ADIP Feb 2008

paradise another day in

February 2008 / 55

M E X I C O

A RT H I S TO RY F O O D R E A L E S T A T E ENTERTAINMENTSPORTS MUSEUMSGALLERIES TRAVELARCHITECTURE DESIGNBUSINESS E C O N O M Y R E A L E S TAT E L I S T I N G S R E A L E S TAT E N E W S R E A L E S TAT E L AW R E A L E S TAT E F I N A N C E BOOKSCOMMUNITY C U LT U R E P E O P L E SHOPPINGSOCIALEVENTS RESOURCESCLASSIFIEDS

M E X I C O

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

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©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

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©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

paradise another day in

EDITOR - PUBLISHER

Catherine Krantz info@adip.info

Larry Abrams Patrick Corcoran Epitacio John Glaab Michel Janicot Steve Johnson Ed Kunze Linda Neil Tracy Novinger Jeanne Pezzi Nancy Seeley Lisa Sheppard Priyanka Sharma Maura Taylor DESIGN

Advertising Agency jld picassojld@hotmail.com jorge@adip.info Office: Tel. (755) 554-6525 Cel. (755)104-5057

WEB DESIGN & HOSTING Zihrena Sistems La Ropa, Zihuatanejo webmaster@zihua-ixtapa.com (755) 554-0719 ADVERTISING INQUIRIES (755) 554-6525 space is limited, deadline for materials and payments is the 1st of the month previous publicidad@adip.info SALES OFFICE Juan N Alvarez 34 Col: Centro, Zihuatanejo, Gro

Necklace by Arthur Koby

COLUMNISTS - CONTRIBUTORS

W

elcome to Another Day in Paradise.

Panache: flamboyant confidence of style or manner; a tuft or plume of feathers, especially as a headdress or on a helmet.

Parade: a public procession; a boastful or ostentatious display.

Paradise: heaven as the ultimate abode of the just; an ideal or idyllic place or state; the elusive goal of a vague and wandering journey that often leads people to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico; A little magazine you just might find there; a cliche for all things great and glorious you just might be tempted to overuse; that nostalgic place you start dreaming of returning to, even as you are leaving.

Paradox: a seemingly absurd or selfcontradictory statement or proposition that may in fact be true.

Paragon: a person or thing regarded as a model of excellence or of a particular quality; a perfect diamond of 100 carats or more.

Paramount: more important than anything else, supreme; having supreme power.

Parody: an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect; a travesty.

Particular: especially great or intense: Exercise particular care when pouring champagne on sailing vessels; fastidious about something.

Passage: the action or process of moving through, over, under, or past something on the way to someplace else; the action or process of moving forward.

Passel: a large group; A passel of pilgrims.

Pastiche: an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artists, or period; create a pastiche of an artist or work.

Pastoral: portraying country life especially in an idealized or romanticized from.

Sometimes you are searching, and sometimes you are finding. If you are like us, you are searching for paradise (synonyms: heaven, delight, joy, bliss, rapture). This month we find it, not only outside the door, but hidden among the P’s of the Oxford English Dictionary. Keep searching, you just never know where it might turn up.

Until next time,

SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES Check out our web page for more info: www.adip.info WE WELCOME ARTICLE & PHOTOGRAPH SUBMISSIONS info@adip.info FOR GUIDELINES

ON THE COVER: TOASTED SHELLED CACAO BEANS Photo by Epitacio

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

www.adip.info

February 2008 / 55

8 History

28 Z-Scene

The Mexican Flag 10 Food

Ingredients of Mexico - Chocolate 16 Sports

36 Upcoming Events 38 Intercultural Communication

Cultural Time

The Time Machine Puerto Vicente Guerrero

40 Travel

20 Flora & Fauna

46 Home & Garden

Hummingbirds

The Doors of Zihuatanejo

22 Books

48 Real Estate Law

24 Community

Get Involved: Community Project Directory 25 Classifieds 26 Community

Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival

Walking Tours in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo

Income from Rental Properties 50 Real Estate News

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Real Estate Fair Real Estate Calendar 52 Real Estate Listings

For Sale, For Rent

ŠAnother Day in Paradise Ž, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 8

By Patrick Corcoran, Photo by Bruce Herman

A

picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say, but what about a flag?

Well, this article about Mexico’s tricolor is only 696 words long, but surely one could tack on another 300 or so with ease, because there is certainly plenty to talk about.

First, the basics: the Mexican bandera has three broad vertical stripes of, moving from left to right, green, white, and red. Each of the colors has a deeper significance: green stands for hope and victory; white represents the purity of the national ideals; red, fittingly, is for the blood that Mexico’s national heroes have shed over the years.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

To help distinguish the Mexican version from similarly color-schemed flags (in Italy and Ireland, for example), an eagle perched on a cactus and chowing down on a snake is splashed across the middle white stripe. The emblem is based on an old myth of the tribe that eventually founded Mexico City and the Aztec empire. The Mexica, so the story goes, left their traditional lair along the Pacific Coast (an area known as Aztlán), waiting for a sign from the god Huitzilopochtli about where to settle. Seeing the hungry eagle sate its appetite, the Mexica knew they had found home, so they put down their stuff and founded an empire. Tenochtitlán (later Mexico City) grew on the island in the middle of the lake where they ended their journey. Hundreds

of years later, just as with the sign from Huitzi, the tribe’s name was given modern significance, as its modified form became the name of the new nation: Mexico.

The symbols on the crest are abundant. The eagle’s cactus stands in the middle of an island, which is bordered by the same three colors that dominate the Mexican flag. According to the Mexican government’s web site, the snake doubling as the eagle’s snack speaks of “the renovation of life to the ancient Mexicas.” The cactus is joined by a red fruit known in Mexico as tuna, which the Aztecs saw as a symbol of a human heart. Bordering the bottom half of the emblem is a two-sided garland.The right side of

said garland shows off a series of laurels, which represent Mexican triumph, while the left plays host to oak branches, which demonstrate Mexico’s strength.

People living in Mexico’s national territory have been using flags since prehistoric times. Central tribes like the Tlaxcaltecas, Tepanecas, and the Aztecs used banners to unify people under a certain leader or area of the country.When the Spanish arrived in what was then called New Spain in the sixteenth century, the peoples of Mexico were then unified under various Spanish banners, although for most of the three centuries of Spanish rule, there was not yet one national flag.

When Miguel Hidalgo sparked the Mexican revolution in 1810, he used an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe to rally his followers, marking a break with the Spanish past. Tri-color flags with the basic pattern still in use today began to pop up in the decade or so between Hidalgo’s famous grito and Mexico’s victory over Spain in 1821. Mexico’s constituent congress made it all official—the three stripes, the hungry eagle, et cetera—in 1823.

Over the years, the flag has continued to illustrate the many twists and turns of Mexican history.The French crown was placed above the eagle during the reign of emperor Maximillian in the 1860’s, reflecting the French empire’s dominance over the land of the Aztec sun.

The progress-obsessed dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz adjusted the eagle the face forward, as if to simulate a take-off into the future. But the full frontal version didn’t much outlast the Diaz reign (which was, however, seemingly interminable); Venustiano Carranza’s initial triumph in the Mexican Revolution (which ended Diaz’s stay in power) allowed him to return the left-hand profile of the eagle to the coat of arms.

Since then, the popular flag has become as popular a part of Mexican culture as mariachis and beer spiked with lime. The flag’s nickname, el Tri, has been adopted by the national soccer team and one of the country’s most revered rock bands. Indeed, quite a flag.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patrick Corcoran is a writer and teacher living in Torreón, Coahuila. He struggles daily to impart English skills to local middle school students, and feels confident that any reader who finishes one of his articles has learned more from him than 90 percent of his adolescent charges.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 10

By Priyanka Sharma, Photos by Epitacio

C

hocolate is one of the most popular food items in the world today, signifying luxury, joy and decadence. It has become an almost essential item in modern celebrations, and is equally popular with people across cultures and age groups. Chocolate is made into bars and bonbons, and is used to flavor a range of foods including ice cream, coffee and confectionary. Even the most basic everyday diet of the average person contains chocolate in some form - either in cereal, bread or cake, as a flavoring in milk, in the form of a bonbon had after meals, or as a soothing bedtime drink of hot chocolate. However, it was not even known to the western world 500 years ago. Cacao or cocoa beans were one of the many new food stuffs that Columbus carried back with him to Spain from his voyages into the New World. According to the available records, the first shipment of chocolate was sent from Veracruz to Sevilla in Spain in 1585.

Chocolate was commercialized in Europe in the late 18th century, when it first appeared in a solid form. By 1849, the Cadbury brothers had started making and selling chocolate in England. From then on, chocolate captured the imagination of people the world over as few food items had ever done before. By the early 19th century, chocolate was relished as a fashionable luxury item by European nobility.

There are several theories that explain the origin of the word chocolate. One such theory ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Homemade Chocolate

suggests that it comes from the nahuatl word xocolatl, which is itself derived from two words - xocolli which means bitter, and atl, water.

Chocolate has been enjoyed in Central and Latin America since 1100 BC. Archaeological evidences found at Puerto Escondido at Honduras suggest that cacao beans were first used to brew an alcoholic drink. In ancient Mexico, chocolate was associated with Xochiquetzal, the Aztec goddess of fertility.

A popular method of preparing chocolate was to make it into a bitter drink flavoured with chile and vanilla. Cocoa beans were an important luxury good, and in several parts of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica they were used as currency. In a system devised and used by the Aztecs, 100 cacao beans were the price of a turkey, and three the price of an avocado!

Although Columbus was the first person to bring cocoa beans intro the western world, it was the Spanish conquistador Don Hernan Cortes who is credited with popularising the drink across Europe. Around the early 1600’s, Spanish monks in monasteries began perfecting chocolate to Spanish tastes by adding cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar, leaving out the chile, and serving it hot. Until the Victorian era, chocolate was exclusive for drinking. London’s first chocolate drinking house was opened in 1657. The drink was further altered around 1700 by the English, who added milk to chocolate. In subsequent

years, the drinking of chocolate was further popularised in Europe, made possible in part by the larger volumes of trade. The setting up of cocoa plantations in Haiti, the West Indies and Africa increased the accessibility of chocolate in Europe.While the actual inventor of eating chocolate in unknown, in 1848, Fry and Sons of Bristol, England were the first to sell a chocolate bar, which they called chocolate delicieux a manger. The first milk chocolate is credited to Swiss manufacturer Daniel Peters of Vevey, who added powdered milk to dark chocolate to come up with this most popular invention.

The use of chocolate in Mexico is diverse. A traditional favorite enjoyed almost on a daily basis by old and young alike is Mexican hot chocolate. This is prepared by melting a bar of Mexican chocolate (which is a semisweet chocolate with the addition of vanilla, cinnamon and ground almonds or pecans) in milk, and then frothing the mixture using a special wooden whisk - called a molinillo - that each Mexican kitchen has specifically for this purpose alone. Another classical preparation that has chocolate as one of its signature ingredients is mole poblano, a dish of Mexican turkey served with an intense and complex sauce that uses various chiles, nuts and seeds, spices, and chocolate.

Here are a couple of chocolate recipes for Valentine’s Day. MEXICAN CHOCOLATE CAKE 2 tablespoon melted butter for the pan 1 and 1⁄2 cups flour 3⁄4 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 and 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder 1⁄2 teaspoon mild chile powder 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 1 cup packed brown sugar 3 eggs 3⁄4 cup melted butter 3⁄4 cup coarsely ground pecans 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 200 grams chocolate (dark or milk) chopped 1⁄2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade (375 degrees Fahrenheit). Thoroughly grease a nine inch deep cake pan. Sift together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, chile powder and salt. In a bowl, combine the sugar and eggs, and beat until the sugar has melted. Add the butter and mix well. Now add the flour mixture into the sugar and eggs in four additions, mixing well between additions.

Finally add the vanilla and nuts and mix them in as well. Pour the batter into the prepared mould and bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before placing it on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, heat the cream gently until very hot. Add the chocolate, mix once, and leave for five minutes. Now mix vigorously (the chocolate should be completely melted by now) until smooth. Add the butter and mix again until glossy. Spread the frosting over the top of the cake and leave one hour to set completely.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Scored baking

MAYAN HOT CHOCOLATE

tablets of choc

olate

1 cup water 1⁄2 a dried red chile, broken into pieces and with the seeds removed 1 stick cinnamon, about 2 inches 2 cups whole milk 50 grams bittersweet chocolate, 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon very finely ground almonds Bring the water to the boil, add the chile and cinnamon and boil for about five minutes.

Strain the water, and set aside. Put the milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chocolate and sugar and stir to dissolve. Now gradually add the water, tasting between additions until the desired strength of chile flavor is achieved. Add the almonds, mix well, and serve.

Homemade chocolate is prepared by toasting cacao beans until they can be peeled, then grinding them along with other ingredients such as cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, chile, flour… Water is added to the mixture and then rolled into balls ready to eat or added to hot milk or water for drinking chocolate. Milk is added for milk chocolate.

grinding cacoa beans with sugar ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

By Lisa Sheppard, Photos by Epitacio

W

hen I was ten years old, when my uncle came to visit it was a big event in our lives, as he lived in Mexico so his visits were infrequent but memorable, as much for having a chance to see our favorite relative as for the exotic presents he would bring. One time he brought each of us stunning traditional charro outfits, complete with huge curved wool sombreros, a jacket, and narrow flared trousers all ornately trimmed in loops of narrow white ribbon.

Another time he brought my mother handcarved wooden cooking tools, among them a traditional chocolate beater, a molinillo, (mowlih-neeyo). I am sure most of you have seen them, they are intricately carved, long-handled, brown and white ball-ended implements ingeniously encircled by notched rings all carved from one block of wood. My mother hung it in a place of honor in the kitchen, where it remained unused for many years. We were fascinated by it but a bit puzzled as to its use; in that time hot chocolate was made in a sauce pan using powdered cocoa, sugar, and a bit of milk. We were not instructed to hold it inside the pot of chocolate and roll it quickly between our palms to whip up the foamy brew. Later at age fourteen, I discovered tablets of grainy, sugary, Mexican chocolate sold in a small corner market and bought them

to eat like candy bars, I was still clueless as to what it was for but the flavor and texture was delicious and the packaging alluring with its indecipherable Spanish. It was only after we moved to Patzcuaro that I discovered how truly wonderful Mexican chocolate could be when prepared in the traditional manner, as a cup of foamy hot, chocolate metate, (chocoh-lah-tay meh-tah-tay). Wine connoisseurs will tell you that by introducing air to liquid the oxygen will enhance your ability to truly taste the entire range of flavors in what you are drinking. Hence the rude-sounding slurping during a wine tasting, and in this case the whipping of the chocolate to a foamy frenzy.

Chocolate was born in Mexico; it was the drink of kings, they consumed it sweetened with honey, flavored with vanilla pods and spices, or sometimes bitter with a bit of chile thrown in for a zing. Montezuma was said to have drunk over 20 cups a day and served it in a golden cup to Hernan Cortez on their first meeting.

This is perhaps why one industrial chocolate maker in Michoacan is named Montezuma and every label sports his proud profile and crown.

Hot chocolate here is consumed with pan dulce or sweet buns for a light evening snack; as the large meal of the day here in Mexico is the comida, eaten between two and four in the afternoon. I am afraid I like chocolate metate ŠAnother Day in Paradise Ž, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

any time of day and have pegged exactly which café has the best. Served in a thick china cup to keep the heat from dissipating, it is topped with dark flecked foam floating on top of a thick slightly sweet chocolate liquid with a rich sediment of dark chocolate at the bottom which signals the sad ending of a heavenly experience. Unlike some addictive things, each cup you drink gives you the same anticipated jolt of pleasure time after time. It is one of my last, few, indulged vices and I revel in it.

Not all of us have a hand-carved wooden chocolate molinillo hanging around the kitchen, but the same effect can be obtained by either a blender or hand-held mixer. Here is the classic way to indulge in chocolate metate.

For two cups of Divine Chocolate; 1 tablet of Mexican chocolate 2 cups of milk Break the tablet into small chunks; they are usually scored into wedges. Place in a sauce pan and add the milk. Gently warm the milk, melting the chocolate. When it is totally dissolved and the milk is steaming, put one half of the mixture in a large blender cup.

Now anyone who has ever blended hot liquids knows that if you are not careful and add the entire pot of hot chocolate, when you hit the blender button it will explode out the top scalding you, spraying liquid everywhere, and destroying your chance at a cup of heaven. So please do it one cup at a time. Hit the button on high, blend for a few seconds and pour.

Ahhhhhhhh.

cacoa beans

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

The Secret to my Mexican Brownies: I have been known to use Mexican chocolate and a few other substitutions to change my favorite brownie mix, (bought from a popular warehouse store, no names please) into a more regional dessert and nobody was the wiser until now. These mixes always require three other ingredients, water, cooking oil, and an egg. Here is my secret: Substitute cold coffee for the water, substitute melted butter for half the required oil and along with the butter melt one full tablet of Mexican chocolate. I also add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract; for Pete’s sake don’t use the artificial kind. Here in Mexico vanilla extract is bought by the quart and used liberally! I also throw in a teaspoon of freshly bought cinnamon. Please buy it in bulk form from a local specialty market or grind up a stick of the bark using an extra electric coffee grinder, (grinders are cheap and I always have one for grinding fresh spices). You will soon discover just how truly old and flavorless cinnamon sold in those small expensive jars has become after its many months sitting on a supermarket shelf. Good cinnamon should smell like it tastes with a bite of fresh cinnamon oil. And last but not least, throw in 1⁄2 cup of chopped pecans. Bake as per directions. I also substitute cocoa powder for the flour required in the high altitude directions. If you want a truly Mexican dessert, use an equal amount of red chile powder instead of the cinnamon for a real bite! Just think of that marvelous movie with Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, and Alfred Molina, Chocolat, and let the clever wind carry you away.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lisa Mower Sheppard lived for many years in Berkeley, California where she absorbed and experimented using the mix of flavors from the lively restaurants and markets of its multi-cultural community.

Lisa and her husband Ian now own a small organic farm near Lake Zirahuen, Michoacan.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 16

By Ed Kunze, Photos by Jorge Luis Delgado

I

magine what it would be like to step back in time to see some of the most pristine fishing areas in Mexico. Believe it or not, you can do that; and only an hour and a half south of Zihuatanejo.

Even for the non-fisherman, Puerto Vicente Guerrero is like stepping back in time 50 years. It is certainly not on your guided tour program, but it should be a part of your itinerary. You can either rent a car, or take a bus, and spend a couple of days in one of the inexpensive and clean hotels in the area.

Other than the modern outboard motors on the panga commercial fleet, it would almost be impossible to tell you weren’t in a quaint Mexican fishing village in the 1950’s.

Beside the night time commercial fishing fleet, there are also a couple of pangas devoted to diving for lobster, octopus, and oysters with a hookah hose and air compressor, providing fresh seafood for the small local restaurants and residents.The oysters in this area are huge.

I have had to cut them in four pieces in order to eat them.

Featuring pristine beaches which have never seen a crowd, a quiet little 20-acre fishing port, and contrasted against the back drop of the Sierra Madres, makes for a veritable paradise. ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

With the incredible roosterfish action here, Puerto Vicente, Gro. is definitely one of the top hotspots in the world for roosters.

For the fisherman, you will be fishing in almost virgin waters. The port has only three sport fishing boats, and one is currently without a motor. There are rarely more than three or four days a week when one or two boats are fishing the area. But even if they hit it hard, they still can’t cover all the available areas, either inshore or offshore. There are very few places in the world where the last person to fish the area you are fishing, was more than two weeks prior.

With the incredible roosterfish action here, Puerto Vicente, Gro. is definitely one of the top hotspots in the world for roosters. It would certainly rate no worse than number four, but only because few people have fished it as compared to the other places. But, the people who have fished it would rate it a possible number one spot in the world for roosterfish. An average day will raise from 10 to 15 roosters, and last July, using a surface popper, I raised 32 in a four-hour period. Of those 32 roosters, I was only counting the one on the surface slashing at the popper. I was

not counting the two or three we could see down below the popper. And these roosters are huge. There are a few in the seven to 25 pound range, but the majority of the fish run from 35 to 50 pounds, with even a few in the 70 or 80 pound class. Have you ever seen the hole left in the water after a 50-pound rooster has turned on your fly? It is awesome. This is the place to be if you are into light line fishing or fly fishing for roosters.

The blue water is just like the inshore fishery. It is unspoiled.What makes the blue water fishery here so unique is its geographical location and structure. At Puerto Vicente Guerrero, located approximately half way between Zihuatanejo and Acapulco, the Sierra Madre Mountains continue down to the water’s edge, and on out to sea.This creates the only structure between Acapulco and Zihuatanejo the fish can identify with.Wherever there is structure there will be bait hiding, and the game fish follow the bait.

The dorado, marlin, and sailfish action starts at two miles from the port. Rarely do we travel more than 12 miles from port, and that would to be to fish the canyon formed by the 1,000fathom line. The canyon has an incredible upwelling, as in goes from 6,000 feet of water

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

up to 2,500 feet on each side.That is an almost 3,500-foot near vertical rise and the nutrient laden upwelling attracts all species of blue water game fish.

When you compare the blue water fishing around Puerto Vicente Gro. to Zihuatanejo, keep in mind there are very few sea mounts in Zihuatanejo, and to get to the 1,000- fathom line you must make a 30-mile boat ride. The blue water fishing is better than in Zihuatanejo, the action is closer to the port, and you have the added bonus of fishing in essentially virgin water.

Why has Puerto Vicente Gro. been such a well kept secret? Mostly it is from the lack of

having a fishing fleet. Only these last two years has there been any covered pangas dedicated to sport fishing, and even these really do not have a captain or deckhand knowledgeable with sport fishing and tourists. The local captains are excellent fishermen, but with a hand line or using a net for commercial purposes. If you want to charter these boats, it is best if you have your own quality gear, a working knowledge of Spanish, and very good experience at rigging your own baits.

A few fishermen have been going to Puerto Vicente Guerrero for years and getting some of the best fishing in the world. In fact, ESPN2 did a show there last year and a couple of articles have been written about it in popular fishing magazines. These knowledgeable fishermen pay the extra premium to have pangas from Zihuatanejo make the 40-mile run and fish with them. They stay in one of the local hotels, and meet the Zihuatanejo pangas at the dock each morning, which is only five to 10 minutes from the hotel. This way they get all the benefits of the first class gear and the captain’s knowledge to fish these virgin waters, and they do not have to make a three hour (each way) boat ride every day.

Times are changing however, and how long Puerto Vicente Gro. will remain an unknown hotspot remains to be seen. But for now, if you want to step back in time, be sure you make the trip down there. You will not just be amazed by the incredible fishing, but the experience of being in a quaint old time fishing village will be a memorable event which may never be seen again in a few more years.

Ed Kunze is Zihuatanejo’s IGFA Representative and a charter fishing boat captain. He lives in IxtapaZihuatanejo year-round and can be reached at 755-5537141 or edkunze@gmail.com For more information on Captain Ed and his boats go to www.sportfishingixtapa.com or www.zihuatanejo.net/seaandsand.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 20

By Larry Abrams, Photos by Robert Shantz

I

don’t know if they are called hummingbirds because their fast moving wings makes a humming sound or if they just don’t know the words...But anyway, most people seem to be enchanted watching the smallest of all our birds. I think that a lot of this has to do with not only their size but their iridescent throat patch. Only the outer third of each feather on their neck, or “gorget,” is filled with tiny air bubbles and this is where the color is created. These iridescent parts of the feather are flat so that they reflect light only in one direction and the sun has to strike the feathers at just the right angle or else the color will look dusky or black.There are about 325 species world wide, 50 or so in Mexico and about 16 found in the U.S. and Canada, and they range from the tropics, to 15,000 feet up in the mountains, deserts throughout the Americas on up to Alaska. There is only one found in the Eastern U.S. and Southern Canada, the RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. The others are all visitors to the Western part of the U.S. and one, the RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD can be found breeding in Southern Alaska.

But the best place to see the most birds is in Southeast Arizona. Southeast Arizona is also the best place to see the very rare visitors from Mexico that might occur once or twice a season in a remote canyon. This past spring, in the park in Tucson where I volunteer for Tucson Audubon, we had a PLAIN-CAPPED STARTHROAT HUMMINGBIRD that stayed around for several weeks. We had birders coming from all over the country to see a bird that is extremely rare to the U.S. and even rarer in Northern Mexico.

The Ruby-throated hummingbird weighs three grams, about one tenth the weight of a first class letter. An egg is less than a ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

half an inch long, one-half the size of a jelly belly....any flavor. Their metabolism is so high that a man would have to eat 285 pounds of Double Cheeseburgers every day to maintain his weight. Their heart beats at 1260 times a minute and a hummingbird at rest takes 250 breaths a minute. At night they can slow their heartbeat down to 50 beats a minute to conserve their energy. Hummingbirds can fly forward, backwards, hover, and even upside down. That Alaska hummer flies 3,000 miles from Mexico to their breeding grounds, the Ruby-throated flies over 500 miles nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico on their migration.A male ALLEN’S can fly 45 miles an hour during their spectacular dive display while courting.

Ok, let’s talk about sex now. The male during migration usually shows up first and stakes out a territory that has a good food supply…now let’s digress and talk about food. Everyone is aware that hummingbirds “drink” from flowers and feeders. They also eat an enormous amount of tiny insects, especially the female when she needs extra protein while raising her family….Now back to sex. The female selects a territory that has good nesting potential.

A nest will consist of various plant material, downy fibers of thistle and dandelion down, hair, feathers, lint, and anything else small and soft. It is often “glued” together with spider webs. She will wander over to a male’s area looking for food…which is how the two meet.

After a “meeting,” (you know what I mean), the female departs to start raising her family and the guy looks for another female; he has no part in nest construction or helping raise the young (sound familiar sometimes?).

I sometimes bring a hummingbird feeder with me to Zihuatanejo. Even up on the second or

third floor patio, you will have birds visiting you to feed. An easy mixture to make is one part sugar to five parts water. In the heat here, it is wise to dispose of any food left after a few days, clean the feeder, and refill it.When you do get birds to visit, you’ll see how territorial they become by chasing anyone that comes near their “private food supply.” If there are too many birds trying to feed, it becomes a race to the feeder before getting chased off and while that is happening, another bird will sneak in for a drink. Sometimes you will see three or four birds in all stages of approaching the feeder, drinking from it, and getting chased away.

Last year (February 2007) unfortunately, was a bad year for seeing hummingbirds. Because of all the rain, and late in the season rain, Zihuatanejo had a bumper crop of mosquitoes, and along with the mosquitoes, a bumper crop of Dengue Fever in the area. This bumper crop caused the city to do a lot of spraying to control the mosquitoes which I think caused a lot of the food supply (remember the fact that hummingbirds eat lots of tiny bugs, gnats and mosquitoes) to become deadly to any bird that eats these bugs. I also saw very few Greybreasted Martins, birds whose diet is mostly mosquitoes and Tropical King Birds that also eat bugs as their main meal. All in all, not a good year for bug eating birds, but hopefully, this year, after you read this and run out looking for hummingbirds, you will be richly rewarded.

Hummingbird facts Many cultures believe hummingbirds are magical creatures, one of the widespread beliefs is that hummingbirds, are messengers between worlds.

A Mayan legend says the hummingbird is actually the sun in disguise, and he is trying to court a beautiful woman, who is the moon. The Aztecs came to believe that every warrior slain in battle rose to the sky and became hummingbirds. They used hummingbird feathers in their ceremonial dress and rituals. In Mexico there was a belief that the hummingbird brings luck in all matters of love and romance. Stuffed hummingbirds were even worn as love charms.

If you have questions or comments or just want to “talk” birding, I’m always available at lardor@yahoo.com and if you want to go birding while I’m in town I’m usually found at Paty’s, eating my daily shrimp cocktail at lunchtime...

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 22

By Catherine Krantz, Photo by Jorge Luis Delgado The Hummingbird’s Daughter

By Luis Alberto Urrea

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et in the late 1800’s against the backdrop of the emerging Mexican revolution, The Hummingbirds’ Daughter, tells the story of Teresita who is born in a dirt floor shack on a ranch in Sinaloa, the illegitimate daughter of the rich ranch owner and a teenage Indian girl who they called the Hummingbird. From such inauspicious and harsh beginnings Teresita evolves into a folk hero for Mexico, and the story is based on the author’s real-life aunt who he was told stories about in his childhood.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Taken in by the Yaqui curandera who runs the kitchen on the ranch, Teresita learns about the healing powers of plants and finds she has a talent for not only healing but seeing visions and creating miracles. When she seemingly comes back from the dead she is considered a saint and people in the thousands start making pilgrimages to see her from across the country. As a powerful healer and Indian woman who believes that the land belongs to the Indians, she becomes a rallying cry for the revolution. In the midst of rising class and land struggles that are swiftly leading up to the Mexican revolution, Urrea weaves a vibrant magic realism tale of Mexican history, at once embracing and at odds, with the power of the traditional beliefs and ways of life in a world undergoing great violent change. The Hummingbird’s Daughter, is an entertaining and engrossing tale of the struggle between faith and reason in an unreasonable time, and the spiritual journey of a country and a young woman who finds the strength to heal herself and everyone she comes into contact with along the way.

ŠAnother Day in Paradise Ž, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 24

Community Directory Comision para la Defensa de la Pesca Deportiva A.C. A group comprised of sport fishermen and sport fishing captains concerned with the conservation and protection of their natural resources. They support projects of conservation, preservation, catch & release in sport fishing, the ill effects of over fishing and education on these themes. For more information you can contact Comision para la Defensa de la Pesca Deportiva A.C., founder and president, Capt. Ruben Lopez, at 755108-6506, 755-554-6839, or by e-mail: ruben_ lopez43@hotmail.com Fundacion Rene Ferguson A.C. This Foundation was set up in memory of Rene Ferguson and its objective is to support able young women, who are suffering financial hardship, through a degree course by assisting them with the expenses of college tuition and books. Donations to the foundation are tax deductible in the United States through The Rene Ferguson Foundation. Please contact Erica Islas at La Quinta Troppo or at mexdrop@prodigy.net.mx The Netza Project The Netza Project is a U.S and Mexico registered non-profit that works to advance literacy, education and economic opportunity for all, in particular supporting the vision and expansion of The Netzahualcoyotl School and Kindergarten for Indigenous Children in Zihuatanejo, which today educates over 400 migrant, native and street children - many of whom speak Nahuatl, Mixteco, Amusgo and Tlapaneco, and who otherwise might not be in school. The Netza Project also advocates equality and social justice through dormitory shelter, health programs, women’s micro-finance, adult literacy, scholarships, and international volunteerism by fostering respect for diversity and celebrating native culture. See www.netzaproject.org; contact Lisa Martin info@netzaproject.org; US cell 508-284-0078; Mexico cell 044 755 10 01173.

Por Los Niños de Zihuatanejo, A.C. is the community-based, non-profit association, founded by the Zihua SailFest, to provide ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

educational opportunities to economically disadvantaged children in Zihuatanejo. Por Los Niños supports learning and school repair projects at more than 12 under-funded primary schools and kindergartens. Contact: Lorenzo Marbut, home: 755-554-2115, cell: 755-102-4463, Lorenzo@porlosninos.info

memberships to raise funds, gladly accepts donations. Located at Casa Marina, next to the basketball court facing the bay in central Zihuatanejo. Casa Marina, Paseo del Pescador #9, Col. Centro 40880 Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, México, Tel. (755) 554-2373. www.zihuatanejo. net/spaz/, animales.zihua@hotmail.com

The Rotary Club is a world-wide social organization with the purpose to help those in need. In Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo there are three groups:

Zihuafest A.C. The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival Now in its fifth year, the Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival brings international musicians to Zihuatanejo from all across the world. Ten days of live music in Paradise includes many genres and including two free-to-the-public concerts, one for the school children of Zihuatanejo and the other for the people of Zihuatanejo. The Festival is a registered not-for-profit association in Mexico and a percentage of festival proceeds go toward supporting Music, Art and Cultural Education in the community. Sponsors, Donors, and Volunteers always needed. www.zihuafest.info info@zihuafest.info

Club Rotario Ixtapa - Nuevas Generaciones New Generations Rotary Club Ixtapa Hotel Presidente Inter-Continental in Ixtapa, Phone: (755) 553-0018 Club Rotario de Zihuatanejo, A.C. Zihuatanejo Rotary Club Hotel Catalina, road to Playa La Ropa, Zihuatanejo, Phone: (755) 554-9321 Club Rotario de Zihuatanejo Tercer Milenio Third Millennium Rotary Club of Zihuatanejo Hotel Riviera Beach, Ixtapa Phone: (755) 554-7645 S.O.S. Bahia, A.C. Local non-profit group dedicated to the rescue and long-term preservation of the ecological integrity of the Bay of Zihuatanejo.

Promotes environmental awareness, advocates the sustainable development of the bay’s surroundings, and works to stop water pollution and the destruction of wildlife habitat in and around the bay. Collects and distributes information about the issues concerning the bay and organizes periodical beach cleanups.

Gladly accepts volunteer contributions and donations. www.sosbahia.org, info@sosbahia.org.

SPAZ-HKP “Helene Krebs Posse” Humane Society of Zihuatanejo (Sociedad Protectora de Animales de Zihuatanejo Helene Krebs Posse) Offers sterilization clinics, free adoptions, educational outreach programs, treatment and rehabilitation for wounded, homeless or abandoned animals. Sells t-shirts and

Zihuatanejo SailFest SailFest is a six-day festival that combines fun and games, heart-felt volunteerism and an outpouring of international friendship.

Although the tone of the event is light-hearted, the cruisers’ goals are serious – to raise funds for the education of Zihuatanejo’s poorest children. Cocktail parties, live auctions, sailboat and dinghy races, poker chases, kid’s day, beach parties, seminars, ham radio tests, chili cookoffs, street fairs, regattas and just some good old fashioned manual labor at the schools are just some of the events that highlight this gathering of “free spirits.” For more information, contact Sail Fest Cruiser Coordinator: Rick Carpenter - Rhcarpe@aol.com, or visit Rick’s Bar, Calle Cuauhtemoc #5, Centro, Zihuatanejo (in front of basketball courts near waterfront). Tel 755-554-2535 or visit the SailFest website www.zihuasailfest.com If you don’t see your organization listed here, please send us your mission statement and contact information to get on the list, info@adip.info.

Books

Furniture

Recovery

Intercultural Communication, A Practical Guide. Find ADiP featured author, Tracy Novinger’s invaluable book at the ADiP office in downtown Zihuatanejo, Juan Alvarez #34 next door Aeromexico, 755-554-6525. And with the cashier at Coconuts restaurant, Pasaje Agustin Ramirez No.1, centro Zihuatanejo.

FOR SALE: Round Glass-top dining room table, with bamboo & wicker base, 4 chairs. Good condition. 2,700 pesos, or 1,500 pesos without chairs. Tel. 755-554-6525.

“12 STEP HOUSE” English speaking recovery groups. Directly across from the biblioteca (library) on Cuahtemoc, AAMonday and Friday 6:00 PM NA- Wednesday 6:00 PM. Additional meetings November - April. For more info call Tom (755) 112-1919 or Mike cell 044-755-104-4544

Mother Nature/My Nature, Owen Lee’s new book on ecology now available through amazon.com. Prisoner in Paradise, also available through amazon.com, for delivery in Zihuatanejo, call Owen 755-102-7111 or owenzih@yahoo.com.

Employment Be Part of the team that makes this magazine.

AD SALES- ADiP magazine needs ad sales representatives for Ixtapa-Zihua, and Patzcuaro, Uruapan, Morelia, Michoacan flexible hours, full and part-time positions, salary plus commission. Must be dependable, reliable, professional. Bi-lingual a plus, own transportation a plus. 755-544-8023, info@adip.info.

COMMUNITY EDITOR – Ideal candidate will be Bilingual with magazine or newspaper experience, superb organizational, management and writing skills, a sincere interest in Mexico, and the philanthropic aims of the publication.

755-544-8023, info@adip.info.

Fellowship IXTAPA CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP. Non-denominational English language service every Sunday at 10am at Villas Paraiso in Ixtapa.

Contact Ron 755-554-5919 or John & Joan at 755-553-1618 for more information.

ZIHUATANEJO CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP. Non-denominational English language service every Sunday morning in Zihuatanejo, Contact John &Betty 755-5547178 for more information.

FOR SALE: Stackable Washer & Dryer – never been used. Electric washer, gas dryer. $8,000 pesos. 755-554-6226 Investment and Business Opportunities DEVELOPER INVESTMENT/JOINT VENTURE OPPORTUNITY Playa Blanca Resort Development - Low density master plan featuring vernacular and ecologically friendly design of villas and resort amenities.

We have recruited the development team and have obtained the necessary approvals to proceed. Please contact us at 312.925.9238 or playa.blanca@sbcglobal.net for more details.

Language Schools ¡LEARN SPANISH! Centro de Idiomas Mesoamericano - David Roman, M.A. (University of Georgia, UGA). Over 26 years teaching Spanish as a second language.

Address Edif. O Dept. 101, Villas del Pacifico (next to Bodega Aurrera) Tel. (755) 110-8075; E-mail: davidroman88@hotmail.com, www.pas eosculturales.com, www.mesoamericano.org ¡SPANISH IN MAGICAL PATZCUARO! Live the language in one of the most magical places in México, on beautiful Lake Patzcuaro. At CELEP we believe that learning Spanish should be an enjoyable process, and that studying a language in a cultural setting can be especially effective. Classes from 1 week to 1 month. Centro de Lenguas y Ecoturismo de Pátzcuaro, Navarrete 50 Centro, Tel. [01] (434) 342-4764, celepatz@prodigy.net.mx, www.celep.com.mx

Services LEGAL CONSULTING - Buying Property?

Condo Associations? Starting a new business?

Forming a Mexican corporation? Immigration papers? If you need assistance please contact Stefano Maci, Attorney at Law, fluent in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian, at s_maciattorney@prodigy.net.mx or call 755111-1813 locally, or from the U.S. 011-52-755111-1813.

MASSAGE: Complete your tropical experience with a relaxing or deep tissue massage from the healing hands of Ventura. By appointment, in your home or hotel. Bilingual.

Satisfaction guaranteed, Tel. Cell locally dial, 044-755-120-5478, castellanobarbara@yaho o.com Tours HIKING TOURS – Discover beautiful local trails with knowledgeable guide. Tours can be arranged for fabulous coastal views, native or medicinal plants, bird watching, or can include trips to hidden beaches for picnics and snorkeling. 1/2 day or Full day trips available.

Horseback riding tours also available. Call Ignacio, 044-755-559-8884, 755-544-8315, English spoken.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 26

Nyan and David Feder, 2007

By Jeanne Pezzi, Photos by Steve Johnson

T

he 5th Annual Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival will take place March 2-9, 2008. It will be an amazing week of music in Paradise with a line-up of musicians from around the world. At least six simultaneous venues will be going Monday through Friday of the festival week. An awesome opening concert at Carlos ‘n Charlies, in Ixtapa, (doors open at 5PM – music starts at 6PM) on Sunday March 2, 2008. A closing concert at El Pueblito Restaurant in Zihuatanejo on Saturday, March 8th. Last year we were able to gift our beneficiary, La Casa de la Cultura, with 40,000 pesos (up from 26,000 pesos the previous year) and we’re hoping to do much more this year. So please mark your calendars – March 2-9, 2008 and come help support a wonderful cause. wwwzihuafest.info Juanito Zihua performing with Zihuatanejo schoolchildren, 2007

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Zico, 2007

Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival 2008 Jose Luis Cobo – Zihuatanejo, Mexico – Troba, Latin Folk – Zihuatanejo’s own poet laureate and Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival Ambassador.

Eric Reid & Roberto Martinez – Zihuatanejo, Mexico – Jazz, Brazilian, Classical Duo. Eric Reid has studied classical and flamenco guitar and does original arrangements, teamed here with singer and bassist extraordinaire, Roberto Martinez, with a distinctive Latin flavor.

Juanito Zihua – Zihuatanejo, Mexico – Cuban, tropical, rock, romantic ballads, cumbias, salsa and boleros.

Alejandro Pico & Pablo Perez – Mexico – Classically trained, award-winning duo with Latin flavor.

Ruben Reyes of Toluca – Toluca, Mexico – Classical - Graduate of the School of Fine Arts of Jocotitlan and of the State of Mexico Music Conservatory.

Melissa Mitchell – Chicago, USA – Soulful, conscious, mellow, folky with a great stage presence.

Cain & Molina – Mexico/US – Duo, Latin, Bossa Nova. Multi-instrumentalists - these two have played for many years and have amazing experience between them. Long time association with Carlos Santana. Awardwinning musicians.

Twelve Strings – Berlin, Germany – An acoustic, classical duo who do their own compositions. Very popular at last year’s festival.

David Maldonado - originally from Spain.

Plays Latin and Flamenco extraordinaire!

Chris Dunnett – Cincinnati, Ohio, USA – An instrumentalist whose style ranges from rock to Flamenco, classical, fusion and finger style.

A big crowd pleaser who was at last year’s festival.

Paul Pigat – BC, Canada – incredibly versatile – everything from classical to funk. Multiaward winner.

Pat Guadagno – New Jersey, USA – A return from last year and called a “well-traveled troubadour” with a remarkable repertoire that spans Country, Rock, Blues and Soul.

Sun/Moyer – Nashville, USA – Have played together for over 15 years. True craftsmen, songsmiths and entertainers, Americana with some spice thrown into the mix.

Vicki Genfen – New Jersey, USA – Known for her different tunings, and recognized as one of the world’s great guitarists. Jazz-infused folk with a strong stage presence.

Esteban Bello – San Francisco, USA – Latin musician trained by Andres Segovia.

David & Nyan Feder –Florida Keys, USA Returning for their 3rd year – 11-year old Nyan plays awesomely along with Dad, Dave. A charismatic presence in the American-GypsyWorld music scene.

Mark Wayne Glasmire – Texas, USA – a gifted singer/songwriter and finalist for many music awards, passionate and soulful, played in front of 8,000 U.S. troops. Country sound with a great voice and great audience appeal.

E with Ferro – Cuba and USA – Duo, a great Cuban guitarist and both present a very bluesy act.

Thom Davis – Seattle, USA – a multiinstrumentalist playing the blues Ebony Tay – Canada – Juilliard-trained, very world, unique sound, incorporates many different styles and techniques and packs a punch!

Roger Scannura – Canada – Flamenco player who will have a true Flamenco dancer with him in full Flamenco dress. This will be a treat.

Bebo Whitehead – Nashville, USA – Has played lead guitar for the past seven years with Dr. Hook. A 2005 festival participant – Country with some rock ‘n roll and blues thrown in.

Eric McFadden - San Francisco, USA – Combines flamenco, funk and heavy metal forming a very unique and strong style.

Jenny Kerr & Phil (Philbillie) Milner - San Francisco, USA – Along with Milner, multiinstrumentalist Kerr has won many awards and derives her style from Delta Blues and country sources. Return participants from the 1st and 2nd festivals.

Line-up subject to change, check website www.zihuafest.info for more information. ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 28

Liliana Morales Exhibition, ZIH Galeria

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ŠAnother Day in Paradise Ž, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

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1. Rocio Madrazo, Jany, Coco, Luz Machado and Marcela Sierra 2. Mayren Navarrete, Cesar Gutierrez and Guadalupe Gaitan 3. Robert Marshall, Catherine Krantz, and Arthur Koby 4. Liliana and Mario 5. Karina Orozco, Liliana Morales, and Luz Machado

Sonia Rivero sculpture exhibition, Galeria Cihuacóatl

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1. Dana Baldwin, Artist Sonia Rivero Garcia, Randy Baldwin 2. Bill Underwood and family: Paige, Loren, Miles, Cris and Ken Hurwitz.

Intercultural Communication Booksigning, Restaurant Coconuts

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1, Author Tracy Novinger 2. Francesca McMahill and Nidia Hernandez 3. David Roman Porcayo, Clayton Freed 4. Glen and Tracy Novinger

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©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Another Day in Paradise Christmas dinner, Restaurant Coconuts 1

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1. Elias Pimentel and Leticia Sanchez 2. Meztli Yuriria González V. and Yuriria Vázquez Valencia 3. Epitacio Sánchez, Michel Janicot 4. Catherine Krantz 5. Jared Delgado, Jorge Luis Delgado and Yuriana Hernández

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

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Aldo’s birthday party 1. Aldo Cuglietta 2. Betty Walton, Margaret Reid 3 Christie Howes, Margaret Reid, Jim Dirmeitis, Elizabeth Ashe, Helen Walsh and Isabella Mensink 4. Chicago Mike and Family

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©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Holiday Parties

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

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Marc Pouliot & Robert Marshall’s New Year’s Party 1. Rob Marshall and Painter Emiliano Gironella with Abraham Boyd and Steven Towsend who just arrived from Hong Kong 2.Veronica Garcia, Sculptress Sonia Rivero, and Xiluen Rabadan 3. LA’s Mark and Troas Brownstein offer up Saludos with Carmen Parra 4. Chritsmas Open House at Judith Whitehead’s

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

RESTAURANT VILLA DE LA SELVA Paseo de l a Roca 755 553 3151 monday through saturday 7 to11 PM

Raciel Gaffare

Ixtapa

36

FEB 5-10: Carnival 2008, Zihuatanejo, Gro. This year’s theme: party in Paradise.

Zihuatanejo’s traditional carnival with: Parades, best float contest, best costume contest, coronation of the Carnival Queen, coronation of the children’s King, and the election of the Ugly King. Look for posters around town with times, locations.

Emilia Castillo

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GA

Gigi Mizrahi

THE TIDES Playa la Ropa 755 554 7774, monday through saturday 11 AM - 2 PM & 4 to 6 PM

LA RT

Zihuatanejo

galart@prodigy.net.mx

www.galart.net

ADiP

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

MAR 2-9: The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival, Zihuatanejo, Gro. Now in its fifth year, the Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival brings international musicians to Zihuatanejo from all across the world. Ten days of live music in Paradise includes many genres, including two free-to-the-public concerts. One for the school children of Zihuatanejo and the other for the people of Zihuatanejo. The Festival is a registered not-for-profit association in Mexico and a percentage of festival proceeds go toward supporting Music, Art and Cultural Education in the community.

Sponsors, Donors, and Volunteers always needed. www.zihuafest.info, info@zihuafest.info

MAR 3-7: 2008 Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Real Estate Fair – Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Gro. If you are seriously considering buying property in Mexico, the first step should be to educate yourself. Another Day in Paradise Real Estate magazine in conjunction with the Settlement Company and AMPI, the Mexican National Association of Real Estate Professionals, is sponsoring a five-day Real Estate Fair. The conference will include a week-long Property Showcase, featuring tours of developments and properties for sale in the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo area, and a Full-day educational seminar presented by internationally known consultant on Mexican real estate, Linda Neil. See www.adipre.info for more information or contact info@adip.info for information and reservations. Price is $300 pesos per person, and includes entrance to all seminars and property tour open houses, discounts for AMPI members.

Ongoing 2008: Delia González jewelry exhibition, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Gro. Born in Taxco, Gro, Delia González first studied jewelry design at Mexico’s National School of Graphic Art and later specialized in design in the city of Milan. She has designed for international brands such as Gap, Banana Republic and Sundance. She is now one of the most recognized jewelry designers in Mexico. She recently arrived at St. Martins University of Art in London one of the best design schools in the world, where notable fashion designers John Galeano, Alexander McQueen, and Stella McCartney, among others, studied. She recently launched a jewelry line taking inspiration from the mystic world and experimenting with diverse colors and textures. Exclusively at Galart. Locations at THE TIDES, Playa La Ropa, Zihuatanejo and Restaurant Villa de la Selva, Ixtapa.

FEB 1-MAR 31: Emilia Castillo Exhibition, IxtapaZihuatanejo, Gro. The Taxco-based designer creates pieces in silver jewelry, porcelain with inlaid sterling silver, and tableware that combines silver plate with alabaster, black onyx and malachite. At Galart locations in Zihuatanejo at The Tides, Playa la Ropa, and in Ixtapa, At Restaurant Villa de la Selva.

Ongoing 2008: Furniture Exhibition, Fabrica San Pedro, Uruapan, Mich. Hand made teak furniture by Rewi Illsley. Located in Uruapan, Fabrica San Pedro, was built in the 1890´s and is a superb example of Industrial Revolution architecture. It now houses a newly re-designed 3,500 square foot retail store featuring the work of Rewi Illsley and the 100% hand-loomed cotton textiles and products designed and produced by the Illsley family for the last 52 years.

Custom work in both teak and textiles is available and the Fabrica ships worldwide by DHL. Fabrica San Pedro is always worth visiting, but especially now with this superb exhibit of hand made teak furniture

by Rewi Illsley. Uruapan is a day trip from IxtapaZihuatanejo or a quick hop from nearby Patzcuaro.

Open Monday thru Saturday 10am - 6pm and Sundays 10am - 3pm, Call for directions; 452-524-0677. Credit cards accepted.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 38

American culture teaches its members to “save time.” In Mexico one “spends” time.

By Tracy Novinger

W

hen Americans and Mexicans communicate, they often seem to enter a time warp where words confuse and behavior confounds. There is a reason for this. Every culture strictly mandates the behavior of each and every one of its members. And since the different behavior required by different cultures has communicative meaning, when Mexicans and Americans interact, it is not surprising that misunderstanding can occur.

Because people in different cultures are conditioned to behave and even think differently, their respective perceptions are quite different. When it comes to time, different measures and uses prevail and can cause communication problems between Mexicans and Americans. Although Mexicans react negatively to some time traits of American culture, the difference in the two cultures’ use of time bothers North Americans more than it does Mexicans. Indeed, Americans often view Mexico’s informal time system as a symptom of inefficiency when, rather, it evidences a different philosophy of life.

American culture teaches its members to “save time” and not to “waste time;” time is viewed as a precious, quantitative commodity.

Americans have all heard the maxim that “time is money.” In the United States, the clock reigns supreme. In contrast, in Mexico one “spends” time; time correlates to activity. Mexicans live at a slower pace and in the moment. They see time in life as opportunity, not money. To live for time is to live for nothing.

In Mexico, people regularly engage in many activities simultaneously. In the monochronic culture of the United States, people usually

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

prefer to focus on one activity at a time when they interact and communicate (although, of course, they can multitask). Let’s assume that George Turner has an appointment at an office in Mexico. As he sits in front of Sr. Perez’ desk and they converse, the secretary enters and asks a question for someone waiting for an answer, Sr. Perez asks his son to go pick up his Tracy Novinger’s Book: Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide which focuses on U.S.-Mexico communication issues is available for sale at the Another Day in Paradise office in central Zihuatanejo, on Juan Alvarez #34, next door to Aeromexico, and at Coconuts Restaurant on Pasaje Agustin Ramirez No.1. Internationally you can purchase through www.utexas.edu/utpress or www.amazon.com

car, then tells his wife who is hovering on the side that he will meet her at 2:00 PM, all while the accountant has him sign a check, the phone rings and he intersperses talk with George. All the conversations and activities drive George crazy and he feels ignored. It helps one cope with such multiple activities if one understands that in polychronic Mexico they are not unusual, nor are they necessarily impolite.

Another important characteristic of polychronic cultures is that personal relationships are paramount and such relationships take time to establish. Since it is important in Mexico to take time to establish personal relationships before trying to transact business, this may mean making four times as many calls on a person as one might make in the United States to reach one’s objective.

Contrary to North American sales training where one is told to keep asking for the order, in Mexico it is important to bide one’s time and be patient.

The United States’ approach to time makes North Americans appear to Mexicans to be too blunt (too quick to get to the point) and to be discourteous in the lack of time spent on personal courtesies. Indeed, Mexicans’ solicitous concern for a person’s comfort and well-being is genuine and, even if it were only ritual, is very pleasant. But since American culture teaches a person not to waste time, when an American offers a brief greeting as the preamble to a conversation, the American is in part motivated by wanting to save the other’s precious time. Unfortunately, this behavior that was intended to be considerate is frequently perceived by a Mexican as cold or impolite.

The conventions of “punctuality” also differ in the two countries. Arriving late for social invitations in Mexico’s time culture is polite—it is arriving on time that is a breach of etiquette. By arriving at the scheduled hour, one may embarrass the hosts, who may not be ready. For a dinner invitation at 8:00 p.m., time conventions dictate that one should not arrive before 8:30 or 9:00. However, if the dinner is formal, one Mexican etiquette book recommends that one should “not be more than thirty minutes late.” Given Mexican customs, Americans should not be surprised when Mexican friends arrive at a time that is late by U.S. standards. One social group that includes Mexicans and Americans has developed its own conventions. Because this group is so tuned in to cultural differences, they often joke among themselves, and when someone mentions the time for an event another will call out: “¿Hora Mexicana u hora norteamericana?” (Mexican time or North American time?).

Time in the work day is also scheduled differently in the U.S. and Mexico. Mexicans usually take time for their families in the morning and start work later than in the United States, usually around 9:00 a.m. They also take long lunches for their main meal, and then typically have a longer workday than Americans, ending around 8:00 p.m. It is not uncommon to meet someone at their office at 7:00 PM, often referred to as the “afternoon”—”por la tardecita.” Government officials keep even later schedules.

As to scheduling meetings, many U.S. chairmen schedule meetings in the morning when people are supposed to be “fresh,” specify the starting and ending time, and they distribute

the agenda in advance. The chairman then keeps an eye on the clock and the agenda to keep the meeting strictly on schedule. This is diametrically opposed to Mexican protocol.

Mexicans tend to schedule meetings later in the day. If discussions are not finished, they consider it senseless to terminate a meeting because time as abstractly measured by the clock is up. In addition, they usually do not limit discussions only to certain topics. With so many differences in the perception of time, it is a wonder that Americans and Mexicans communicate as well as they do.

In general, in Mexico more time is spent maintaining personal relationships than in the United States. Activities are usually scheduled later in the day, and nothing that is productive or enjoyable is worth cutting short in order to do something else, whether ending a party or a meeting. It is customary to arrive late for social encounters and invitations do not specify ending times. Nor does logic necessarily apply to time. A maid may leave the day before payday just because she felt like it.

Absenteeism after a weekend is so common that people refer to it as “St. Monday.” But because we now live in a global world, many of today’s new generation of Mexicans place greater value on managing time by the clock than in the informal manner that has prevailed in Mexico in the past.

When Americans and Mexicans interact, it is important to bear in mind that the difference in the perception of time is just that: different.

A culture is not defective because it is different. In the end, one should maintain a sense of cultural relativity, as well as a sense of humor. As one story goes, an Arab discussing cultural differences with a Mexican friend asked about the meaning of the expression mañana. On hearing the explanation, he nodded in understanding and replied, “That is like the Arab bukara, but bukara does not have the same sense of urgency.” © Tracy Novinger 2007.

About the Author: Tracy Novinger has an M.A. in Communications and has written two books on intercultural communication published by UT Press. She speaks English, Portuguese, French and Spanish, and has some knowledge of other languages. Ms. Novinger was born on the island of Aruba where three generations of her family lived. She then went to a Portuguese school in Brazil from age ten until she began university studies.

After graduation, she lived and worked in French-speaking Tahiti for nine years. She has a home in Mexico and travels extensively. She has, in fact, “lived” intercultural communication her whole life and has the ability to step in and out of several cultural worlds. ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 40

By Nancy Seeley, Photos by Epitacio

B

oth Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa have plenty of taxis, buses, and cars, but probably the best way to familiarize yourself with the area is to walk through it. Whether you have stamina to burn or are doubtful you can last more than half an hour under the tropical sun, there’s a stroll or a hike to fit the bill. Remember to bring water, wear sunscreen and a hat, and pace yourself if you’re not used to the heat.

El centro in Zihua is small, bordered by the ocean and Calle Morelos (landmarks are Elektra and the main bus stop for Ixtapa) going east and west and Benito Juarez (the central market plus a slew of banks and shops) and Cinco de Mayo (the artisans’ market) heading north and south.You can easily take in much of the downtown in 30 minutes and come back the next day to finish the job. If your energy wanes, saunter down to the Paseo del Pescador (Fisherman’s Walk) and cool off with a giant limonada under an umbrella at one of the many oceanfront restaurants.

Rambling along the main boulevard in Ixtapa is not too taxing either. If you start at the Barceló Hotel and head north, you should make it all the way to the marina in about 30 to 45 minutes. Another option is to wander through the shopping district behind Scruples, Ixtapa’s biggest grocery store. By the time you check out the restaurants, shops, and movie theater, you’ll feel you’ve earned a beer and some nachos for your efforts.

Beach walking is one of our area’s true delights. One of the easiest strolls starts at the south end of Zihua’s Paseo del Pescador and hugs the ocean along a roped-in concrete path. Walk across Playa Madera (Wood Beach), then decide whether you’d rather turn back or take a left and huff and puff past Casa Sun and Moon and Hotel Irma up a very steep road that connects with the Calle Escénica (Scenic Road). Here you can turn left and head back to Zihua’s business district or take a right towards Playa La Ropa (Clothes Beach).

It’s about three-fourth of a mile from one end of La Ropa Beach to the other. To get started, ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Ixtapa Ecological Preserve

use the driveway for luxury hotel La Casa Que Canta (The House That Sings) to descend to the beach. There’s so much to see – from the grand old Sotavento Hotel and elegant new Club Intrawest to The Tides (formerly Villa del Sol), a selection of low key restaurants, and beautiful Zihuatanejo Bay itself.

If you’re feeling more ambitious, then get over to Ixtapa Beach before the sun’s too hot and walk its two-mile length with the open ocean on one side and a cluster of high-rise hotels and condos on the other. A sunset walk can also be glorious! Once you’re acclimated to both the heat and stretching your calf muscles walking in the sand, head out to Barra de Potosi south of the airport and stroll for hours along a beach that goes on for miles, changing names as you walk north to Playa Blanca (White Beach) and Las Pozas (The Pools).

Following are four possibilities for more strenuous hikes affording ocean views along the way, starting at the south end of Zihuatanejo and ending north of Ixtapa.

(1) BEYOND LA ROPA: Start on the road behind Playa La Ropa at the intersection where a right turn leads you to restaurants like Rossy’s, La Gaviota, and El Marlin. Keep walking straight ahead uphill on a potholed two-lane concrete road, eventually passing Las Escolleras restaurant and hotel on your left and the Punta Marina condos on your right, next reaching the left hand turnoff for Amuleto boutique hotel and restaurant. Take that turn and bear left as you climb a steeper hill.Your reward will be a stunning ocean view from the crest of this dead end road. Depending on how ambitious you feel once you hike back down, turn left and keep walking until the main road abruptly ends, sometimes patrolled by security guards.

If you do the whole thing ida y vuelta (there and back), allow at least 90 minutes -- more if you want to admire the panoramic vistas.

(2) THE MAJAHUA ROUTE: Starting at the main pier area in Zihua, cross the footbridge, turn left and follow another uphill road until you pass Casa Bahia Restaurant, then look for a set of about 175 concrete steps on your

View from the Majahua Route

Paseo de los Viveros ciclopista

Paseo del Pëscador

Ixtapa Boulevard

right. Ascending them deposits you on a road high above the ocean on one side of a white multi-level structure dubbed the “Wedding Cake Condos.” Turn left and pass by Villa Vera/ Puerto Mio on your left. Curve to the right, continue walking down a hill till you get to the intersection with the Majahua Road, turn left again, and get set for a challenging but lovely hike along the back road through the mountain dividing Zihua from Ixtapa. If cars, taxis and trucks whizzing by – not always on their own side of the road – bother you, forget this one.

When you hit the highway connecting the two cities, you can turn left and carefully continue into Ixtapa, turn right and just as carefully head into Zihua, or return the way you came. In any case, be VERY alert for vehicular traffic and don’t wear headphones! Figure on between 90 minutes and two hours. If you get pooped, hail a cab.

(3) PLAYA CONTRAMAR (Against the Sea Beach): Lots of tourists and locals alike never see this part of our paradise, though increasing development will change that. Start out at the turnoff for hotel Las Brisas Ixtapa at the intersection signaling the south end of Ixtapa, marked by the statue of an arching mermaid.

Head uphill and bear to your left. There will be a couple of roads veering off the main drag, and all offer great ocean views from a high overlook. Try them all if you have the time.

Depending on how much exploring and gazing you do, this can take 40 to 90 minutes.

(4) OUT TO PLAYA LINDA (Beautiful Beach): Begin on the north side of Ixtapa at the Ixtapa ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

View from beyond Playa La Ropa

Palace Resort, which looks like a white castle, and use the ciclopista (bike path) across the road heading away from downtown. You can do this walk one of two ways. If you want more ocean views, stay on the main road when the bike path veers to the right and ducks into an ecological preserve. If you want less traffic, more shade, fewer hills, and a chance to commune with nature, choose the ciclopista.

By the time you get to Playa Linda and check out the crocodiles, turtles and egrets, you’ll have almost four miles under your belt. My favorite part is still to come, and that’s the extra mile beyond the restaurants and vendors with the ocean constantly on your left as you head north. Enjoy a fish lunch and take the bus back to Ixtapa or Zihua afterwards.

Another portion of the same ciclopista can be used to walk from Zihua to Ixtapa. Catch it at

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

the Pemex station on Zihua’s north end and it will take you to Paseo de Los Viveros (Plant Nursery Walk), a pleasant boulevard paralleling the ocean behind Ixtapa’s commercial area. If you like, follow this road past all the residential development entrances on your left until it curves to the left and heads into the main part of town. Whether you turn back towards Zihua when you first get to Paseo de Los Viveros or hike all the way into Ixtapa, allow about one to one and a half hours.

As you become more familiar with the area, walking through Zihua’s many colonias (neighborhoods) is a great way to get some exercise and check out the houses and personalities of different parts of town. From El Hujal and El Limón (Lemon) to Miraflores (Look At The Flowers) and Morelos, all will show you a slice of Mexican life. Branch

out and do the suburbs too; Agua de Correa (Running Water) and Esperanza (Hope) are south of town on your left as you head to the airport.

See you out there!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Once upon a time, Nancy Seeley lived a conventional lifestyle in the U.S. Then, 11 years ago, she quit her secure government job and fled to Mexico to escape the rigours of yet another Wisconsin winter. Three years later, she met the man of her dreams, Canadian Nick Dubeski, under a palm tree on the beach in Zihuatanejo. The two of them have lived happily ever after in a somewhat vagabond fashion, traveling as much as possible and gathering information to write stories for this magazine.

Paseo de los Viveros ciclopista

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

RealEstate February 2008

another day in paradise

another day in paradise magazine, where real estate is bought and sold in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, México

Home & Garden Design - Real Estate News - Real Estate Law - Real Estate Finance - Real ©Another Estate DayListings in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 46

By Maura Taylor, Photos By Epitacio

T

hey say when one door closes, another one opens. Whether it’s a decorative wrought iron portón, beautifully handcrafted parota or rich cedar hardwood, the doors of Zihuatanejo say a lot about the creativity and distinct style of the homes and passageways they adorn and safeguard.

The natural warmth and rich appearance of wood can match any architectural style from rustic to contemporary, Mexican to Balinese, with hardwoods ranging from a lighter cedar to a darker parota and caoba wood. These entries mark the distinct styles of each individual owner and give a slight hint as to what one might find if they just step inside.

Some doors are decorated with suns, moons and any other fanciful artwork that one can think to create, while others are simple, understated and functional.

Wood doors can be crafted in many ways and as it’s a natural resource, even the texture of the grain becomes a part of its unique appearance. Here, doors are mostly handcrafted, allowing each a distinct look and feel.

One can get awfully creative with the details, such as using cross-sections of heavily-grained wood to accent a more simple background. A door doesn’t have to be solid either, as there are limitless types of weave patterns that can be achieved with softer wood such as cedar. A woven wooden door allows a cool breeze to enter. Small woven doors are perfect for areas such as the garden, where you might otherwise construct a wire fence.

A simple wooden door is easily transformed to look more elegant or inspirational with a little bit of creativity. Different woods can be mixed to form a more interesting look, especially if they are of different textures and complimentary colors. Patterns vary greatly: horizontal and vertical slats, simple and intricate weaves, shutters (which can be opened or closed), etc. Ornate carvings run the whole gamut, depending on what visions their builder can come up with. Some Zihuatanejo doors have been modeled to look like boats, fish, waves and even a large surfboard. ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

With all the artistic welders in Mexico, it’s no wonder that wrought-iron work graces the entrances of many of Zihuatanejo’s most beautiful homes and hotels. Iron doors and garages can be sculpted and hammered out to individual taste and there is no shortage of imagination when it comes to the whimsical creatures that can be seen in many of Zihua’s doorways. As each welder or soldadero handcrafts the work, each brings his own style to the table and every creation whether simple or intricate is completely unique.

A door, no matter what it is made of, is an important feature of a home. It welcomes and protects, graces and guards, and can be as fun and functional as its owner designs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Maura Taylor lives in Zihua and serves as intermediary and design consultant for home remodeling, restoration and condo finishing projects in Zihua and the surrounds. She can be reached by phone or email: zihua cell# (755) 1019711 or destinozihua@gmail.com

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 48

By Linda Neil, Photo by Epitacio

E

very day more and more foreigners from the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe, have found Mexico to be an ideal location for healthy retirement. Others have come to Mexico as a result of job transfers. Others still, taking advantage of electronic and wireless communications, seek out delightful areas in which to live and work from their in-home offices and studios.

Many newcomers prefer to rent or lease a house or an apartment while they shop for the ideal location and home for purchase. This increase in demand for housing has made the acquisition of rental properties an increasingly attractive investment. What better and more secure income can be found than a house or apartment complex which will produce rental income for many years? Especially when it is most likely increasing in value at the same time!

Investors can pay all cash, use funds from IRA accounts or even, possibly, negotiate seller financing to establish solid long-tem gains.

Rental contracts can be simple and should always contain an arbitration clause. Just as in a rental in the U.S. or Canada, a security deposit is a good idea. ŠAnother Day in Paradise Ž, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

For the real estate investor who is thinking of acquiring properties for rental there are a couple of important considerations: one is the way to hold title and the other is how to declare and pay taxes on income.

HOLDING TITLE: A Mexican Corporation can be established to hold title to all NON-residential property. This can mean apartments and houses which will be used entirely for rental and/or commercial purposes. The expense involved in accounting and maintaining a corporation is substantial, however, and may be too expensive if the investor has only a few properties. For properties owned by the corporation an IVA tax of 15 percent of the value of the construction is charged at acquisition, in addition to the 2 percent acquisition tax. Corporate tax declarations must be filed monthly and estimated taxes paid monthly. Property taxes will be charged at a rate for commercial, not residential properties, as will utilities. Stock in the corporation, if sold or transferred, is subject to an income tax (ISR) similar to that paid by an individual on the gain on the sale of a house.

The alternative to the Mexican corporation is that the buyer hold title in fee simple, or in trust (fideicomiso), if the property is located in the restricted zone. In fee simple, property will

Linda Neil will be in IxtapaZihuatanejo presenting a seminar on Buying Property in Mexico at the 2008 IxtapaZihuatanejo Real Estate Fair March 3-7, 2008.

need to be registered with the Secretary of Foreign Relations but has no additional annual title fee. In the trust, the annual cost to hold title will be the trustee fee, around 375 to 550 dollars. Utilities and property taxes will generally be charged at a residential rate, rather than a commercial rate.

Annual maintenance, fees for accounting and legal services, as well as taxes, will generally be less for up to seven properties in fee simple where permitted, or in trust (fideicomiso) than the costs generated by the properties held by the Mexican corporation.

PAYING TAXES: Mexico’s tax law is patterned after those of the United States and Canada and states that: “Physical persons (individuals) and legal persons (companies) who are residents of Mexico and who receive income in this country, are obligated to register with Hacienda, declare their income and pay their taxes, regardless of the source.” and: “...Physical and legal persons who are residents in a foreign country (outside Mexico) must declare their income and pay their taxes on all income generated in Mexico...”

If the properties are held in a Mexican corporation, the Mexican accountant will

prepare the monthly declarations and estimated taxes will be paid.

If in a bank trust, a Mexican accounting firm can perform all necessary tax and accounting services including the monthly filings, tax payments and can provide the foreign owner with accounting and documents for obtaining tax credits on U.S. or Canadian taxes.

It has never been simpler to enjoy a return on investment, monthly income and pay taxes in accordance with the law!

Income on rental properties.2006. Copyright, 2004, Consultores Phoenix, S.C. Reproduction prohibited without permission.

About the author: Linda Neil is the founder of The Settlement Company, which specializes in real estate transfers, escrows and consultations.

Just added as a new service, Settlement will now prepare monthly tax declarations, file them and perform additional essential landlord accounting services. For further information, please contact The Settlement Company® at 01-800-627-5130 if in Mexico; or 01-877-214-4950 or 011-52612-123-5056 if calling from outside Mexico.

E-mail is info@settlement-co.com, and website: www.settlement-co.com ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 50

By John K. Glaab, CIPS

2008 Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Real Estate Fair March 3-7, 2008

T

hinking about Buying property in Mexico ? Have property in Mexico you would like to sell?

Join us for the 2008 IxtapaZihuatanejo Real Estate Fair March 3-7, 2008. Another Day in Paradise Real Estate magazine in conjunction with the Settlement Company and AMPI, the Mexican National Association of Real Estate Professionals, is sponsoring a five-day Real Estate Fair. The conference will include a week-long Property Showcase, featuring tours of developments and properties for sale in the IxtapaZihuatanejo area, and a Full-day educational seminar, for prospective buyers and real estate professionals alike. The seminar will be presented by internationally known consultant on Mexican real estate and AMPI national advisory board member, Linda Neil. Neil specializes in legal and fiscal issues, is a licensed Broker in California with post graduate studies in Mexican Real Estate law and has over 30 years experience in the Real Estate industry

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

in Mexico. She is Founder and Advisor for The Settlement Company, Mexico’s first escrow and title insurance company. The seminar will be followed by a panel discussion by leading local and national real estate professionals. A wide array of topics related to foreigners buying property in Mexico will be covered including explanation of all the main points necessary for a successful real estate transaction. How to get from escrow to closing and all the steps in between, including: The types of property available to foreigners in Mexico, the Trust (Fideicomiso), needed to buy them, the elements of a deed, who the required participants are, Title searches and Title insurance, closing costs, taxes, rules for a successful purchase and more. See www.adipre.info for more information or contact info@adip.info for information and reservations. Price is $300 pesos per person, and includes entrance to all seminars and property tour open houses, discounts for AMPI members

About the author: John Glaab has been a member of NAR’s International Section for over a decade.

He has earned the Certified International Property Specialist designation and is a founding member of AMPI Los Cabos. He spends half the year in La Paz, Baja California Sur and the other half in Uruapan, Michoacan. For further information John.glaab@settlement-co.co

January 25: Inauguration AMPI National President, Mexico, D.F.

September 16 – 18: Real Estate Investment World Latin America, Coral Gables, Florida

March 3- 7: International Real Estate Fair, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. Five days of property showcases and tours in IxtapaZihuatanejo and a Full day seminar on Buying Property in Mexico.

September 26 – 28: Bolsa Mexicana Inmobiliaria Turistica. FONATUR’s Gathering of international investors and hotel and resort developers.

April 8-12: SIMA, International Real Estate Exhibition. Madrid, Spain. This is the largest real estate event in the world. SIMA will also present the Second Home Pavilion at the annual National Association of Realtors® Annual Conference in Orlando in November.

November 5 -10: National Association of Realtors® Annual Conference and Trade Show, Orlando, Florida November 20-23: Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals, (AMPI) National Conference and General Assembly. Mayan Riviera, Quintana Roo

May 12 – 17: National Association of Realtors® Mid-year meetings and trade show June 19 and 20: MINT Second Homes and Resort Real Estate Conference, Cancun, Quintana Roo

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

ADiP 52

Marina Del Sol Ixtapa #201a Spacious, 2nd floor apartment for rent in Family oriented Complex with 4 bdrms, 4.5 baths. Excellent beach front location with beach front infinity swim-ming pool with wading pool, beach palapas and more. Contact Tim Sullivan for rates and availability at Ixtapa Real Estate (755) 553 3218 ixtaparealestate@prodigy.net.mx

Finestre Ixtapa La Cala #3 This unique 4 bedroom, 4 bath apartment located within the one of the area’s most exclusive gated communities offers style, comfort and spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. $1,320,000 U.S. Contact Tim Sullivan at Ixtapa Real Estate (755) 553 3218, ixtaparealestate @prodigy.net.mx www.ixtaparealestate.com

Cascada # 821 This 1 bdrm, 1.5 bath apartment located in the La Ropa Beach area of Zihuatanejo is the perfect choice for the discerning buyer looking for prime location and strong rentability. $165,000 U.S. Contact Tim Sullivan at Ixtapa Real Estate (755) 553 3218, ixtaparealestate@prodigy.net.mx

Amara Ixtapa Penthouse #2 B Luxurious Penthouse apartment for rent with 4 bdrms, 4.5 baths. Excellent beach front location with 3 swimming pools, gymnasium & business center.

Contact Tim Sullivan at Ixtapa Real Estate (755) 553 3218, ixtaparealestate@prodigy.net.mx

Bay View Grand Residences # 801S Fabulous luxury condominium with 3 bdrms, 3 baths.

Excellent beach front location with 2 swimming pools, gymnasium & business center. $525,000 U.S. Contact Tim Sullivan at Ixtapa Real Estate (755) 553 3218, ixtaparealestate@prodigy.net.mx

Real de Palmas #204-II Comfortable, 2nd floor 1 bdrm, 2 bath apartment for rent in Family oriented Complex with excellent beach front location with large swimming pool, beach palapas and more.

Contact Tim Sullivan at Ixtapa Real Estate (755) 553 3218, ixtaparealestate@prodigy.net.mx

Patzcuaro - For Rent- 1, 2, & 3brdm apts and houses for rent by the week or month in quiet hilltop ex-pat enclave, with lake and mountain vistas. Semifurnished with kitchens. 20 min. walk or 20 peso taxi ride to central plazas and shopping. Contact Monica for more info, monagris@yahoo.com, Tel 434-342-7019

Patzcuaro - For Rent - 1, 2, & 3brdm apts and houses for rent by the week or month in quiet hilltop ex-pat enclave, with lake and mountain vistas. Semifurnished with kitchens. 20 min. walk or 20 peso taxi ride to central plazas and shopping. Contact Monica for more info, monagris@yahoo.com, Tel 434-342-7019

Patzcuaro - For Rent - 1, 2, & 3brdm apts and houses for rent by the week or month in quiet hilltop ex-pat enclave, with lake and mountain vistas. Semifurnished with kitchens. 20 min. walk or 20 peso taxi ride to central plazas and shopping. Contact Monica for more info, monagris@yahoo.com, Tel 434-342-7019

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Beautiful Taos-Style Modern Adobe 3,000 sq ft house in a private valley with gated access, 5.5 acres, gardens, pressurized water, grounded electrics, internet, SKY TV, stables, vineyard, old-growth pines, and tranquility by Lake Zirahuen. For more info and photos see: www.mexatua.net/page.cfm/ property?p=78

For Sale or Rent - Flamingo Golf Villas (before Marina in Ixtapa) 3 bedrooms, 3 baths and all with mini split a/c, pool, TV/Internet, professionally decorated, additional maids room with bath. 24hr security, administrator to pay bills. $234,900 (619) 840-4884 (USA) 011-52-755-553-12-97 RBellack@hotmail.com search “Flamingo Golf Ixtapa”

Zihuatanejo Bay Views- Selected lots located above La Ropa Beach. All with unobstructed views of the Zihuatanejo Bay and Pacific Ocean. For information call (755) 553-3221, or cell 044 (755) 104-6220. or email gone2zwhat@aol.com

Resort Ownership on Playa La Ropa Club Intrawest *1,2 & 3-bedroom Vacation Home *Sweeping ocean views

Club Intrawest - Zihuatanejo *Private terraces with plunge pool *Zi - The Restaurant at Club Intrawest Tel. 755 555 0382

Club Intrawest – Playa La Ropa, Zihuatanejo *Visit the Discovery Center. Open daily. *Variety of ownership opportunities available Tel. 755 555 0382

Mexico Beach Property - Beachfront and beachview lots, homes, condominiums in Zihuatanejo and the surrounding beaches. Contact John Murphy at (755) 554-0719 or email: john@mexicobeachpr operty.com

Punta Ixtapa Condominium with private pool - Ground floor 3 bedroom 4 bath in Ixtapa’s most prestigious neighborhood. Security, private club, beaches, all services. Price reduced to $568,000. Contact John Murphy at (755) 554-0719 or email john@mexicobeachproperty.com

*Spacious floor plans Tel. 755 555 0382

Pantla Beach Beach front palm tree covered 1/4 acre lots between Ixtapa and Troncones now reduced to $200,000. Water, electricity and road access within 6 months. Environmental permits included. Contact John Murphy at (755) 554-0719 or email john@mexicobeachproperty.com

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Monte Cristo Zihuatanejo - See full page ad for more information. www.montecristomexico.com, Tel. 755-102-7728

For Sale. Spacious villa with a very nice view to the green of the golf course $330, 000 USD REDUCED It features 4 bdrm with A/C, 4 bathrooms, maid’s room, kitchen, dining room, pool and spacious garden. recently remodeled, pool with outdoor bathroom. Contact Yadira Ríos at Prudential California Realty Ixtapa/Zihua Division, Cel. +521 (755) 100 59 10, Office +52 (755) 544 87 87 and +52 (755) 544 87 88 or email: yadira@pruzi.com.mx or visit our Web site: www.pruzi.com.mx

Patzcuaro For Sale – Villa La Jacaranda. Large landscaped grounds, trees. Spacious house 3 bdrms/2baths+casita 1 bdrm/1 bath+covered workshops++. Sculptured cantera fireplace, unique features. 15 min. walk to center. US$445,000. Owner www.novinger.com/patz-jacaranda.htm or Re/Max 11 Patios 434-342-20-30

Monte Cristo Zihuatanejo - See full page ad for more information. www.montecristomexico.com, Tel. 755-102-7728

For Sale. Luxurious condo overlooking the bay at la ropa beach $400,000 USD Luxuriously appointed 2bedroom, 2-bath condominium in a small, exclusive development situated above La Ropa beach with a spectacular view of the bay of Zihuatanejo. Contact Sarahi Cortez for more details at Prudential California Realty Ixtapa/Zihua Division, Cel. +521 (755) 102 80 27, Office +52 (755) 544 87 87 and +52 (755) 544 87 88 or email: sarahi@pruzi.com.mx or visit our Web site: www.pruzi.com.mx

Patzcuaro For Sale - 3 bdrm/2 bath colonial home 2 blocks from Plaza Grande in Historic Center.

Interior courtyard, gated parking, quiet street. Newly built with traditional materials. Sol #1 US$224,000.

Owner www.novinger.com/patz-homes.htm or Re/ Max 11 Patios 434-342-20-30

Monte Cristo Zihuatanejo - See full page ad for more information. www.montecristomexico.com, Tel. 755-102-7728

Spectacular Ocean Front residence $651,500 USD Starting. Naiví- an exclusive ocean view development located in Contramar, one of the most beautiful areas in Ixtapa. 3 to 5 BDRM – 4 to 6 BATH, A/C, private pool, garden and terraces. Gloria Pérez, Prudential California Realty Ixtapa/ Zihua, cel. 044 755 102 81 47, office 011 52 (755) 544 8787, 011 52 (755) 544 8788 info@pruzi.com.m x, www.pruzi.com.mx.

Patzcuaro For Sale - Spectacular lake view!

Colonial home 3 blocks from Plaza Grande in Historic Center. Atrium, striking design. Lge rooms, 3 bdrms/3 baths, garage. Newly built, traditional materials. One of a kind, must see. Abad 37.

US$295,000. Owner www.novinger.com/patzhomes.htm or Re/Max 11 Patios 434-342-20-30

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

For Rent Rooms for rent comfortable furnished rooms. King & twin beds. With or w/out kitchen.

All with a/c,ceiling fans, cable tv. Located minutes from the beach, and “comercial” market. Easy access for taxi rides. For more info. Contact vanessa @ (755)554-1543 or email info@saintsoberanis.com

For Rent Ixtapa Villa. Charming 2 Story, 3 BR- 2-1/2 Bath, large pool and large barbaque ‘palapa’. Caretaker on property. Clean, attractive and comfortable, air conditioned, fully furnished. 10 Minute walk to Movie theater, shops, restaurants, hotels and main beach. US$330 p/ night, $1200 p/ week, $2500 p/ month. CA: Lilia Roman. romanlil@hotmail.com. Tel (415) 395 6002. Mexico: David Roman. davidroman88@hotmail.com tel 52 1 (755) 110 8075 (755) 112 2042

For Sale. In La Ropa, 2,679.50sq. mts. Of Lot located in Residential Tourism zone at 70 mts. walking from “LA ROPA” beach, behind the restaurant “LA PERLA”. The Lot has property titled price at $ 650,000.00 U.S.D. Information Call (755) 553 02 23

For Rent. Penthouse Costa Bella. Pretty P.H., 80m² with 1 BDRM, King Size bed & 1 twin, open air jacuzzi, open air dining with room for 6 persons dining, cable T.V. cable, wireless internet, maid service available. $ 1,500.00 U.S.D. per mo. Just 50 metros to Playa La Ropa. www.costabellazih.com Tel. 755 554 49 67

For Rent Suite Costa Bella. Beautiful Suite with 2 double beds, kitchen & terrace dining room, cable T.V., wirless internet, maid service available $900 U.S.D. a month. Just 50 meters from Playa la Ropa. www.costabellazih.com Tel. 755 554 49 67

For Rent Bungalows Costa Bella. Wonderful bungalows Costa Bella, in a nice private development on Playa la Ropa. By the month, week or day. www.costabellazih.com Tel. 755 554 49 67

Casa de la Sirena For Rent in Troncones: Beachfront private villa (kings) with private pool, 2-story bungalows (queens) with pool. Open air kitchens/living rooms, a/c, BBQ/wet bar, WiFi, www.casadelasirena.net, www.houseofthemermai d.com

Casa de la Sirena For Rent in Troncones, Very private,. Very romantic, Very upscale. Weddings Corporate Events, Family Reunions - Honeymoons Perfect for couples or rent the entire compound. www.casadelasirena.net www.houseofthemermai d.com

Casa de la Sirena For Rent inTroncones: Beachfront 1 bedroom (kings) mini villas with open air kitchen and living rooms. Swim up pool bar, entertainment center, BBQ/wet bar, WiFi. www.casadelasirena.net www.houseofthemermaid.com

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

For Rent: Ixtapa - “Arcano” - Private home. Serene retreat in beachfront gated community. Full staff. Beach club, tennis courts and a tranquil lake. 4 A/C’d BDRMs, with bath. Private pool. A very special property. High season: US$1,200 per day, Low season: US$900 per day.

Holiday: US$1,500 per day. Judith Whitehead, Paradise Properties, jude@prodigy.net.mx,Tel. 52-(755) 554 6226, 52-(755)-557-0078,. www.paradise-properties.com.mx

For Sale - Las Palmas Condominiums - A new development of only 18 two or three BR lovely condos, located within close walking distance to La Ropa Beach.

Be one of the first to own while they are in pre-sales prices. Starting at US$168,000. Judith Whitehead, Paradise Properties, jude@prodigy.net.mx, Tel. 52(755) 554 6226, 52-(755)-557-0078,. www.paradiseproperties.com.mx

For Sale: La Ropa Condo - Just above Hotel Villa del Sol. Brand new 2 BR, 2 bath in newest development in La Ropa.

Open living area w/ full terrace and mesmerizing bay view.

Fully furnished, internet access, satellite TV, equipped kitchen w/stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Large infinity pool. Elevator and gated entrance. Can be excellent rental unit. US$400,000. Judith Whitehead, Paradise Properties, jude@prodigy.net.mx, Tel. 52-(755) 554 6226, 52-(755)-557-0078, www.paradise-properties.com.mx

For Rent - Pto. Mio Residence-Simply elegant! Divine 4 BDRM home overlooking Zihua Bay and the ocean beyond.

View marine life passing by from your tranquil front row seat. Complete privacy & perfect service staff. Low Season: US$10,000 per week High Season: US$15,000 per week Xmas/Holidays: US$20,000 per week. 1 week min. Judith

Whitehead, Paradise Properties, jude@prodigy.net.mx, Tel. 52-(755) 554 6226 www.paradise-properties.com.mx

For Rent - The only private residence located right on La Ropa Beach. Completely private, large pool, 3 BR, 3 bath, kitchen w/service bar, al fresco living area under breezy palapa. A/C in bedrooms, DSL internet access, satellite TV, fully staffed. US$1,000 p/day high season; US$800 p/day low season. Judith Whitehead Paradise properties, jude@prodigy.net.mx, Tel. 755-5546226,www.paradiseproperties.com.mx

For Sale - Spectacular and whimsical penthouse condominium overlooking La Ropa Beach. All air conditioned, 3 BR, 3-1/2 baths, 2 floors, terrace with fablous view of beach and bay, internet access and Vonage phone, satellite TV, furnished and ready to move in. Listed at US$395,000. Judith Whitehead Paradise properties, jude@prodigy.net.mx, Tel. 755-5546226,www.paradiseproperties.com.mx

For Sale - Beautiful Ixtapa Beachfront- Private Villa, 2-story, 4 BR/5 Bath + Maid’s room. Large Pool overlooking beach. Shopping and restaurants within walking distance. One of a kind property and all you could ever want! US$1.7M Judith Whitehead, Paradise Properties,

For Rent - Playa Blanca Beachfront Home - Charming 2 Story, 4 BR-2-1/2 Bath, large pool, poolhouse and outdoor kitchen BBQ with bath, A/C BR, caretaker on property.

Attractive and comfortable, 5 minute walk to Barra de Potosi. US$2,200 p/week. Judith Whitehead, Paradise

Palma Real Golf Course Villa - On a quiet cul-de-sac on the 7th hole of the golfcourse, this 2-story 3 bdrm, 31/2 bath villa in a group of only 9. Lovely furnishings, large rooms, A/C, satellite TV, telephone with DSL internet access, a large pool with sunning pools and jacuzzi, well equipped kitchen, off-street parking and 24-hour security. Improve your life, move in tomorrow! Listed at US$300,000 Judith

jude@prodigy.net.mx, Tel. 52-(755) 554 6226, 52-(755)557-0078,. www.paradise-properties.com.mx

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

Properties, jude@prodigy.net.mx,Tel. 52-(755) 554 6226, 52-(755)-557-0078,. www.paradise-properties.com.mx

Whitehead, Paradise Properties, jude@prodigy.net.mx, Tel. 52-(755) 554 6226, 52-(755)-557-0078,. www.paradise-properties.com.mx

For Sale 80 sqmts, $135,000 USD. Gorgeous view of Zihua Bay, from every spot in the apt. Furnished with jacuzzi, kitchen, Queen size bed. It includes use of the small pool in the complex of only three other apts. Walking distance across the road to La Ropa Beach. Call in D.F. 55 52824356. E-mail. sacha2001mx @yahoo.com.mx, cell Sofia. 0445517979555 for rentsCheck web photos at. www. ideaplant.co.uk/rentals

For Sale: 271 sq. mtrs LOT at $75 000 USD. with light and water. Easy access across La Ropa road to the beach. sacha2001mx@yahoo.com.mx www.ideaplant.co.uk/ rentals This lot will RENT per day basis. Ideal for a tent, camping or other. call 55 52824356 in D.F. cell 04455 29707414

For Rent the Cabin or fondly called the shack sleeps two in twin beds or tied up to make a king.

Wonderful view of Zihua bay. La Ropa beach across the road ten minutes walk, kitchenette and living area in the terrace. Check prices by e-mail.

Rent varies per week to one month call 04455 29707414 or D.F. 55 52824356, local 755 55-44225. e-mail sacha2001mx@yahoo.com.mx check www. ideaplant.co.uk/rentals/

For Sale. Beachfront lots in La Saladita and the surrounding beaches. Prices from $25.00 to $100.00 USD per M2. GRUPO PIA Real Estate, “The company you can trust”. Tel/Fax:.01 755 54 4 81 81 / 01 755 54 4 7870 E-mail:piabienesraices@ya hoo.com.mx. www.grupopia.com.mx

For Sale. In “Paracaná”, an exclusive Development in Ixtapa this beautiful Condo in front of the golf course, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living, dining, kitchen. tennis courts, pool, security. 252m2 Price$ 250,000.00 USD. GRUPO PIA Real Estate, “The company you can trust”.

Tel/Fax:.01 755 54 4 81 81 / 01 755 54 4 78 70 E-mail: pi abienesraices@yahoo.com.mx. www.grupopia.com.mx

For Sale. Beachfront and oceanview lots in La Ropa area. Impressive view of Zihuatanejo Bay. Prices from $180.00 to $300.00 USD per M2. GRUPO PIA Real Estate, “The company you can trust”. Tel:01 755 54 4 81 81 / 01 755 54 4 78 70 E-mail: piabienesraices@y ahoo.com.mx. www.grupopia.com.mx

365 Sunsets- Enjoy the sunset year round from the private terrace overlooking Ixtapa beach, Sierra Madres and Pacific Ocean. Three bedroom/ two bath with all modern conveniences. Priced to sell.

Financing available to US citizens. For appointment call (755) 553-3221, or cell 044 (755) 104-6220 or email gone2zwhat@yahoo.com.

Troncones Beach Bungalows, For Rent, from $98.00 per night. Surf Shop, Gourmet Dining, on Pristine Manzanillo Bay. Visit our website at www.manzanillobay.com or call 755-553-2884

For Sale Lot Patzcuaro: Awesome location just a block away from Patzcuaro’s elegant Plaza Grande!

Great potential... Some wonderful view potential on 362.88 sq meters or 3906 sq feet of property with some very usable existing building. Priced at $295,000 USD ryan@lacasaencantada.com or call Julieta at Tel. 434-342-3492 ©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.

©Another Day in Paradise ®, Mexico 1999. All Rights Reserved.