The elected President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, and his family vacation in the exclusive area of Punta Mita, Nayarit all weekend, even be in the region until next Monday or Tuesday. Peña Nieto's family is in the region since yesterday.

Source:www.vallartatoday.com - Translation by Suyapa Ajuria[/readon1]

It lasted only three days at the beginning of this week,

Christmas is seven weeks away, and Las Alamandas resort is ready.

The 17-suite boutique property, on Mexico's Pacific coast between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, is hosting a Come Home for the Holidays decorating party for guests in their own suites.

"We provide everything for the party from ornaments and twinkling lights to Mexican hot chocolate, cookies and holiday music. Guests enjoy the decorations and the spirit of the season throughout their stay," said Isabel Goldsmith-Patino, founder and CEO.

The Come Home for the Holidays amenities are complimentary and include a red poinsettia plant and a Christmas stocking that "Santa's helpers" at the resort will fill with goodies on Christmas Eve.

Holiday cooking classes will be offered at the resort, featuring Mexican Christmas dishes.

November 10 - November 18

November 10, 2012. 8 pm
Folkloric Group Presentation Vallarta Azteca
Teatro Vallarta
 
Azteca Vallarta celebrates its 9th anniversary, presents program "Festival of Flowers" with pictures of Sinaloa, Yucatan, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Jalisco. Proceeds will represent Puerto Vallarta in an International Ballet in Europe. General admission $ 100

November 10, 2012. 10 am - 5 pm
Literary Bridge
On the only occasion in the park will Agustin Flores Contreras
 
Program supporting literature that sell, buy, exchange and donate new and used books. It has the presence of established writers. This time will be Eduardo Rincón Gallardo and Jorge Batiz. Free admission
 
November 14, 2012 7 pm
 "Music for All"
Aquiles Serdan Auditorium
(Bows boardwalk)

Support Programme which presents music bands and guest musicians. This occasion presents Master Thomas Mujica workshop with students piano Municipal Cuale Cultural Center. Free admission

 
15 al 18 November 2012 8 pm
 "Toothbrush"
 Cuale Cultural Center Auditorium
 
Fun play recommended for over 15 years is the life of a couple experiencing different situations to get out of the routine to the point of falling into absurdity. Free admission
 
November 15, 2012 6 pm
 
 Municipal Band
Kiosk parade
 
Presentation of the local band that plays popular pieces for all visitors and locals. Free admission
 
16 al 30 November 2012 6pm
Exhibition "Symmetry and Beauty"
Art Salon Naval Museum. On the boardwalk
 
Exhibition of paintings and sculptures presented by artist Alex Paramo, themed the proportion of bodies with reference to Leonardo Da Vinci work. Free admission

This coming November 25 Puerto Vallarta continue its cultural presence to participate for the second time in the 15th Jalisco State Theatre Shows 2012, organized by the Ministry of Culture through the Directorate General of Cultural Activities and held in the city of Lagos de Moreno, to attend the theater group representing stunted production, directed by actor Edgar Treviño, he has been active in various art events this year.

This time the group presented the play "toothbrush"  was the first place winner in the Interior Encounter Theater and features the award for best actress, Veronica Muñiz,  nominated for best actor and production, Edgar Treviño.

To ensure the best interests of the work "toothbrush" will be presented on 15, 16, 17 and 18 November at about 8 pm at the Cuale Cultural Center, where Vallarta will appreciate an excellent staging who has conquered the entire state of Jalisco and also presented a challenge for the actors. Ticket prices are $ 60 general and $ 30 students, teachers and senior.

This year’s Readers’ Choice Awards Ceremony took place at La Palapa this past November 6th.

If you happen to be in Japan from now to March 31, 2013, make sure to check out one of Japan's most stunning displays of light called Winter Illuminations at Nabana no Sato, a botanical garden turned light theme park on the island of Nagashima in Kuwana. Opened just yesterday, it's been called one of the best winter light shows in all of Japan. The park really outdoes itself by using millions of sparkling LED lights all over the vast grounds including on the water and in the gardens. This year's theme is "nature" and it promises gorgeous scenes including a beautiful sunrise inspired by Mt. Fuji at dawn, a rainbow across the sky, and even an aurora.

The stars of the show are the famous walk-through tunnels of light that completely envelop the viewer, making it seem as if they're walking through bright, magical portals. As Joanna Tocher of Wide Island View said, "if you can shut out the noise of the hundreds of people around you it really does feel like you’re stepping into another world."

In Mexico, and increasingly in Europe, the Morelia lnternational Film Festival has become synonymous with independent, innovative film, drawing the likes of Werner Herzog and Quentin Tarantino and also attracting prominent figures such as Guillermo del Toro, Tommy Lee Jones, and Mexico's Gael Garcia Bernal, who attends the festival every year.

During the festival, which ends Sunday, the cafes lining the small city's plazas fill up with cinephiles. Producers, actors and distributors stroll around Morelia's 17th century cobblestone streets, chatting away about the next hot project, or reflecting on the film that they just saw.

Morelia is just a four-hour drive from our Mexico City office. So we couldn't help but go there to check out the festival for ourselves. Here are some interesting films that we learned about during our brief stay in Morelia.

You may see some of these reaching U.S. theaters. Others you may never see. But this list provides an interesting insight into what Mexican filmmakers are up to these days.

The Festival has four official sections in competition: Mexican Short Film, Mexican Documentary, Mexican Feature Film and Michoacán Section (including short and feature-length films, as well as fiction and documentaries from the State of Michoacán). The Festival also has a Michoacán Short Film Scriptwriting Contest, in which scripts by writers born or residing in Michoacán can compete.

In addition to the screenings of each of the films in the different sections, every year FICM celebrates the career of a recognized filmmaker who attends the festival to share his or her experience with young filmmakers and the public.

Among the distinguished directors who have attended FICM since its first edition are: Serge Bromberg, Alfonso Cuarón, Doris Dörrie, Bruno Dumont, Stephen Frears, Gael García Bernal, Terry Gilliam, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Salma Hayek, Todd Haynes, Werner Herzog, Mike Hodges, Tommy Lee Jones, Diego Luna, Cristian Mungiu, Manoel de Oliveira, Arthur Penn, Marisa Paredes, Nicolas Philibert, Carlos Reygadas, Raúl Ruiz, Volker Schlöndorff, Barbet Schroeder, Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Béla Tarr, Bertrand Taviernier, Guillermo del Toro, Fernando Trueba, Luis Valdez and Gus Van Sant.

Every year FICM honors an important figure of Mexican cinema from the state of Michoacán. In previous years, the festival has paid homage to filmmakers Miguel Contreras, Fernando Méndez, the Alva brothers, cinematographer Ezequiel Carrasco, actor Julio Alemán, Damián Alcázar and the actresses Stella Inda and Lilia Prado.

In its first year, FICM established a solid partnership with the International Critics' Week of the Cannes Film Festival, which has supported Mexican filmmakers such as Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro and Fernando Eimbcke. A selection of films from the Critics' Week is presented each year at FICM with the presence of some of their participants. Likewise, the Critics' Week shows some of the winning films of FICM.

In 2008 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially recognized FICM by offering fiction and animation short films that win at FICM the opportunity to be considered for an Oscar nomination.

Film series, outdoor screenings, conferences, round tables and exhibitions in Morelia, Pátzcuaro and Mexico City complete FICM's year-round activities.

Before the Christmas season "officially"

Hidden Moon premieres November 23 in Mexico. Director Pepe Bojorquez manages to capture the true beauty and complications of life. It intertwines the intricate feelings of love with the depth nature of truth. A talented filmmaker, Bojorquez says this story is not just his – it’s everyone’s reality.

“The story is easy to empathize,” Bojorquez said. “It’s about chasing your dreams, falling in love. Sometimes our goals and what we want to accomplish mask everything, such as love that’s right in front of us.”

Hidden Moon tells the story of a beautiful woman, whose dramatic appearance at the funeral of a man in California shocks his prosperous family. The man’s son then travels to Mexico to discover the truth about the woman’s relationship with his father. Upon finding her, he discovers that she is living with another man, and refuses to admit knowing his father. What happens when true love appears twice, at the same moment? This web of emotions is difficult to unravel. Is it possible for everyone to have a happy ending?

Filmed in Guanajuato and Veracruz, Hidden Moon showcases the unparalleled magnificence of Mexico. Its accomplished cast includes Wes Bentley from “American Beauty” and “The Hunger Games,” Mexican actress Ana Serradilla, actor and writer Jonathan Schaech and Linda Gray, the star of “Dallas.”

After its premiere in Mexico, it will come to European theaters, and then to the United States. A depiction of modern reality, Hidden Moon paints the exquisiteness and rarity of love against the background of gorgeous Mexico.

[readon1 url="http://www.vallartatoday.com"]Source:www.vallartatoday.com - Translation by Suyapa Ajuria Nov. 10, 2012[/readon1]

By Isabel Breseda
Vallarta Today
November 7, 2012

Warm welcome to the opening of what will be the Mexican holiday