16-Unit Condo Development to Be Built in El Caloso

PRESALE PRICES START AT $174,999 USD

By Jerry Jones

A NEW CONDO DEVELOPMENT WILL SOON BE BUILT IN EL CALOSO, A COLONIAL (NEIGHBORHOOD) LOCATED JUST NORTH OF EMILIANO ZAPATA (ZONA ROMANTICA) WITH PRICES STARTING AT $174,999 USD..

El Caloso is a traditional Mexican residential neighborhood that local real estate developers expect to be the new “hot spot” as it is in easy walking distance of Zona Romantica and becoming a new area for up and coming restaurants.

CACTI will be a seven-story boutique condo building with 16-units. The building will feature three two-story lofts and 13 traditional condos all located at Via Lactea 137, Colonia: Caloso, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco 48360. Developers are scheduled to complete the project by December 2024.

“It is the perfect investment for those looking to have a onebedroom condo or loft in Puerto Vallarta to enjoy when they are in town or as a rental business,” explained Alecia Masters, who is a developer on the project and a real estate agent with Hogar Relators.

“When designing CACTI, we wanted to be able to check every box that a traveler would look for: coworkspace, gym, rooftop jacuzzis, hammock lounge, bar, bbq, fre pit and sky deck for lounging.”

Masters said developers are ofering pre-sale prices along with diferent payment options.

“Friends and Family Pre-Sales are going on right now and we are ofering diferent payment options,” she explained. “Prices start as low as $174,999.89 USD for a condo and $329,320 USD for a loft. The payment options are as low as 30% down, 50% down or 80% down. If you deposit 50% down you will receive a 5% discount and there is 10% discount if you deposit 80% down. You can reserve a unit with a $5,000 USD refundable deposit.”

This is the second development project that Masters has worked on - the frst is the very popular “Lofts onBasilio” where she built the boutique hotel that has eight units, including fve lofts and three suites”

“That was my frst development here in Puerto Vallarta. This was such a fun project! I really wanted to incorporate Mexican design with a modern twist. The ceilings are over 16 feet high, with real brick walls that I made look vintage by breaking bricks and using 5 diferent colors,” she explained.

“The foors are polished concrete and the most famous part of this design are the HUGE murals. I collaborated with a local artist: Misael Ivan Lopez. Originally I had planned to feature a diferent local artist in each rental space but Misael and I worked so well together that I used him for all fve lofts. I was inspired by the gigantic murals I had seen all over town and I wanted to bring that urban vibe into the hotel.”

That building was completed in 2018 - and she wanted to keep the exterior bricks on the wall at the entry that are original to the building that was here before.

“When we were demolishing the previous structure, I had my guys save as many whole bricks as we could,” she said. “We then used them to construct the entry wall. I told my team to pretend they were constructing a wall for the frst time. I wanted the look to be uneven and messy so that this wall looked like it has been around 100 years. When you see the hotel, you would think it has been here for years. To check out the design or book a stay, the website is www.lobpv.com.”

“Caloso is turning into what the colonia Versalles is: a foodie mecca,” Masters said when discussing the location of CACTI. “We already see this happening with restaurants like D’ Cortez and La Fina. These are trendy restaurants where the owners are families that have taken homes and turned them into restaurants. Caloso has a great little park in the center that hosts festivals periodically.”

She went on to add that CACTI wasn’t the only development going into the area - The new towers of Oasis are currently under construction with 100 units in the luxury development.

“This means that we are bringing hundreds of new residents into this part of town,” she said. “I believe over the next few years you will see more people wanting to get out of the noisy hustle & bustle of Zona Romantica and into a quieter, more desirable place to live and invest. Caloso is the perfect choice because it is only a few blocks walking distance to the Romantic Zone with tons of bars, shops, art galleries and restaurants. Caloso is also only a couple of blocks from the Emiliano Zapata mercado where you can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood and even has an amazing butcher shop. You really have all that you will need within walking distance! The very best part is that CACTI is only a 16 minute walk to Los Muertos beach.”

Masters has been a resident of Puerto Vallarta since 2016. She is originally from Tampa, Florida, and previously lived in Salinas, Ecuador. The Bravo Network TV Show, “The Real Housewives” actually helped bring her to Puerto Vallarta.

“The girls on the show have visited Puerto Vallarta a few times so I started researching the city and the schools here,” she explained.

“We came for six weeks to try the lifestyle and visit the American School of Puerto Vallarta. I fell in LOVE with the school here. The staf is so wonderful, the sense of community within the school instantly made us feel at home.”

If you are interested in a unit at CACTI, you can reach Alecia masters via What’sApp at +52 322-1975590 or via mail info@cactipv.com.

Gay Charro

ALBERTO CUEVAS PRIDE PROFILE

By Jerry Jones

ALBERTO CUEVAS’S PATH TO A MUSICAL CAREER AS MEXICO’S EL DIAMANTE (THE DIAMOND), A SINGING GAY CHARRO (COWBOY), HAS BEEN ANYTHING BUT STRAIGHT AND NARROW.

His path has included monkhood, conversion therapy (which is now outlawed in Mexico), family ostracization, and fnding a balance between his spiritual life and his life as a gay man.

Along the way he has found some success - in 2020 he appeared on La Voz Mexico (The Voice of Mexico), and he’s hosted radio and television programs. He’s also hosted and performed at various pride festivals in Mexico.

Singing has always come naturally to Cuevas - his ability was inherited from both his mother and father, who met as young singers. His mother was singing Ranchera music, and his father, Bolero. Both genres are types of mariachi music. His father also played a requinta (a musical instrument similar to a guitar but one that produces higher pitched sounds).

He started singing when he was 13-years-old at a birra restaurant in his hometown colonia of Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta.

Alberto Cuevas isn’t his real name - it’s a stage name that he selected from the two musicians who he admires the most - Juan Gabriel and Aída Cuevas.

Juan Gabriel became a symbol of change and tolerance of sexuality in Mexico, as a songwriter of rancheras, ballads and boleros. Gabriel believed that Mexicans need to accept the fact that a homosexual, an afectionate man, could be the successful image of the mariachi, most commonly seen as a macho man. It was a slow process of Mexican society to approach tolerance and assimilate sexual diversity that continues to this day.

Aída Gabriela Cuevas Castillo is a Mexican singer and actress with more than 46 years of professional artistic career in the mariachi genre and is one of the most admired singers in the country.

Coming Out

Coming to terms with his sexuality was, at best, a difcult process for Cuevas. He knew at a very early age that he was “diferent.” Those feelings were confrmed when he was in junior high school, around the age of 15. He knew he was gay - and it was something that he struggled with for several years. He came out to his mother when he was 18, and her initial reaction was shock and acceptance didn’t come immediately.

“It was a difcult time, we didn’t talk for at least two weeks,” he said. “She is now a strong LGBTQ+ ally. But it was very hard for her. She just didn’t expect it. She was and is my best friend.”

Cuevas is the youngest of four children, three boys and a girl. He and his sister remain close, but he’s not close to his other brothers, nor his father, who left the family when Cuevas was around fve-years-old. Now he is the family caretaker, and lives with his elderly mother and helps raise his sister's two daughters - responsibilities he takes very seriously.

After graduating from high school at the age of 18, he entered the seminary to become a monk. And for three years he lived and studied the religion that he believed in so deeply.

“I loved, and still do, studying religion,” he explained. “I became interested in it when I was 13-yearsold. But it did make my coming to terms with my sexuality very complicated. To say the Church is homophobic would be an understatement.”

After three years in the Monk Seminary, he left. He needed to work and make money for his family. It was then, at the age of 22, that he was reunited with his frst love, a boy from his past that he had secretly dated. They went on to become long-term lovers for several years until his music career took him on a diferent path and they separated.

MEXICO’S GAY CULTURAL AMBASSADOR

Cuevas sees himself as one of Mexico’s gay cultural ambassadors, breaking down the stereotypes of the macho man.

When he was 23 he made his frst public appearance in a Puerto Vallarta gay bar - Los Equipaleswhere he would sing every weekend honing his image in this gay mexican cantina (Los Equipales was located on Lazaro Cardenas where the current bar of Kooky Karaoke is now).

As he built his name and reputation, he was able to expand his appearances to more mainstream audiences. And as he did, he would include drag queens, female impersonators and female artists, as well as gay folklore dancers.

“It was during this time period that I grew and discovered my career as the gay charro,” he said.

He went on to point out that the term “charro” is Mexican for a horseman, or cowboy. Charro’s are skilled riders and more importantly, a symbol of Mexico’s patriotic past. Mariachi is a type of music that originated in Cueva’s home state of Jalisco - Mariachi music is performed by a group of people who dress in the typical charro outft - wide-brimmed hats and colorful embroidery on an elegant jacket, tight and ftted pants,and a tie.

He points this out because while he dresses as a charro, he sings a variety of types of music. His charro outft is symbolic, to show that yes, a Mexican cowboy can also be a gay cowboy.

Cuevas has used his music and dress to advance LGBTQ+ rights, and to challenge the mainstream way of thinking on these types of issues. At the young age of 24 he hosted a radio show called La Jaula on 105.1 FM, in which he addressed all types of cultural issues.

“One of the most rewarding things about heading that kind of program was to be able to sow a seed of knowledge in the listeners by talking about diferent themes like sexuality,” he said. “On one occasion, same sex couples debated at the round table with members of the Church clergy about equal marriage, something never heard before on the local radio.”

That show also opened the door for him to meet all types of peoplefrom local and national politicians, to community leaders.

He also helped launch some LGBTQ+ specifc television program called Punto G, on the local channel TV MAR (channel 10).

For more information:

FACEBOOK: ALBERTO CUEVAS EL DIAMANTE

INSTAGRAM: @ALBERTOCUEVAS_ELDIAMANTE

EMAIL: ALBERTODIAMANTECUEVAS@GMAIL.COM

WHATSAPP: 322 189 3151

Encuentra nuestra versión en español en: outandaboutpv.com