A few days ago the US State Department issued another travel warning for Mexico. I feel a bit better about this most recent warning, as they said travel to Mazatlán was fine if you exercise caution late at night and early morning. Most of us don’t stay out until the wee hours too often and feel very comfortable walking and driving all over the city.
Those of us who live here know that it is a lovely place. And if you who read about the violence a few weeks ago against a Canadian woman at the Riu Hotel, please be aware that the Riu is an all-inclusive hotel and that the person arrested for the beating had bypassed hotel security to enter. The Riu Hotel has hardly any relationship to the city of Mazatlán. It is way North of town and visitors there are often swept from the airport to the hotel and back without even seeing the city itself! The violence there was deplorable, but in no way represents the city of Mazatlán!
There are lots of wonderful things happening here and those of us who know the city are investing our time, energy, and money in new ventures that make the city even more wonderful.
Last weekend we went to a concert of the Sinaloa Symphony’s chamber orchestra performing Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. It was a delightful concert and the director asked us to Tweet, Post on Facebook, and tell all our friends that downtown Mazatlán on a Sunday is a perfectly safe place to be! We totally agree!
After the concert we had a very nice meal at the brand new Italian restaurant on the Plazuela Machado named Casa Canobbio. The meal was wonderful and it adds another choice to the already great restaurant scene here.
Today we went to an open house for another new B & B in town – Las 7 Maravillas. It is a lovely remodel in Los Pinos, and each room represents a different beautiful location. We’re sure owner Tatiana Genoud is a believer in Mazatlán and her new venture will be a success, too.
Daughter Jess was here for a week and we had a nice drive to Nuevo Mazatlán (North of Cerritos) to have lunch at the new restaurant Surf’s Up. It’s been open a couple of months, and is adjacent to a new B & B. The food was wonderful and it was lovely to have our toes in the sand while we ate. Here is Mazatlan Messenger’s recent review.
While Jess was here we also went to the beach at Playa Norte to have lunch at La Corriente. Last Monday was a holiday so the place was hopping and the banda was playing, too. La Corriente is fairly new and is a new concept for Mazatlán palapas.
The most exciting thing on our radar right now is the pretty strong possibility that we will be getting a cultural gathering place put together in the former Recrea space on Constitución. It looks like we could have a bookstore – cafe – small theater – place for classes and workshops in this well known space. Molika’s Hector Peniche and Ken Albanese are working to put it together with a few others. Our fingers are crossed that it won’t be long before it comes together. How about we all cross our fingers?
Our new Saturday organic market is a huge success. There are several other new restaurants opening soon and Carnaval is around the corner. You’ll want to keep an eye on MazatlanLife for reviews and details.
So all in all I think life in Mazatlán is pretty great. If you are thinking of coming down, I think you’ll have a wonderful time.
One last thing… at the top of the post you saw Henry and Coco in their new Huichol collars. I love those beautiful beaded bracelets the Huichol make and thought our buddies should have something cool to wear, too. I mentioned it to Casa Etnika and they made it happen!
judith
February 11, 2012Love this post, Nancy. Isn’t it fun to have visitors and see your home through new eyes ? Makes you fall in love all over again. And your still life just makes me smile and smile. We have our fingers and toes crossed with you for the new cultural centre. As Sheila at Mazatlan Life says, “It just seems so right.”
Ingrid
February 11, 2012There are so many wonderful things going on in Mazatlan right now. I’ve fingers and toes crossed for the new cultural gathering place. How lucky we are to have people prepared to take on a new venture like this.
Marc
February 11, 2012Nancy, I am planning a trip over one of these days. It was great meeting you a few months ago here in Mérida. I look forward to visiting “your” Mazatlan.
Marty
February 11, 2012I’m getting fewer and fewer comments about the safety in Mexico, especially after the news about “Fast and Furious.” It kind of hit home for many Americans that a lot of the drug problems are caused by us. I did get that one from a relative today, because of that news piece. Someone else commented on his Facebook post and I just said, “Still not worried.”
Zoe Jussel
February 12, 2012Though not there now, through articles and photos, I can still think “my Mazatlan, too”. I keep up with most as much as I can and of course, your blog certainly helps as well as keeping in touch with the many fine friends we made over the years.
Nancy
February 12, 2012Judith, I hope collective finger crossing (and all of us pulling together) can get the cultural center going… sure seems like things are on the right path!
Ingrid, We are SO lucky to have Ken and Hector and the rest of this wonderful community making things happen. Exciting times.
Marc, We’d love to show you our wonderful town, it would be great to see you!
Marty, That is wonderful. I think those of us who know Maz well know the truth.
Zoe, So glad you keep in touch, it still seems weird that you’re not here in the middle of all this fun stuff going on!
Contessa
February 12, 2012Great post! I hope many who attended the symphony passed on the message of how secure and wonderful Mazatlan is.
So are the dog collars now available for everyone or just special order?
Nancy
February 12, 2012Not sure about the dog collars, she showed me two small and two larger ones… and I bought the two larger ones. I think your girls might like to be cool, too!
Tricia
February 12, 2012Love the photos! Thanks for sharing a varied view on the cultural and artisric happenings in Mazatlan. Such a beautiful xity, Im putting it on my list of places to visit while living SOTB! When is your favorite time of year (when should I visit!) ?
NancyG
February 16, 2012Nancy, I have not spent a lot of time in Mexico, however my family and I enjoyed ourselves immensely and spent some time off the beaten gringo track (drove to Urauapan and Patzcuaro from Zihua). We adored the Mexican people.
Unfortunately the Canadian media plays up every attack or major accident of a Canadian (some, definitely not all, of whom are involved with unsavory characters or are drunk, but you wouldn’t know that from the article) …and then the media inevitably re-prints the list of previous victims of violence. I hear fellow Canadians say “I’d definitely never go to Mexico!” The headlines are usually all that they see.
I was pleased to see this recent article in the Calgary Herald, which printed comments from Canadians who spend considerable time in Mexico:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/What+your+experience+with+safety+Mexico/6157409/story.html
Thank you for your lovely blog. Enjoy Carnival!