Join in by posting pics and videos with the hashtag #AsiMiDiaEnRivieraNayarit and win one of five swag bags sponsored by the Riviera Nayarit and the Destination’s hotels.

These picturesque towns have plenty of accommodations to offer and lots of family-oriented recreational activities. You can sight whales right from the beaches and they’re the closest spots in the Riviera Nayarit to the Isla del Coral.

TURN ON TALK RADIO, cruise around the internet, pick up a newspaper — you would think there’s nothing more to Mexico than psycho narcos, dirty government, and illegal immigration. Throw in Donald Trump, and the country’s PR just can’t catch a break. Mexican art? Didn’t that peak with Diego Rivera? And how about Mexican literature?

Ask anyone at the next dinner party you attend to name a prominent Mexican literary novel — it can’t be a work by Carlos Fuentes, and make it clear that Malcolm Lowry’s lugubrious Under the Volcano doesn’t count. Those versed in translations du jour might list Roberto Bolaño (although he was actually Chilean) or Valeria Luiselli (the latter has cred even though she’s half Italian). Now, mention Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate. Ah, yes. That will likely get some relieved nods. The book not only sold millions worldwide, but it was also made into a sexy, award-winning movie, ensuring its memorability even for those who have not read it.

But we’re talking about Literature with a capital L, and Like Water for Chocolate contains recipes. We know where novels with recipes go: The WFG (Women’s Fiction Ghetto). Especially a bittersweet story like this one. It’s true. The book is bittersweet. It’s the sweet, I believe, that made it a best seller and a book club favorite. But it’s the bitter, I’m certain, that makes Esquivel a significant writer.

Laura Esquivel can be extremely playful. She delights in life’s small pleasures (warm tortillas, a stolen kiss), and her satire and sense of the absurd are laugh out loud funny — these qualities make her an indulgence to read. But she is also a rough writer who does not play nice with her characters. Her latest novel may be her roughest yet — this is saying a lot since her body of work is liberally doused with episodes of infanticide, rape, and murder. Pierced by the Sun happens to contain all three.

For the book’s protagonist, a Mexico City policewoman named Lupita, the hardships began when she was a young girl. She was raped by her stepfather, and soon after, she started drinking. “Alcohol became her best ally, her passport to freedom. It gave her access to a world where the fear of being seen, of being touched, of being raped again did not exist.” Unfortunately, the drunkenness that “offered her an excellent alternative to being herself without actually dying” catapulted her into prison after she killed her toddler son in a horrible, tragic accident.

Years later, having served her sentence, Lupita is a recovering alcoholic working for the Iztapalapa district police force. When the delegado of her district is very publicly assassinated, she is the only one to see the face of a man who might be the killer. But how did he do it? The delegado’s throat was slashed, no one was standing close to him when it happened, and there is no weapon. There is only Lupita’s gut instinct as she remembers the man waving to the delegado at the exact instant of the attack. Aggravating the anguish of holding the dying delegado in her arms, Lupita wets her pants — a humiliation captured by TV news cameras.

Judging from all of Esquivel’s books, she respects body fluids, she reveres the four elements, and she finds particular satisfaction in bringing them together to explore greater cosmic unities. The night of murder, as Lupita washes her pants, stained with her urine and the delegado’s blood, she thinks, “This combination of fluids would travel through the drain in unison and the water would contain the memory of them both.” This saddens her because she “didn’t want to remain in the water’s memory under such conditions.”

This sort of musing is common for Lupita. She is rooted in domestic traditions and the Earth’s balance. The connection between the two is another recurring motif for Esquivel, and it’s used in a very literal way when the delegado is killed. Two hours earlier, Lupita noticed a deep crease on his collar. Holding him as he dies, she observes that the wrinkle is gone. She knows he hasn’t had time to go home and change his clothes, and she is sure this wrinkle situation is important. It is doubtful that anyone else would have made this observation, but for Lupita, it was “as if removing wrinkles were her way of setting the world straight […] Ironing was an act of annihilation.”

Each chapter heading in the book offers a description of Lupita, and many of them play with her deep-seated enjoyment of stereotypically feminine activities: “Lupita Liked to Iron,” “Lupita Liked to Knit and Embroider,” and “Lupita Liked to Dance.” But Esquivel makes it clear that there are many sides to womanhood, because Lupita also “Liked to Protect” and “Liked to Deduce.” The most appealing aspect of this device is how Esquivel gives all of Lupita’s activities equal value, using each one to explore a different facet of an enormously complex woman.

She cries “for all the corn that would never grow because farmers got paid more for their crops if they planted opium poppies.” She cries “with rage over the approval of an energetic reform that opened the doors for foreign investors to take over Mexican oil.” She is a cynic and at the same time she desperately wants to believe there is a politician honest enough to save her country from thugs, electoral fraud, the cartels, and gringo drug addicts. As she slowly begins to discover that the delegado is not the honest someone she thought him to be, she hits the bottle again.

Many readers will not like Lupita. The police captain in charge of the murder investigation thinks her crudeness is refreshing, and while this may be true in a certain sense of the word, she is a mean drunk and a pain in the ass, and she makes poor decisions, over and over again. Even knowing how crummy life has been for her, it’s hard not to find her frustrating. It’s to Esquivel’s credit that she never tries to redeem Lupita. Instead, she grants Lupita’s intimate pain a dignified place to find rest in the universe.

One of the book’s most moving moments comes when Lupita recalls holding her dead son through the night:
As moonlight had entered the room through a window that was right behind her head, Lupita carefully observed how her own shadow drew a half-moon shape on her son’s face. As the night wore on, she had all the time in the world to observe how that shadow changed […] She thought that maybe Galileo Galilei had lost a child in his arms just like her, on a night just as sad as this one, and thus had discovered that only a round shape that comes between the sun and the moon can project a circular shadow, providing irrefutable proof that the earth is round and that it orbits the sun.

In many ways, Pierced by the Sun feels like the final volume in an unofficial trilogy that encompasses three of Mexico’s most transformative struggles. Esquivel’s Malinche fictionalizes the life of Hernán Cortés’s legendary Aztec mistress (considered one of indigenous Mexico’s greatest betrayers) during the Spanish conquest, and Like Water for Chocolate juxtaposes an embattled love story with the revolution of the early 20th century. Focusing on the country’s current war on drugs, Pierced by the Sun gives readers modern Mexico in stark relief.

The more Lupita learns (or the reader learns, which is not always the same thing), the more she discovers that the source behind the delegado’s murder is the battle between two opposing worlds — traditional shamans and corrupt politicians. At stake is a sacred ground containing the remains of a pre-Hispanic pyramid. Lupita uncovers a conspiracy to build a mall on this land for street vendors whose real industry is the drug trade, and whose lucrative underground business provides healthy kickbacks for local public servants.

It would be too much of a spoiler to describe how Lupita makes her discoveries and why she finds herself recovering from near death in the mountain state of Guerrero in a utopian, agrarian community. What matters is that this portion of Pierced by the Sun is the muscle of Esquivel’s beliefs. Along with novels she is the author of a small collection of essays, Between Two Fires: Intimate Writings on Life, Love, Food, and Flavor. The cover makes it look like a pleasant little book of kitchen anecdotes. Once again there are recipes, but this is no cookbook. It is a manifesto, its
philosophy best summed up in her essay “At the Hearth”:

The arrival of a new revolution is imminent, and I don’t think this time it will be from the outside in, but the opposite. It will entail the reclaiming of our rituals and ceremonies and the establishment of a new relationship with the land and the planet, with everything sacred.

Mexico, in fact, has a rich and varied literary scene, and Laura Esquivel is arguably its best-known female novelist outside its borders. So three cheers for all those recipes in her first novel, because they brought her to the world’s attention. Whether she is writing about the ancient Aztecs or Mexico City in the 23rd century, Esquivel reclaims cooking, childbirth, romantic love, respect for the rhythm of crops, traditional medicine, and everything else she believes underpins a healthy society. And with each new book she writes, our understanding of (and appreciation for) her homeland expands.

Like its protagonist, Pierced by the Sun is short, dense, odd, tough, gritty, crude, tender, and inexplicably divine. Is it Esquivel’s greatest achievement? Probably not. But it is essential to the bigger picture her work paints. With Lupita, she gives us more than just a complex woman. She gives us Mexico today.

At one point we learn of Lupita, “She had been convinced of her own worthlessness for so many years that she irrevocably placed herself below others, thus obeying an unconscious desire to feel insignificant.”

This could describe the role unfairly parceled out to Mexico on the world stage right now. But Esquivel shows us, through the simple elegance of stories that take place in kitchens, bedrooms, bars, beauty shops, and cornfields, that it’s so much more than that. Better yet, she offers hope — both for Lupita and for the country she so fiercely loves.

For the first two weeks of August, Jala in Nayarit will present the annual La Feria del Elote (Corn Festival), a tribute to the pre-Hispanic heritage.

Located a short distance from the coast communities, Jala and Xalisco prepare a wide variety of events all with the purpose of celebrating the Corn Festival.

Said to be the home of the Guinness World Book of Records’ largest corncob, the yearly Corn Festival in Jala is a traditional and very popular local festival that honors the first harvest of corn each year.

Corn is the most important crop in the area, and some ears measure as long as 20 inches; of course the longest and largest win prizes.

The corn variety that is grown in this region is called "Jala Breed"; it is original of Nayarit and the maize plant can reach a height of 6 meters. It is an endemic species, adapted to the soil and climatic conditions of the region, where an infinity of microclimates coexist.

The food stands, mainly with corn prepared in different ways and processed products based on this grain, are set on the streets and offer a real experience to the palate.

The local cuisine, traditions, culture and the town’s colonial architecture play honorary roles and are also great reasons to attend.

Historically, pagans began celebrating earlier, but since the event is also a religious occasion that celebrates the Virgin of the Assumption on August 15, nowadays the event lasts two weeks and features regional expos, sports competitions, jaripeos (bull riding), dancing and performances in public places, fireworks, and many other family-friendly activities.

The Festival activities begin on the first of the month and conclude on August 15 with the celebration of the Virgin of the Assumption (Virgen de la Asunción).

This festival is the ideal excuse to visit Riviera Nayarit, to enjoy its traditions, culture and most typical gastronomy.

Visit Jala and Xalisco during August for a great experience in learning more about our country and one of our traditions.

Puerto Vallarta has a new scenario for culture and the arts with the opening of Platform 322 (Plataforma 322), a space located at Lucerna 153 in Colonia Versalles, dedicated to the promotion of activities of dance, theater, performance, music and any other manifestation of this type and can be presented with 120 people comfortably seated.

The coordinator of activities in the new forum, Melissa Castillo Caviedes, reported that the space is open to proposals from creators but for now will host the 'scenic billboard' which is the successful series of cultural activities that have been conducted for four years in the Cecatur theater.

She indicated that the "scenic billboard" has allowed us to reach hundreds of people interested in cultural activities and contributed to the formation of new audiences over the years in giving space to expressions of dance, theater, music and many other arts that they have been able to develop finding new channels of expression.

Platform 322 activities will begin this weekend. On Saturday July 9 there will be two activities: the first is a montage for children entitled "El Mundo de Luna" with the Versus dance theater company at 6:00 pm. A little later, at 9:00 pm, the duet "Los del Sur" composed of musicians Javier Núñez and Gustavo Fernández will present the recital of "Bicentennial of Independence Argentina."

Amanda Morales, director and choreographer of Versus dance, commented that "El Mundo de Luna" is a work that deals with the great imagination of Luna, the protagonist. "After hearing the news that the president condemned all flies and blowflies to jail for interrupting his speech shamefully, Luna creates three stories of how this situation can have different outcomes."

With techniques of dance and theater, puppetry and improvisation the Versus company develops a work full of color, music, movement and fun. This project, she explained, was selected as recipient of the scholarship program of Stimulus Creation and Artistic Development Jalisco 2013. This activity has a cost of 60 pesos for children and 100 pesos for adults.

Javier Nunez, of the "Los del Sur" duet said the project began in 2005 with the need to sublimate a simultaneous and shared memory that originates in music as a medium. The repertoire consists of songs by contemporary composers of Argentine music such as Carlos Gardel, Fito Paez, Charly Garcia and Gustavo Cerati. The show has a cost of 100 pesos.

Platform 322 will also offer a summer course from July 18 to August 12, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, for children eager to learn through fun experiences. There will be activities in music, dance, theater, painting, juggling, storytelling and movies will be made. For more information, telephone (322) 225-4125 or visit Platform 322 on Facebook.

Estero El Salado invites you to join them and come aboard "La Aventurera" for a guided tour of our estuary.

We offer schools, locals and visitors the opportunity to experience and enjoy one of the most productive ecosystems with conducted guided tours of about an hour and a half on board "The Adventurer."

During the tour you can enjoy the sighting of the fauna that inhabits the Estero. Each tour offers new and different discoveries so we suggest you come back and experience the tour again and again.

We are located in the center of Puerto Vallarta on Avenida Francisco Medina Ascencio, and our entrance is just across the street from the Naval Hospital. You can get here by public transportation or if you are driving we have plenty of on-site parking.

The tours through El Salado estuary are led by a biologist, traveling about one kilometer on the “La Aventurera” boat from which visitors will be able to observe the great diversity of wildlife, the 3 species of mangrove and their main features. You can also climb the watch tower, from which you can view all the Protected Natural Area.

Duration of the tour is 2 hours and take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 9:00 & 11:00 am and 1:00 and 3:00 pm. Saturday tours are 9:00, 11:00 and 1:00.

We recommend that you wear comfortable clothes and footwear, a cap or hat, biodegradable insect repellent, bring a bottle of water, camera and/or video.

For more information and reservations, telephone (322) 201-7361 or 175-7539 (also active with whatsapp). Email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Not only is this a fun adventure where you will have the opportunity to meet with different species of birds, crocodiles and iguanas, your donation helps to preserve our natural habitats of Estero El Salado.

If you are looking to improve your Spanish skills or simply polish what you have already learned … Please be informed that Enjoy Spanish is organizing a series of Spanish language classes in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico again! This unique comprehensive class will cover all grammar concepts (all tenses and modes, prepositions, pronouns, and everything in between) from the beginner to advanced level, with a strong emphasis on conversational skills.

This course, complementary to your experience in Mexico, is a catalyst to achieving Spanish proficiency!

We are offering:

Programs A (Intensive) / July, August, September 2016

4-week intensive packages for July, August & September 2016, beginning the first Monday of each month and ending the last Thursday of each month. Classes will be held four times per week from Monday to Thursday from 9:00am-12:00 noon (12 hours per week, 48 hours total). Location of classes: 305 Mina st., Downtown of Puerto Vallarta.

• Group class with a maximum of 8 students
• 4-week package (12 hours weekly / 48 hours total)
• Class Monday-Thursday from 9:00am-12 noon
• Total cost per student: $420.00 USD or equivalent in Mexican pesos.

Programs B (Semi-intensive) / July, August & September 2016

4-week intensive packages for July, August & September 2016, beginning the first Tuesday of each month and ending the last Thursday of each month. Classes will be held three times per week, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:00pm-5:00pm (6 hours per week, 24 hours total). Location of classes: 305 Mina st., Downtown of Puerto Vallarta.

• Group class with a maximum of 8 students
• 4-week package (6 hours weekly / 24 hours total)
• Class Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:00pm-5:00pm
• Total cost per student: $240.00 USD or equivalent in Mexican pesos.

Programs C (Semi-intensive) / July, August & September 2016

4-week intensive packages for July, August & September 2016, beginning the first Tuesday of each month and ending the last Thursday of each month. Classes will be held three times per week, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1:00pm-2:30pm (4.5 hours per week, 24 hours total). Location of classes: 305 Mina st., Downtown of Puerto Vallarta.

• Group class with a maximum of 8 students
• 4-week package (4.5 hours weekly / 18 hours total)
• Class Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1:00pm-2:30pm
• Total cost per student: $200.00 USD or equivalent in Mexican pesos.

Enjoy Spanish is the #1 rated Spanish language school in San Francisco (as reviewed on Yelp), and is now expanding to Puerto Vallarta.

The classes will be held by our teacher and representative of Enjoy Spanish, Javier Navarro from Guadalajara, Mexico and our teacher Alain Patiño from Venezuela. They are great teachers with high knowledge of the language and with a very interactive and dynamic style of teaching.

Please visit us at Enjoy Spanish to learn more about our methodology and style of teaching, and our school and also please be welcome to visit our Facebook page: “Enjoy Spanish in Puerto Vallarta”

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Note: Please provide your level in the Spanish language in order to organize the groups properly.

Come and Enjoy Spanish with us!

• The Jazz Foundation will host an extension of the great Jalisco Jazz Festival.

The Puerto Vallarta Jazz Foundation has established itself as a major cultural center in its first year of life and has managed to strengthen strong links with the finest exponents of jazz in Mexico with the Festival of Riviera Maya and now with the Jalisco Jazz Fest.

The Jazz Foundation continues to celebrate its first anniversary of life. The "Jazz Club on the Beach" announces that it will host an extension of the Guadalajara Jazz Festival during the month of July.

The Jazz Foundation has made an important work to promote jazz linkage between the local and foreign community, and begins to reap what it has sown over the year.

The extension of Jalisco Jazz Festival is no minor thing. TJF will host a pair of concerts: The first will be with Sara Valenzuela and "The Outsiders" on July 8 and July 9, to make way for "Federico Sanchez" and the band "Guacamole" (Veracruz), on July 28 and July 30.

Speaking of jazz in Mexico means talking about Sara Valenzuela, a woman who over many years has put up the name of this genre, both in her work as vocalist and musician, broadcaster and cultural promoter. Sara Valenzuela, with Gilberto Cervantes, will give life again to the Jalisco Jazz Festival.

As usual, the festival not only offers interesting concerts where musicians from different parts of the country will share the stage with international artists, but also a number of educational exchanges and talks with clinics for musicians and assistants. This year's edition of Jalisco Jazz Festival will be held in the city of Guadalajara from July 28 to August 7, premiering major venues such as the Palace of Culture and Communication (Palcco) scheme. But the best part is that the Jazz Festival will get its feet wet in the waters of the bay and move to the best forum in the city, The Jazz Foundation.

After the successful opening ceremony where awards are given to all local and foreign musicians who have sown the seeds of jazz in the city and includes a special recognition of "Cuates y Cuetes" which was the prelude to the Jazz for years in Puerto Vallarta.

You won't want to miss the Jalisco Jazz Festival and the celebrations of the first anniversary.

The Jazz Foundation is located in Downtown Puerto Vallarta on the Malecon at Allende 116. Telephone is (322) 225-7894. For more information, visit The Jazz Foundation on Facebook.

Puerto Vallarta came one year closer to its Centennial when it celebrated its 98th year as a Municipality this past 31st of May which also marked the 48th year of the destination as a city.

How our friendship began…

Years ago I was on a flight with a famous couple on board. The woman looked closely at me, handed me a copy of Vogue Magazine asking, “Is this you?” There under the credits was the name Anne Menke. I turned the pages immediately being captured by some of the most beautiful photography I had ever seen. My only answer to my passenger was, “I wish!” I was soon to find out that the other Anne Menke is a world famous fashion photographer! I told myself someday I wanted to meet her. A few years later we became Facebook friends and our friendship began. Anne has been so kind in the spirit of Christmas to give one of my readers who pre-buys Exposure to a Billionaire (release date June 7, 2016) on Amazon and signs up on my website for a chance to be entered for a giveaway of her book, See the World Beautiful. Her book is one that Oprah listed as the perfect Christmas present. It is truly an honor to introduce my friend, Anne Menke. Read about this remarkable woman and how she is making a difference throughout the world.

Meet my friend, Anne Menke…

Hi Anne, Thank you for joining me today. I am thrilled to be interviewing you today and share a little about you, and your work. Let’s get started, okay…

Where are you originally from and how did you get started as a fashion photographer?

I’m so glad I could join you today, too. I was born in a small town in Germany, called Wittlich. I knew at twelve years old that I wanted to be a photographer. I lived in Wittlich until I was fourteen years old and by that time I knew I would be a fashion photographer. I left home to go to boarding school, followed by an apprenticeship as a photographer. At twenty-one years old I started doing my first jobs as a photographer in Germany. At twenty-two years old I moved to Paris. My mother and father still live in Wittlich and my sister is a stylist in the industry living in New York City.

So the creativity runs in your family. Where did you and your husband

My husband, Johann and I met in Miami. He is originally from South Africa.

Was it love at first sight?

For this answer I share the following:

There is a connection that you immediately feel

A place a person…something you see

Love on first sight is clear, strong and forever

Oh, I like that Anne. You also have three boys. How do you travel all over the world while raising three boys (This is a question I have been asked for years)? Did you and your husband live in New York City before moving full-time to Suyalita, Mexico? What brought you down to Sayulita originally and can you share a little about your homes down there?

My husband and I lived in New York City for fifteen years. In 2003 we had our first son, Luke. Before Luke was born, Johann and I fell in love with Sayulita after going there for many surf trips and traveling up and down the Mexican coast. We realized what a gem this area was and decided to buy some land there. In 2005 we decided to move to Sayulita full-time knowing we wanted a simpler life on the beach and in a small town where our kids could really be kids – safe and free spirited individuals.

Once we moved full-time to Sayulita our second son Enzo was born. He started traveling with me for the first two years of his life from Paris to Argentina, Tahiti to Chile and back to Los Angeles. My kids got used to traveling quickly and being on the road with many different people from all over the world. I truly think our boys are global citizens now. This is an amazing gift we have been able to give our children; to adapt anywhere in the world.

We also started a small hotel and vacation rental we have put our hearts and souls into. Please check it out: www.teitiare.com

Anne, your homes are spectacular! Do you really surf? How does a girl from Germany become a ‘surfer chick’ living in Mexico?

Remember, my husband is South African and we met in Miami. He showed me how to surf and I fell in love with it immediately. Yes, I surf every day that I possibly can!
You and your husband co-founded the Costa Verde International School in Sayulita. How did that come about and can you tell us a little about the school? If someone is interested in the school or giving financial support how can they find out more information, as well?

When my husband and I moved to Sayulita we already had our first son, Luke, who was two years old at the time. I wasn’t worried, or concerned at that time about his education. I just thought he would be going to the public school. It was then that we realized this was not what we had dreamed about for his education. We decided with another couple (our best friends), to become co-founders and start a school. It was at that time the Costa Verde International School was formed. We decided we should make it a community project starting a green school that would be bilingual and have an enormous amount of scholarships for the local kids to join the progressive modern hands-on education. Our goal was and continues to be to make a contribution to the environment and our community. We opened the doors seven years ago. Today, the school is running strong with one hundred and sixty students from kindergarten to 9th grade. If you would like more information about the school, or how you can sponsor a child, making a difference in the local kids education, please go to http://www.colegiocostaverde.com/ We are excited to see the program continue to grow beyond what we could have imagined.

Any stories you want to share about life in Sayulita? Maybe about building a bridge?

Let me share a couple of fun stories. There are quite a few, but these are fun.

A few years ago, I was on a fashion shoot for American Elle Magazine. The entire team was here in Sayulita getting ready to pack up for our shoot in Puerto Vallarta.

We mixed up our people and bags into different cars before we left. When we arrived in Puerto Vallarta I asked my assistant for my bag with $10,000 in cash to pay for the location for the shoot asap, please! No one could find the bag. It soon became apparent we had left it behind while packing in Sayulita. Our driver quickly called a friend of his who is a local taxi driver in Sayulita. He rushed to the scene and there stood an old lady who said, “Oh yes, these crazy people left this handbag behind.” There inside was all the money. Yes, all $10,000! I love this about the people here…super honest and beautiful. Viva Mexico!

This is my drama story…Johann, my husband, and I decided to give back to the community here in Sayulita by building a pedestrian bridge over a river that in the rainy season is tough for locals to walk through with the mud. We thought it was a great idea. We asked the mayor for permission through the government to build the bridge.

They insisted on giving the building contract to one of their government builders and engineers. We agreed on the price and paid them to start the process. Johann watched the building process and went a few times with our own engineers to the site with concerns about the foundation pillars not being deep enough to hold the bridge in the rainy season. The government architect insisted that his studies were correct and nothing should be changed. Well, the bridge was finished and we had a fun ground breaking inauguration. For about three months people enjoyed walking over the bridge. Then the rainy season came…within a few weeks the bridge started to crack and within four months the bridge collapsed completely. We tried to fight the government to rebuild the bridge at their cost, but it was never done. Still Viva Mexico!!!

Anne, I am blown away by your photography. From studio, to location, to film, you are amazing. You are painting the world beautiful with your work. Can you share the concept behind your gorgeous book, See the World Beautiful? The photography inside is absolutely stunning. I love how you take something chic and add such natural beauty and special touches to each picture. The picture of the women in the African Village wearing designer clothing and covered in their handmade beaded jewelry is priceless. You captured it beautifully. How do you do it?

The book is kind of retrospective of approximately fifteen years of my traveling around the world and shooting images of people and places that I have come across. In each location chosen, I was there for fashion magazines, but while there I always found more than just a story we created for Vogue. I found beauty and fashion everywhere. I would recreate the images I found while doing a scouting trip, or walking around the areas. Often the lighting was not good, or the scene was not perfect. I would recreate the images I saw in a perfect way leading to the pictures in the book. I have always been inspired by classic reportage photographers from the turn of the century…there is a lot of influence from them in my work.

What is a favorite location, or photo shoot for you?

That is a question that is hard to answer. I live to go to a new place and discover new and beautiful things! I fell in love with Mongolia. It was definitely one of my most fascinating places I have ever been to. I also loved the Andes.

What projects are you working on now? I know your schedule is full, but could you share a little about what a ‘normal’ schedule looks like for you?

Yes, what is normal? Right now I am working on a book about Mexico. I love Mexico! I keep busy with my daily advertising and fashion jobs, too. A ‘normal’ schedule, when I am not playing soccer mum at home (which I love), is for example heading to the airport to fly off to New York, Los Angeles, Paris, or St. Barth’s depending on my client. I arrive at the location, scout the area for the next few days and meet with clients. This is followed by the next few days filled with shoots from early sunrise to sunset. After this, I am generally off to the next destination. I can be on the road sometimes for an entire month at a time.

Do you ever have art exhibitions that the general public could see?

Absolutely! After publishing my last book, See the World Beautiful, I have done exhibitions in New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Mexico. I am planning on having exhibitions soon in Dallas and St. Barth’s.

I am not only amazed to know there is another Anne Menke, but that you have many of the same passions I do. You have a heart that captures beauty and true compassion for people all over the globe. Can you tell us where people can find more examples of your work?

Yes, the best place is either my gallery that represents my work in Soho, New York called Clic Gallery: http://www.clic.com/index-clic#/anne-menke-clic/ Or, my publishers website is: http://glitteratiincorporated.com/products/see-the-world-beautiful-by-anne-menke, My book is also available on Amazon.

Thank you for sharing what you are doing and how you are making a difference around the world. I am honored to call you my friend. You truly make the world a better place.

For one of my fortunate reader’s of the Exposure to a Billionaire Travel Diary that has already pre-purchased the book on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Exposure-Billionaire-Morgan-James-Fiction/dp/1630477583/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449702440&sr=1-1&keywords=exposure+to+a+billionaire by January 15, 2016, please write and share a favorite destination and you will be entered to win Anne Menke’s book, See the World Beautiful as a way for us to say “Thank You, in the Spirit of Giving!”

 World Famous Fashion Photographer, Anne Menke

SAYULITA, Mexico — Bookended by seaside rocks that protrude into warm Pacific Ocean waters, the relatively small Playa de los Muertos, or Beach of the Dead, features gentle waves, pelicans diving for fish and sunbathers lying on the sand. Vendors sell beer and grilled fish-on-a-stick, and two locals climb a palm tree to fetch coconuts.

But just beyond the laidback beach is a peninsula that hosts a new and posh 62-property development, highlighting that Sayulita, once a tranquil fishing village, continues to grow into one of Mexico's top tourism and retirement destinations.

The town was even featured in an offshoot of ABC's popular reality series "The Bachelor: Paradise," though one local who watched the filming thought it was a telenovela.

"Every time I've said it can't get bigger, it does," said Jody Meacham of New Jersey after finishing a surfing session on Sayulita's main beach. Meacham has been visiting Sayulita for 25 years, back when there were "more burros than cars." ''I still love it. I come back every year," he said.

Located about 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta on Mexico's Pacific coast, Sayulita presents an alternative to the towering all-inclusive resorts that line the beaches south of it. However, all types of destinations in this part of Mexico are seeing bolstered tourist numbers. Direct flights from major U.S. cities have increased here. Passenger counts, both international and domestic, have risen as well.

In December, the federal Mexican tourism department named Sayulita a "Pueblo Magico" or "Magic Town," positioning the town as the crown jewel of the Nayarit Riviera, the coastline of its home state. The naming also comes with the promise of federal money for upgrades, which residents say are needed. The town has grown to about 5,000 residents, plus the scores of visitors that cycle through.

Sewage and electricity services have had a hard time keeping up with the growth; "aguas negras," or literally "black waters," have spilled into the ocean.

"Any additional tourism development would worsen this disastrous health situation," said Indalecio Sanchez Rodriguez, an activist for the group Green Coast Alliance, which has criticized the area's growth.

The current main project is burying power lines under the town streets.

"It's bursting at the seams, the infrastructure," said Richard Brassard, an architect, who first visited Sayulita around 1970 after a friend read about it in a surfing book.

Sayulita's attractions are plentiful: surfing, charter fishing, seasonal whale-watching, lush-green jungle hikes and horseback riding, baby sea turtle releases, among others.

On the south end, its main beach still hosts small local fishing boats. Farther north, surfers ride waves as the town disappears into the jungle. Playa de los Muertos and Playa Carricitos provide quieter and more isolated alternatives within a few of miles. If it's not raining, take a walk to those beaches on the dirt roads lined by the dense forest.

Sayulita boasts chic restaurants to attract foodies and excellent street chow (Tacos El Ivan is top-notch and so is a cake stand named La Gorda, near the town square). Nightlife can be a dance party on the beach or the happy sounds of children playing at the central plaza.

Back in Playa de los Muertos, the sun sets and the town cemetery behind the beach is lit up by candles placed on tombs as my girlfriend and I walk back to town.

Streets hum with activity. Motorbikes and cars buzz about while the sounds of live music, families, hawking vendors and even rowdy drunks fill the humid air. Many of the tourists transport themselves on golf carts.

"Now it's like Puerto Vallarta was back in the '60s. It's developed to that point," Bassard said.

SUYALITA, MEXICO BEACH

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If You Go...

SAYULITA: Direct flights are available to the Puerto Vallarta airport. From there, car service is available to Sayulita. Prices earlier this season ran about $130 round-trip.

ZIKA: Mexico is on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's list of areas affected by the Zika virus. Sayulita is located in a sub-tropical climate, next to lush jungle, and mosquitoes are not uncommon.

Pianist Arthur Hanlon pays tribute to Mexico with his new music video "Huapango," a Mexican classic, composed by Jose Moncayo. Shot entirely in Mexico, the video combines Mexico's beauty with Hanlon’s passion for music and culture.

"Huapango" is included on Hanlon's recent musical journey called Viajero (Traveler) -- which contains 11 tracks -- recorded between Spain, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Miami and, of course, Mexico. "The language of music opened the door for me to find fascinating people and stories and discover and celebrate life and music in many corners of the world," said Hanlon about his experience.

This month, Arthur Hanlon will be in Mexico to perform with Il Volo in Monterrey, Mexico City and Puebla. See the dates below:

July 7 - MONTERREY - ARENA MONTERREY

July 8 – MEXICO CITY – MEXICO CITY ARENA

July 10 - PUEBLA - AUDITORIO METROPOLITANO DE PUEBLA