beaches and plenty of places to lay their towels along the more than 300 kilometers of beach in the Riviera as opposed to crowded venues.

The fact that it’s a destination for couples, married couples with children, seniors and weddings was of interest to those present, as there aren’t many destinations in Brazil that offer as many options, not to mention the tranquility, exclusivity, haute cuisine and safety found in the Riviera Nayarit.

This initial phase included working with the agents that are part of the wholesalers that promote and sell the Riviera Nayarit; the second phase will take place with retail agents.

Each workshop lasted approximately two hours, during which, among other things, a video was presented so they could visualize the destination’s golf, water sports and the grand events that take place throughout the year in the Riviera Nayarit.

This promotional and sales effort complements the public relations and marketing work that’s currently taking place, continuing to position the Riviera Nayarit within the potential market of Brazil.

Meet the hardest working man in indie Tijuana music and the news of his debut solo effort

You can't talk to Tijuana musicians without hearing the name Eric Curiel. And it's likely you'll see the Tijuana-born-and-raised beatmaker's name in credits for several bands -- five to be exact, including: Shantelle, Electric Healing Sound, Dancing Strangers, Piel Divina and Perros Cobardes. These are all legit buzz bands, which makes him the hardest working man in Tijuana's indie music scene.

His band Shantelle recently opened up for legendary pioneering '90s shoegaze en Espanol band, Los Planetas -- a pretty historic concert being that it was their first time performing in Tijuana ever. That night, I praised J., of Los Planetas for their influence on the bordertown musicians, including Shantelle. J. replied, "Shantelle is amazing. I'm happy they're opening up for us."

To Curiel's credit, there is something very special to the music he's creating post-Los Planetas within Tijuana. The inevitable will happen, Curiel will fly as a solo artist in June with psychedelic pop album, La Llamada de lo Ideal. For now we can vibe out to the album's lead single, "...de tu Corazon," which just just dropped on SoundCloud -- but the question remains: What happens now?

Dita Quinones:  Does this mean you're done with Dancing Strangers, EHS and Shantelle?
Eric Curiel:  I'm still playing in all the bands, including Piel Divina and my other electronic solo project, Perros Cobardes.

DQ:  Why the ellipses in the lead single "...de tu Corazon" title?
EC:  I just thought "En el Fondo de Tu Corazon" was too long, which was the original title.

DQ:  Will "...de tu Corazon" have a music video?
EC:  Yes, the video should come out next week. It has a lot of references of psychedelic culture, which is what kinda inspired me to write the song.

DQ:  Who's collaborating with you on your solo debut?
EC: I pretty much played all the instruments.

DQ: Dios mio! You're putting in work.
EC: It's a guitar record, really. It's my main instrument. I also played bass, synths, sampler, drum machine and percussion. The drum kit is played by Ensenada recording engineer, Jorge Santel. Some synths are played by Saulo Cisneros on the album's first track.

DQ:  Where are you recording?
EC:  The record is already finished. It's a 10-track album. I recorded three songs at Saulo Cisneros' home studio in Tijuana. The other seven, I did in Ensenada at Armonia Producciones with Jorge Santel.

DQ:  I actually see some parallels between you and Kanye West, if that makes any sense. Has all your numerous band collaborations finally compelled you to break out on your own since you can do it all anyways?
EC:  Well, yeah. Playing in all those bands and collaborating always inspires me, and I really think I learned a lot from those experiences. I suppose the same way Kanye did with Jay-Z and all those great rappers.

DQ: Who's your favorite rapper?
EC:  Tupac is the best! And I like Kanye West a lot –  since The College Dropout.
DQ: Nice!

DQ: What's next for you?
EC:  I'm planning for a June solo tour in Mexico. Expect to see me playing the songs with an electric/acoustic guitar and a looper pedal to create musical atmospheres. On May 31, I'm playing at a festival in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

[readon1 url="http://www.nbcsandiego.com/blogs/sounddiego/Keeping-Up-with-Eric-Curiel-254851211.html#ixzz3270bh7oT"]Source:www.nbcsandiego.com[/readon1]

A tropical system is looking to take shape off of the coastline of western Mexico over the next few days. Though this system will likely be slow to develop, there is uncertainty in the exact track into next week.

Currently, some clouds off to the southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, are spinning a bit and continues to have storms circulating around the low pressure area.

Western Heat, Fire Risk to Diminish This Weekend

This system is going to be pushing off to the west the next few days as it moves over the warm waters of the Eastern Pacific. Into early next week, there is some uncertainty on the track this will take next week. But AccuWeather.com meteorologist Andy Mussoline says "We will have to keep a close eye for tropical development next week. There is plenty of warm water to help spur development, but the cluster of showers and thunderstorms we are monitoring will battle wind shear through the week."

There are two possible tracks for this storm. We could see this move off to the west and remain in the waters of the open Pacific Ocean. If this occurs, we may see a named storm, but we are not likely to see this affect any land when it weakens over the ocean.

Another possible track for this is turning off to the northeast by the beginning of next week and moving into southern Mexico. If this occurs, we could see some heavy rainfall over southern Mexico which could lead to flooding and mudslides. Since this would remain a weaker system if it develops, AccuWeather.com meteorologists are not expecting this to bring strong winds or storm surge to the coast of Mexico regardless of the track.

[readon1 url="http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2014/05/17/tropical-development-off-mexico-next-week/"]Source:www.foxnews.com [/readon1]

Mexico City set two new Guinness records by gathering together the largest number of chefs – 3,634 – in a single spot and by staging a race with 337 waiters carrying drinks on trays, city officials said.

Participating in the events, which took place Saturday during the local Festival of the Chef, were 3,634 chefs from different restaurants in the capital and 337 waiters, and both groups managed to set new Guinness records, the Federal District’s Tourism Secretariat said.

The chefs gathered at the iconic Angel of Independence Monument, while the waiters ran carrying trays of drinks on their raised hands along a stretch of Paseo de la Reforma avenue measuring 800 meters (2,624 feet).

Both records were certified by the New York-based Guinness Records judge Johanna Hessling.

The previous record for the most chefs gathered in a single place had been set in Dubai in January 2013, when 2,847 professional chefs were on hand, Mexico City Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco Marques said.

The Federal District has more than 8,000 eating and drinking establishments, and of those 1,500 are considered to be of tourist quality, Torruco said

In order to the older adult women obtain social recognition through their example, appreciation of values ​​and enthusiasm to participate in forums of expression, the System for Integral Family Development (DIF) of Puerto Vallarta, Magaly Fregoso who held municipal contest the 'Queen of Older Adults 2014'.

The event, held at the outdoor theater Aquiles Serdan, better known as the Arcos del Malecón, attended 18 of the 30 club representatives seniors Municipal DIF System.

The jury, which consisted of the City authorities headed by Ramón Guerrero Martínez, had a very difficult task to choose a new sovereign. However, after discussing the results, María Engracia Corona, Sunset Club of Aurora, as the queen of the Elderly 2014; Victoria Rubio, Club God is Love, as first princess and Agatha Reynoso, Club Sunset of Life, as the second princess.

The authorities of DIF participants also recognized in the categories of Photogenic, Miss Congeniality and elegance.

In his message, the president of the Municipal DIF, Magaly Fregoso, said the family is very important for the development of the candidate, to improve their security and self-esteem pillar.

She also recognized the efforts and active participation of the outgoing queen , Therese Garcia, who was always attentive to the calls and put up the name of adult women . He also invited young seniors to come to the House of Older Adult Day , located in the La Aurora , to know and participate in the programs offered here .

The new sovereign was in charge of strengthening cultural transmission, modeling and participatory existence worthy of their family and community. Certainly not only participants enjoyed this forum for expression, but also their family and friends who came to support them.

This event aims to contribute to improving the physical , social and civic health of adults through positive use of their leisure time that highlights the capabilities of older adult women. It will be in late May when he carried out the regional final in the town of Puerto Vallarta and the name of the representative of the North Coast of Jalisco is known.

If you are a bird lover and have some extra time for a great cause, the San Pancho Bird Observatory can use your help.

We need volunteers for the upcoming months specifically to assist in delivering bird identification workshops to different communities in southern and central Nayarit coast.

If you are not already familiar with the birds of Nayarit, volunteers will be expected to learn the identification of the more common bird species and have the ability to communicate with children and youth sharing the enthusiasm for learning new skills and contact with nature.

Other skills can involve assisting scientific monitoring programs once training is provided.

Volunteers are expected to cover their own living expenses and the San Pancho Bird Observatory can help you find convenient accommodation options.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to participate at different art classes and events in San Pancho (San Francisco, Riviera Nayarit).

If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, please email Luis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..