When visiting a foreign city, it’s nice to have a friend there who can help you feel at home.  This is what we do.  Need housing, a local cell phone, an all-night pharmacy, or recommendations for good food or unusual gifts?  What about a hair salon, massage therapist, florist, or car rental for a day?  We can easily answer questions like: where is a bank with English-speaking tellers; best wine or tequila shop; is there a bus to San Sebastian?   Because we live here year round, we can connect you to people and services that you do not know about.  We are your friends away from home…an email or phone call away.

Also known as Epiphany, this day marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas and is embodied most in the story of the three wise men visiting newborn Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Here in Vallarta, the traditional cake, Rosca de Reyes, a crown-shaped circle of dough usually decorated with fruits like dried figs, orange peels and cherries are prepared. Our local panaderia, using an old family recipe and their wood-fired oven, bake hundreds of these cakes only on the evening before, for distribution to local bakeries.  We stopped in to buy ours, and received a warm, just out of the oven sample!

According to custom, a small figure of baby Jesus is baked into each rosca, to represent the fact that he had to be hidden and protected at birth. When the time comes to cut the rosca, tradition dictates that whoever finds the baby Jesus figurine, must provide tamales and drinks for the celebration of Candelaria, or Candelmas, which marks the end of the holiday season on February 2^nd, and is the day families take their year’s supply of candles to the church for blessing.

Sandra Cesca for Learn Vallarta.

The political fate of Mexico for the next six years will be determined on July 1, 2012, as Mexico holds its presidential election, selecting a successor to current  President Felipe Calderón.  Some 80 million Mexicans will be eligible to vote for a new president, 628 legislators and thousands of other officials in the general elections.  Enrique Peña Nieto has been selected as the candidate of the Compromiso por Mexico or PRI. Its decades of rule, when the party controlled governments, unions and media across the nation, were marked by corruption and heavy-handedness. Its opponents warn that PRI’s claims that it has reformed and modernized are bogus.

The conservative National Action Party, or PAN, represented by current President Calderón, has not decided on a candidate yet.  The PAN suffers from growing discontent with the federal government over issues including a sluggish economy and rising violence from Calderon’s military-led offensive against powerful drug cartels. 

Former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who ran in the last presidential election, is awaiting formal confirmation of his candidacy for the PRD.

Excerpted from Banderas News and The Los Angeles Times

For those considering relocating to Mexico, it is helpful and reassuring to look at the economic stability of the country.  Unlike the challenging decline in the economy of the United States, Mexico’s economy, has stabilized and is expected to grow during this next year. There have been minimal housing foreclosures, no failed banks, no bail outs to industry or banks, the deficit is a modest 3.4 billion dollars (US is 1.4 trillion) and unemployment has now dropped to about 7%. Mexico is rapidly pulling out of the recession and the economy has an expected growth rate of 3% to 4%, while the US is hoping for 1.5% growth rate. 

The growing ecomony can be credited to four key manufacturing and commerce areas:  electronics, automobiles, aerospace, and agriculture. In addition, several huge Mexican corporations are contributing to this future economic growth including Cemex, Bimbo, and American Movil.  Read more.

At the beginning of October, Learn Vallarta’s proposal of offering English-speaking American and Canadian residents as a volunteer group to help welcome tourists as they visit the tourism office was gracefully accepted by Director of the Office of Tourism and Economic Development, Jose Luis Diaz Borioli.  Now, after our first two weeks, we are very pleased with our success as is Director Borioli.  We have been warmly received by his staff and enthusiasm abounds on all sides. 

Our first thirty volunteers are mostly retired, have a deep love for Vallarta, and want to help others learn more about what it is like to live here.  As more folks return to visit or to move here, all of Vallarta benefits, both culturally and economically. Opportunities for contributing to the marketing efforts of the tourism office, including suggestions for added services, ideas for the website, and a design for volunteer shirts have been offered as a way for resident foreigners to work on a community-wide basis with the Mexican people of Vallarta towards a warm and welcoming presence by this new volunteer group. We continue to look for positive and enthusiastic Americans and Canadians who are available and willing to volunteer for this exciting new endeavor. If you are interested in joining this group, contact Learn Vallarta:  info@learnvallarta.com.

During the recent 19th General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mexico was unanimously selected for a seat on the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization. The World Tourism Organization is an international agency dedicated to creating financial and societal advancement and reducing poverty.

Mexico’s induction into the council reflects much of the hard work of the Mexico Tourism Board and the leadership of Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara. With this seat on the UNWTO, Mexico will have the opportunity to administer its own decisions and provide policy recommendations to the General Assembly, which will promote expansion in international tourism.  Tourism in Mexico remains strong – despite the global economy. In 2010, Mexico welcomed 22 million international tourists, making Mexico the world’s tenth most-visited destination.

As a member of the Executive Council, Mexico will help lead the more than 150 member nations in creating policies that promote investment, employment, and foreign exchange. This seat on the Executive Council represents a major breakthrough for Mexican tourism and international tourism, as Mexico has been diligently working to increase tourism in the country through its many campaign efforts.

SOURCE:  The Mexico Report and Marca Pais - Imagen de Mexico

This is an important social ritual that the Latino people see as a way of recognizing the cycle of life and death that is human existence.  In certain areas, an all-night candlelight vigil takes place by the graves of the family members. The whole occasion is festive, and everyone talks of the dead as if they were still alive. During this time, people remember, re-live, and enjoy rather than fearing evil or malevolent spirits.  Some Mexican families spend hours in the cemetery near the grave of the dearly departed, where they clean the grave, plant flowers, have a picnic and hire musicians to sing a favorite song of the deceased.

The traditional food of the day, pan de muerto, a sweet yolk bread sprinkled with sugar, is of European origin.  It is said to be good luck to be the one who bites into the plastic toy skeleton hidden by the baker in each loaf. The “calavera” (skull) is a humorously morbid poem which is addressed to a friend or public figure. This genre of poetry has its origin in Cervantes’ Don Quixote, in early 17th century Spain. Candy in the shape of small sugar skulls are meant to be consumed signifying eating one’s death.     Read more…..

U.S. retirement trends have been tracked for the past fifteen years by the International Community Foundation, a research group out of National City, California.  Statistics on Mexico coastal communities has recently been released. 

In order to better understand some of the key trends and drivers for U.S. retirees in Mexico’s coastal areas, the Foundation conducted an online survey between June-November 2009, resulting in over 1,000 total responses. They targeted U.S. retirees over 50 years of age that are residing part-time or full-time in Mexican coastal communities including Puerto Vallarta, the Riviera Maya, Cabo San Lucas, Rosarito, La Paz, Loreto, Puerto Peñasco, and many smaller villages along Mexico’s extensive coastline.

Mexico continues to be a long-term retirement destination, especially in cities that already have a large retirement community.  For further interesting details, go here.

The return of several well-known cruise ships to the Maritime Terminal is a sign of increasing confidence for cruise lines that Puerto Vallarta and the Mexican Riviera is still an attractive destination for adults and children.

The terminal is now receiving weekly visits from Carnival Splendor and Pacific Star on Thursdays and Ocean Dream on Fridays.  Pullmantur, which operates Ocean Dream and Dream Pacific, now has a weekly route starting from Acapulco and entering several ports, including Puerto Vallarta. It is expected that this cruise line alone will bring 100,000 passengers into the Puerto Vallarta port this year.

The cruise ship Disney Wonder, a boat distinguished by its sophisticated and modern design, was built especially for families. Among its many features, this ship has 11 decks and the capacity to comfortably accommodate 2,700 passengers, along with 950 crew members and performers.  It docks every Wednesday from September 28 to April of 2012.

Excerpted from:  Banderas News, La Tribuna, Vallarta Opina

Scheduled to open in October, 2012, Hilton Puerto Vallarta will be the next hotel in the company’s aggressive expansion campaign to grow the Hilton Worldwide portfolio throughout Mexico and Latin America.

Located just five minutes from Puerto Vallarta’s International Airport and cruise ship terminal, this all-inclusive property will feature 259 luxury rooms, executive and honeymoon suites, and three meeting rooms with a full-service business center.  For groups and conventions, the Grand Salon will have a capacity for up to 600 persons in banquet setting.

Amenities will include five gourmet restaurants, spa with a Jacuzzi area, sauna, solarium and beauty salon, outdoor swimming pool and gym.  A children’s Adventure Club is also planned.

Hilton Worldwide currently has a portfolio of more than 20 hotels and resorts open and welcoming travelers in Mexico. The company has eight hotels currently under development throughout the country and continues to actively pursue additional growth opportunities in Mexico.

Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts said, “Latin America remains a key development market for us as our brand continues its rapid global growth.  Hilton Puerto Vallarta will be a much-anticipated addition to this leading leisure travel market.”

 Source: Hilton Worldwide and The Mexico Report