Costa Nayarit by Rigoberto Moreno Santana

COSTA NAYARIT PHOTOGRAPHY: RIGOBER TO MORENO SANTANA

Project C & C Capital Publisher Nancy Patricia Aldrete Editorial Production Caja de Imágenes Photography Rigoberto Moreno Santana Texts Francisco Javier Ibarra Amanda González Moreno Art Director Alejandro Ramos Design ZWEI Jessica Robledo Translation Lucinda Mayo Copy Editor William Quinn Editorial Supervision Claudia García de Alba Vázquez Fernando Estrada Yusuke Suzuki Print Toppan Printing Co.

Copyright © 2007 Nancy Patricia Aldrete Copyright © For the 1st Edition 2007, C&C Capital Caja de Imágenes Editorial Fotográfica. Fray Juan de Zumárraga 905 int. 6 Col Jardines de San Ignacio, C.P. 45040 TEL (33) 36 47 40 25, (33) 14 17 99 51 Zapopan, Jalisco, México e-mail cajadeimagenes@yahoo.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, without permission in writing from the publisher. Spanish Edition: ISBN 978-970-95574-0-4 English Edition: ISBN 978-970-95574-1-1

PRODUCED IN MEXICO / PRINTED IN HONG KONG

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. NAYARIT: LEGENDARY SHORES (Francisco Javier Ibarra) WINDS OF ENCHANTMENT A BANNER OF LIGHT THE JAGUAR AND THE MERMAID LINES WRITTEN ON THE SEA, ECHOES IN THE WIND THE NORTH EXISTS SAND ON YOUR SKIN HOMES TO FIT THE LANDSCAPE

13 26 40 53 68 82 118

II. NAYARIT HOMES: EXCLUSIVE RESIDENCES ON MEXICO’S PACIFIC COAST

132

(Amanda González Moreno)

III. EPILOGUE: SEASIDE REVERIES IN KING NAYAR’S REALM (Francisco Javier Ibarra)

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Dear friends, Some time ago we came across a very special place, blessed with grace and beauty. We fell in love instantly. Years later, we remain in awe, marveled. Nayarit’s coast is captivating. We feel privileged to enjoy its colors, tones, landscapes and magnificence. The region’s rich culture, full of tradition, has also taught us appreciation. Our quest to share its unequalled beauty, its beaches, jungles, mountains and stories has led to the creation of COSTA NAYARIT. White sand and clear blue seas, lush vegetation and growing accessibility, the area’s key attributes, guarantee continued growth. But there’s much more to be discovered; we seek to witness the spectacles of life. In particular, anchored by Riviera Nayarit’s many resources, C&C Capital has ventured into otherwise uncharted territories, betting its future on this majestic paradise. We begin our projects at Destiladeras and Punta Raza with this book, in the hope of contributing to the region’s harmonious development while also raising its standard of living. Our vision is based on simple premises: to worship nature, to cherish beauty, to ensure progress, and to lead by example. We hope this book will transport you to a place of legends, myths, tropical sunsets, history and unrivalled exuberance.

Héctor Cárdenas CEO September, 2007

NAYARIT LEGENDARY SHORES Francisco Javier Ibarra

WINDS OF ENCHANTMENT The tendency to mythologize a place, to consecrate and crown it with an extraordinary halo that goes well beyond everyday mechanisms, has been practiced throughout history in almost every culture.Just as lovers, those in love, have a holy geography – those few places blessed with very special sentimental, erotic, emotional and symbolic energy - so towns also have locations that embody a relationship with the divine; a sense of origin and destiny; the most profound mythologies; and aspirations, horrors and fantasies. These, the purest elements of their collective identity, are what make them unique, unparalleled, transcendent.

derived from the idea that the human and the divine merged at that very place to give life to the Mexican spirit. Thus, at that dramatic moment, the primal identity of a country called Mexico was born. But in reality Aztlán belongs to the realm of invisible cities, of spaces that only take shape in this world via words, through telling their own legend, their ritualized evolution – so the more we seek this alleged birthplace of the Aztecs, of Mexican-ness, the less we find of it. Still, some historians, researchers and chroniclers have located the evanescent Aztlán in the area that interests us here, the northern part of Nayarit, within a region of mangroves and marshy lagoons, on the ever-thrilling island of Mexcaltitán.

One such quest for identity, the need to find the earliest mythic Aztec city, long-lost Aztlán, has over the centuries become an obsession: a challenge and goal

AZTLÁN BELONGS TO THE REALM OF INVISIBLE CITITES

human endeavors meant traveling over sea, braving mangroves and crocodiles, herons flying overhead and alighting on nopal cacti, the snakes safely in their hidingplaces. To enter the secret ceremony, it is essential that we walk along circular streets that become canals at high tide, and examine the plaques hung on every home announcing the family name of its inhabitants. Here everyone knows where neighbors, near and far, are going and what they’re doing; one firmly grasps that the only way off the island is on a boat, for anyone trying to swim the canal will be feasted on by caimans.

The perceptive historian Jean Meyer, that great debunker of official and officious stories, comments: “The subject of Aztlán as a departure point for the Mexica migration that culminated in the foundation of MéxicoTenochtitlan is the chapter of a sacred history for which we must not seek actual geographic positioning. It is a way of thinking, a mythic-historic interpretation, like Romans or French kings declaring that they descended from ancient Troy. It corresponds to a historical phenomenon that is very real and knowable, of the great migrations of the Chichimeca nations through centuries and millennia. In 1887, Chavero identified Aztlán with Mexcaltitán, and that hypothesis was revived in the 20th century by W. Jiménez Moreno.

The mysteries of initiation are finally received after learning legends and local mythic tales from the mouths of native men or women, their roots sunk deep in this ground, and after speaking with a member of the large Chinese community living in Mexcaltitán (it is even believed that the current tongue-in-cheek Chinese-Mexican phrase ‘coopelas’ or ‘cuellos’ started here, under the watchful gaze of a pirated eagle made in Taiwan). One should also spend a night under full moon meditating around the island on a barge, accompanied by a mermaid and a half-human, half-fish sea monster.

“Scientists have found serious fault with the theory, to such a degree that we may conclude ‘the romantic designation of Mexcaltitán as Aztlán may be good for tourism, for political images of today’s Nayarit, but these pretensions should be accepted for what they really are: simply a manner of thinking’. Aztlán, as a mythic and sacred space, cannot and should not be located within any actual terrain, or assigned to any dimension where it doesn’t belong. To do that is to carry ‘Mexican-ness’ too far from its pre-Hispanic past. In reality, it is either the legendary history of the Mexica or a subject pertaining to how the Mexican nation was structured after 1810.”

Shifting from that spirit and returning to the alleged location of Aztlán in Mexcaltitán, there may have been tribes that left for the south in search of a mythic sign – that of the eagle, snake and the nopal cactus. If they walked along the coast of what is now Nayarit they must have found themselves amidst the virgin

Nowadays, while touring the island of Mexcaltitán, we perform our own rite of initiation. Its harbor’s first

splendor of Boca de Camichín; the beaches at El Sesteo and Los Corchos; the mangroves at Paraje del Rey; the holy White Rock of Aramara; the winding paths of San Blas (mosquitoes, ghosts and all); Matanchén Bay; Los Cocos Cove; the beaches at El Llano and Platanitos; Boca El Custodio; Ixtapa’s sandbar and Chila, where river meets sea; Chacala Cove; the beaches at Las Cuevitas; El Naranjo and Jaltemba rock; Coral Island; Rincón de Guayabitos (without all the buses); Los Ayala; Punta Raza; the beaches at Lo de Marcos, San Francisco

and Sayulita; Litibú Cove; Careyeros beach; Punta de Mita; beaches at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Bucerías; the Marieta islands; Banderas Bay, finally reaching the Ameca River, and at that point turning around to retrace their own footsteps. Such an itinerary might have convinced Aztlán’s pilgrims to give up on their mission and stay to enjoy these coastal paradises, leaving it to others to seek out nopales, eagles and serpents with the goal of founding

an imperial city that is now chaotic, neurotic and grossly overpopulated. Aside from ironic fables, mythologized nature and human settlements go hand in hand with the creation and spreading of legendary tales: stories that travel by word of mouth from generation to generation. Thus colorful legends – thought-provoking, terrifying, amusing, sarcastic, illuminating – arose all along the shores of what is now Nayarit during each of several phases of population growth over the centuries. Since pre-Hispanic times, the various indigenous groups visiting Nayarit’s coast preferred to stay for short periods among its sands, rocks, marshes and cliffs; these fleeting stays tied only to the incipient and littledeveloped work of fishing, and to celebrating a series of holy rites facing the ocean. In some cases ceremonies included sacrifices and offerings that kept marine gods content and well-disposed to worshippers. Evidence of this has been found in Punta de Mita, at the extreme western end of Banderas Bay, as well as in San Cayetano, near the northern town of Tecuala. When the Spaniards arrived, most of the coastal indigenous groups were swiftly conquered and colonized, though other natives preferred, and managed, to flee into the tangled mountains that crisscross Nayarit – especially the Western Sierra Madre and what is known as the Nayar range. All during the colonial era, settlement on the shores of Nueva Galicia

was strictly sporadic; as had been done even before the conquest, people built windbreaks and palapas at the sea’s edge during dry season - the traditional time for visits to the area. One of the practices that on a daily, weekly and monthly basis linked the plains and mountains to the Nayarit coast in pre-Hispanic and colonial times was the sale, transport, and business of salt, that indispensable element for long-term food preservation. Salt was so important that merely cutting off trade routes from the coast to the Nayarit mountains where Coras, Huicholes, Tepehuanes y Chichimecas lived – they who, inspired by the presence and divine right of the Great King Nayar, had resisted Spanish conquest for over 200 years – meant finally achieving their domination and colonization in 1722. On these routes between the mountains, plains and ocean, a conspicuous feature was the absence of housing, construction or infrastructure that might be otherwise used year-round to develop permanent settlements in the coastal region. Perhaps one of the few exceptions during the colonial era, along with Chacala and Matanchén, was the Port of San Blas, always connected to superb shipbuilding and outfitting for long expeditions, such as the Franciscans’ and Jesuits’ evangelical trips to the Californias, the celebrated missionary voyages of Fray Junípero Serra to Baja California and the Philippines, and departures by Spanish and New World ships to fight the English, Dutch, French and Chilean privateers

that laid waste to Mexico’s Pacific coasts. The port also saw the comings and goings of galleons, brigantines, sailing ships and boats of all sizes that anchored here with merchandise and marvels from India, China, Japan, Ceylon, the Philippines and other Far-Eastern lands, Australia, South and Central America, the United States and various European countries. Commercial activity intensified particularly in the 19th century, with the docking of ships from many home ports and the establishment of a muleteers’ route from San Blas through Tepic and ending in Guadalajara, Jalisco – the ‘Pearl of Western Mexico’.

as the Seventh Canton of the State of Jalisco. A muchtraveled San Blas – Tepic - Guadalajara route revitalized such towns as Ixtlán del Río, Ahuacatlán and Jala. It also renovated roads to the coast, which supported constant activity in places like Compostela, Santiago Ixcuintla, Acaponeta and Amatlán de Cañas. Tobacco and cotton haciendas of the coastal flatlands to the north (headquartered in Santiago and Acaponeta) and the agricultural and livestock haciendas to the south (centered around Compostela, Las Varas, Ahuacatlán and Ixtlán de Buenos Aires) gradually promoted the establishment of several coastal settlements, but most people still remained on the coast only temporarily, always returning to their place of origin.

During that era, the territory that is now Nayarit was designated for political and administrative purposes

I N S U C H I N C R E D I B L E P L A C E S A S A R A M A R A’ S W H I T E R O C K

Nayarit has a well-earned place in the country’s history. Among Mexico’s various proclamations for independence were those of the Indian Mariano, better known as the Golden Mask and of José María Mercado on San Basilio Hill in the port of San Blas. Later came the heroic and pyrrhic gestures of Juan Escutia and the San Blas Battalion at Chapultepec Castle. Manuel Lozada’s banditry and rash contradictory efforts toward liberty, social justice and new opportunities certainly stood out: Lozada, the ‘Tiger of Álica’, was a typical Nayarit cacique, never bending under adversity or powerful interests. Also noteworthy were the novel enterprises (and intrigues) by the Barron and Forbes hacendados, the clear-eyed yet whimsical Masonic councils of Jalisco’s first governor, Prisciliano Sánchez, held in Ahuacatlán and Jala, sporadic eruptions from the towering Volcan Ceboruco, the railroad’s modernizing forces, furious strikes by men and women in the factories of Jauja and Bellavista, the first newspapers, the puzzling discovery of an archaeological site at Los Torriles in Ixtlán del Río, and stories and poems flowing from the decadent and symbolic romanticism of Amado Nervo… And then, between cries and whispers, came the Revolution, the creation of the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, the train that finally joined Tepic with Guadalajara, and the distribution of communal farmland that promoted occupation of lands up and down Nayarit’s shore in the 1930s.

Inhabitants of Jala went to live in Tecuala, people from Ahuacatlán left for Tuxpan or Ruiz, emigrants from Santa María del Oro reached Banderas Bay, settlers from Ixtlán went to Santiago Ixcuintla and some indigenous people came down from the mountains to settle at the sea’s edge. Exchanges between Talpa, Mascota and San Sebastián del Oeste (Jalisco) and the region around Valle de Banderas, Bucerías and La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, introduced their respective ways of life and customs, such as those reflected in savory and plentiful gastronomic offerings. Following Puerto Vallarta’s tremendous growth and expansion, the nineteen seventies, eighties and nineties saw the arrival of new residents to Nayarit’s Banderas Bay region, though these were not necessarily followed by great investments or linked to increased resources. Population density rose at varying speeds all along Nayarit’s splendorous shoreline. Today, the panorama of Nayarit’s coast translates into a multiplicity of ecosystems that seem determined to survive, with or without human help, some defended by citizens’ organizations attempting to preserve the environment and create sustainable productive projects that respect nature and local culture, others offering various windows of opportunity for businesses eager to invest, transform, make room for, initiate and install – in various ways and with different agendas – new developments, new architectures, new styles.

Along with such evolution the coastal legends continue to be heard and told, myths floating like auras through the loveliest natural sites along the shore, the ancient rituals kept alive and healthy in such incredible places as Aramara’s White Rock or the gallery of engraved stones at Altavista.

Thus, step by step along Nayarit’s coast, relationships arise with the world of legend, mystification and fable: the literature of these lands and many others. For instance, seeing the surfers on El Borrego beach in San Blas led by the legendary Juan Bananas – hippie, baker, king of ferocious waves, social activist and ecologist –

Meanwhile, far away in the highlands, where myths, rituals and peyote persistently work their alchemy, in the most inaccessible part of the Western Sierra Madre range, the Nayar Mesa Cultural Mission directed by Franciscan friar Pascual Morales continues to sow the seeds of education and hope among the young Coras, Huicholes, Tepehuanes and Mexicaneros scattered among lonely ravines, spectacular canyons and winding mountains: lands that take one’s breath away at every glance. From mountain to sea, from jungle to bluff, beautiful contradictions and unusual realities appear, like the Buddha seated at the edge of a gap near Las Bancas beach, who summons the memory of a poem fragment by the great Nayarit poet Amado Nervo: Today, a year after lost love, I go back to the spot; worn out from walking so far, I climb atop the base where the symbol rests; defeated and bloody the day dies and in the arms of the basalt Buddha I’m startled by that mysterious moon. And the basalt Buddha kept smiling...

each seeming to woo his or her own wave, immediately recalls an experience candidly described by Octavio Paz, Mexico’s only Literature Nobel Laureate: “But never did I reach the center of her being. Never did I touch the nakedness of pain and of death. Perhaps it does not exist in waves, that secret site that renders a woman vulnerable and mortal, that electric button where all interlocks, twitches, and straightens out to then swoon. Her sensibility, like that of women, spread in ripples, only they weren’t concentric ripples, but rather eccentric, spreading each time farther, until they touched other galaxies. To love her was to extend to remote contacts, to vibrate with far-off stars we never suspected. But her center... no, she had no center, just emptiness as in a whirlwind, that sucked me in and smothered me.” As in literature, eroticism, legend, rite and mythology, where unpredictable facts continuously surface to restore any point of view, so on Nayarit’s coast, in complete freedom and joy, the jungle landscapes and plains, the marshes and sea constantly give our bodies, minds, emotions and senses more than we think, more than we hope, more than we imagine. We must learn to appreciate and take these gifts as they come, as warmly-granted blessings, united by nature’s diversity, unceasing creativity and beauty.

A BANNER OF LIGHT The first historical references to Banderas Bay mention its having been inhabited by a series of indigenous tribes who fought among themselves. One such account is from Nueva Galiciaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great chronicler, Fray Antonio Tello:

“All these Indians, the Tecoxquines and those of the valley, say that each village had a lord who was to be served and obeyed, and those lords succeeded one another per their battle bravery, the survivor becoming the next lord. And in recognition of and tribute to their lord, subjects planted corn, cotton and other vital seeds, kept his house and served him according to his orders, all very obediently. In general, all worshipped the devil as a god and brought him sacrifices of bodies killed in battle, and danced according to their custom and style, as a form of reverence; they offered cloaks to the idol they kept in each lord’s domain or village... They say that in general all of the various villages were ruled by lords, and to each lord his people, and the people all recognized their own lord, and obeyed him. They say that the Tecoxquines warred with those of the Valley and the Coast, and those of the Coast were also bellicose. And again, the Tecoxquines fought with the people of Camotlán where the sun rose; and those of the valley, Coronados of the Banderas Valley, with those of the high mountain ridges in other jurisdictions... It is said they fought with everyone, using darts and bows and arrows, knives and clubs and a kind of small hatchet. And they went into war naked, smeared with red war paint, adorned with the feathers of parrots and other wild birds.”

For its part, Banderas Valley, known in that far-off time as the Zintla Valley, was the scene of the first encounter with a Spanish expedition to the region, that of Francisco Cortés de San Buenaventura and his men. Distinguished historian Francisco del Paso y Troncoso relates what happened: “The villages of the Banderas Valley were so called because the Indians constantly fought one another and the Spaniards were able to conquer them by entering the valley waving small flags, and that is why it is known as ‘Flag Valley’. In their own language, the Indians called it the Valley of Zintla, which means ‘plumage’; because of a tall hill, Quiutepetl or ‘Feather Hill’ that stands at the valley’s center.” Fray Antonio Tello fills out the chronicle of how the Banderas Valley was conquered, adding the story of ‘the miracle of the banner’: “…Armed with bows and arrows, clubs and deadly darts, reddened and adorned with many feathers, each Indian held small flags of large and small feathers in all different colors in his hand and his quiver, which were beautiful to see... Villages in the valley were large, and there were more than forty of them, and more than one hundred thousand Indians. The whole coast was planted with irrigated corn and cotton, and no land was wasted. Much opulent feathercraft was given to the Spaniards as they took possession of the villages... Cortés de San Buenaventura carried four banners with

the royal emblems, and another, hung from a standard, of scarlet and damask, with a cross on the other side and the letters “WITH THIS I WON, HE WHO CARRIES ME WILL WIN”, and an image of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception... During the battle this banner began to shine and became brilliant beyond belief, which inspired the troops to cry out to Santiago (St. James) as they achieved victory.” Glowing banners remain in regional stories and traditions as a symbol of the new era,a renewal; although the Spaniards’ long rule meant depopulation of these coasts during much of the time they belonged to the Nueva Galicia Colony. It was not until the haciendas in Las Varas and Compostela (Nayarit) and Mascota, Talpa and San Sebastián (Jalisco) began to rise along what are now the lovely shores of Banderas Bay, that the region began to be peopled again, fitfully and slowly, with tiny villages of huts and wily fishermen. Even in the less distant past, various anecdotes indicate this region was “very remote, with just a few people who came on vacation but left afterwards, fleeing the terrible heat and torrential rains of such godforsaken coastal villages.” Puerto Vallarta’s development and expansion inevitably filtered north to the Ameca River - Punta de Mita corridor, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the last twenty years. Despite rapid growth and the problems it brings, the landscape in this part of Nayarit

has maintained its own natural splendor and delicate imprint, the distinctive attractions of Bahía de Banderas – a ‘free and autonomous’ municipality only since 1989, when after a long political and legal battle it separated from Compostela. If Nuevo Vallarta is now a hub of large-scale tourism development, with its marina and shopping centers, alluring beaches and luxury hotels, other places hereabout preserve charms that are closer to their natural origin, to their pre-Columbian myths, to their solitary old thatched villages, to the sailors and mule drivers who passed through here, and to the endless echo of waves breaking on rocks. In Bucerías for example, it is possible to enjoy the entire beach, to rest and read and play and swim, to walk along the sand and to glimpse – in season – a humpbacked whale and its calf, sometimes trailed by the dark shadows of orca whales.

Nuevo Vallartaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Turtle Campground comes as a pleasant surprise, an environmental outpost within a sea of new development. This site brings people of various ages and socio-cultural levels face to face with the necessity and importance of caring for sea turtles, of ensuring that their beach spawning grounds remain undisturbed. Holding a newborn turtle in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hands before releasing it at nightfall, so it can begin its wild race to the sea, is an ecological experience that enhances individual and community consciousness, an act of devotion that leaves an indelible mark on many people.

On the other hand, in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, for many decades an authentic fishing settlement, the pace of village life is framed by three huge parota trees, standing beside the village’s colorful plaza. These wise old trees, also known as huanacaxtles, are silent witnesses to the comings and goings of Mexican and foreign visitors alike. As they stand guard over the development and growth that little by little invades the village’s beaches and streets, they may be hoping the winds of modernism don’t carry them away, branches, birds and all. If La Cruz’s pleasures include looking out to sea while dining on chopped manta ray tostadas, at El Anclote the joys extend to seafood cocktails and traditional ceviche, served with ice-cold beer. From this newly-created village of people from Punta de Mita, one can set out across the waves to the Marietas.

En route to these magical islands, full of stories, legends and seabirds, one merely realizes the importance of preserving these waters, this coast and its vegetation, maintaining the whole area free of pollution or threats of extermination. The striking beauty, on land and at sea, depends on a healthy, balanced environment, sustainable and propitious for ecological preservation.

The “long” Marieta island is home to thousands of gulls, pelicans, frigate birds and boobies of the blue-footed, yellow-footed and brown-footed varieties. This island, an important pre-Hispanic ceremonial center, later served as an ideal refuge for buccaneers, wanderers and lovers, especially in its well-hidden caverns and passages, like the Cave of Death. Transparent waters flicker in colors from emerald to jade. Within its recesses treasures have indeed been found: doubloons, cannonballs, pirate masts, indigenous vessels, bowls and carved figurines. On the beaches of La Nopalera (several nopal cacti are among the island’s honored guests) and La Escalera, waters swirl as divers take one last look at the ocean floor before carefully reboarding their boats.

Feeling the breeze from the Vallejo hills and hearing the rumble of the waves, Confucius’s wise words come to mind: “The heartfelt man is charmed by the mountain; the man of understanding enjoys the water.”

Heading over to the “round” Marieta island, turbulence and whirlpools emerge, caused by the two islands’ proximity. One glimpses places whose names contain the echoes of legends, like Virgin Cave, Bubble Wall, Pirate’s Cave, Lovers’ Beach and especially Rock Bridge – a kind of chimney spout, enormous, majestic, where all four winds blow, where fishermen returned to die after bequeathing their canoes to their first-born. It is said with so much wind their souls could take off easily and continue on smooth voyages to other worlds. Nearing the coast once again after marveling at the islands’ natural and mythical richness, a privileged vantage point for admiring the beauty of sunlit Bahía de Banderas appears. Worthy of sharing by everyone, it showcases the simple glory of the old cliffs as translated into the Corral del Risco Viejo development, the mangroves and pelicans circling Black Rock, the unutterable enchantment of El Arco’s grottos, the ghostly boats and aphrodisiac plants on the ‘golden beach’, Playa de Oro, as well as that fantastic view of passion flowers and hinchahuevos (Sapium laurifolium), which exhort all to keep a distance from the cliff. Full of caverns and hidden chambers known collectively as Las Cuevitas, a gigantic vampire is said to hide here and come out at night to track down women and children. An excellent place for contemplating sunrise and sunset is Punta de Mita, ancient ceremonial center of

offerings and sacrifices as ruled by stars, the ocean’s unpredictable energy and fickle fate. Today, the pre-Hispanic temple has been transformed into a sophisticated viewing stand, where winds blow out to sea over a golf course and legendary samples of minimalist, post-modern architecture, signs of the times and transmigrations, turns of the ever-turning wheel. In whatever way and under whatever auspices, with new winds of freedom mixed with old regional tales, with prospects for tourism development and resistance to change, with landscapes candidly awaiting ecological preservation and thoughtful treatment, with islands and beaches, with crannies and open spaces... Bahía de Banderas’ light, light that is beautiful and intimate, almost supernatural, unfurls like a great banner announcing new battles, new commitments, new responsibilities and new dreams.

THE JAGUAR AND THE MERMAID “The sea is an immense surging-forth; the mountain withdraws onto itself. The sea guzzles and spews; the mountain bends and bows down. The sea may manifest a soul; the mountain transmits a rhythm. The mountain, with its superimposed peaks, its stepped cliffs, its secret valleys and deep precipices, its elevated crests, blunt and brusque, its steam and fog and dew, its smoke and clouds, makes us think of the sea – which smashes, swallows and lunges. But none of these is the soul that the sea itself shows; they are mere qualities that the mountain owns. The sea also takes possession of the mountain: the sea’s immensities, its watery depths, its wild laughter, its mirages, its whales leaping over dragons rearing their heads, its tides in wave after wave like mountaintops. Those are the traits by which the sea takes on the mountain’s qualities, not the other way around. Such are the qualities that sea and mountain take from one another, and man has eyes to see that... mountain is sea, and sea is mountain.”

landscape aesthetic that runs along Nayarit’s coast, between Litibú’s cove and Los Ayala, where mountains and jungles of the Vallejo range meet the capricious waters of the Pacific Ocean. An exchange of essences, languages and appearances between the mountains and the sea not only forms part of their own metaphoric and referential baggage, but expresses their most pristine privacy and their dynamic everyday phenomena. Perhaps the literal landing strip for communication, for comings and goings, receptivity and mutual tolerance between bodies of land and water, is the beach, with its twists and turns and rock faces... in a word, the sea’s edge that in full sunlight, as well as in darkness, joins and separates, touches, fuses and reworks both worlds. Thus merely walking on these sand strips and cliffs along the Nayarit coast acquires special relevance; in places such as Careyeros where waves break upon streaked purplish rocks with hearts and eyes, where coral has turned into romantic powder, water sings and bubbles; the manzanilla tree seems like a green protective sky, and surprises that come from mountain

These words by writer and art critic François Cheng, born in China but with a long creative career in Europe, are drawn from his book Emptiness and Fullness. They allow us to approach an understanding of the

or sea – a watch, a butterfly, an organ cactus, a sepia photograph, a piano key, a message in a bottle from a decades past, a trolley ticket – await their uncanny discovery upon the stretching sands.

verdict. As François Cheng mentioned in the abovequoted book: “The mountain and the water should not be taken in simple comparative or purely metaphoric terms; they embody the fundamental laws of the macrocosmic universe, which maintains organic bonds with the microcosm that is man.”

On seeing construction equipment, earthmovers and cement mixers beyond the ancient fishing town of Higuera Blanca on the way to Litibú, one can only wonder where progress is taking us: a transformation of the landscape, an alteration of nature’s cycles in favor of architectural design. The sea and mountains watch and silently give their

Meanwhile, on the long beach at Litibú the tan and golden sands of time do not go away; the violent crashing of successive, endless waves; enormous ochre and rose-colored boulders with holes and crevices, signs and imprints from the wild, unconquerable

and boundless sea. The moss on another rock offers a crab refuge against the buffeting of waves. In passing we note one of the few beach houses left standing, hiding details in its brickwork, inevitably transporting residents back to a time when grandmother scraped the bottoms of barrels, and played the piano like a goddess. Those fluttering leaves, smelling of jasmine and tequila, lead to the eternal lightness and relativity of the coastal village known as Sayulita, for decades a place for fishing, for gathering, processing and selling coconut oil. But all that changed twenty years ago, when thrill-seekers began to arrive â&#x20AC;&#x201C; then decided not to leave, but to stay and inhabit this unusual place that according to oral traditions â&#x20AC;&#x153;is charged with cosmic energy running from the mountains to the sea, which the sea then returns to the hills and peaks, and all this flow of energies back and forth passes right through Sayulita.â&#x20AC;?

always fresh.When I embraced her, she swelled with pride, incredibly tall, like the liquid stalk of a poplar; and soon that thinness flowered into a fountain of white feathers, into a plume of smiles that fell over my head and back and covered me with whiteness. Or she stretched out in front of me, infinite as the horizon, until I too became horizon and silence. Full and sinuous, it enveloped me like music or some set of giant lips. Her present was a going and coming of caresses, of murmurs, of kisses. Having entered her waters, I was drenched to the socks and in a blink of an eye I found myself up above, at the height of vertigo, mysteriously suspended, to fall like a stone and feel myself gently deposited on that dryness, like a feather. Nothing is comparable to sleeping in those waters, to awake pounded by a thousand happy light lashes, by a thousand assaults that withdrew laughing.”

Just as San Blas was a paradise for the hippies of the sixties and latter-day hippies of the seventies, Sayulita has become a most perfect realm on earth for tribes of surfers; men and women who have created, within their sport of sliding boards over waves, a whole lifestyle with its own codes of honor and deportment, language, ceremonies, foodstuffs, costumes, religion, pleasures and vices. On a beach where waves are generally docile and polite, more than one surfer has ridden the break of his or her life, the one that makes sense of the whole universe. Who knows if one of these brave warriors of ‘surf’s up’ and ‘hang ten’, obsessed with the waves’ ebb and flow, will experience that which Octavio Paz wrote about in his prose poem, My Life with the Wave:

Nor would it be so strange if a wave in Sayulita decided to run off with the love of its life – considering that on this secluded beach one senses a great wellspring of shining erotic energy, exploding in a thousand colors on the beach through days and nights without end, twilight times when birds of desire set fire to the horizon, golden light permeating the primitive sources of wounded nature, blood-red clouds looking down on bodies waving calmly atop the randy, romping surf.

“When I left that sea, a wave moved ahead of the others. She was tall and light. In spite of the shouts of others who grabbed her by her floating clothes, she clutched my arm and went leaping off with me. I didn’t want to say anything to her; it hurt to shame her in front of her friends. Besides, the furious stares of elders paralyzed me. When we got to town, I explained that it was impossible, that life in the city was not what she, with the ingenuity of a wave that never left the sea, had imagined. She watched me gravely: ‘No, your decision is made. You can’t go back.’ I tried sweetness, hardness, irony. She cried, screamed, hugged and threatened. I had to apologize...

Just down the road from Sayulita, chasing an ecologically-minded highway with signs that identify animals living on either side of that asphalt ribbon, is a seaside settlement known as San Francisco (San Pancho, to its cuates or pals). This village, with its placid

“Her presence changed my life… Love was a game, a perpetual creation. All was beach, sand, a bed of sheets

marshland and small ocean inlet, traversed the same historical passages as Sayulita, with the distinction here being the government’s efforts to consolidate a series of ambitious economic and educational projects in the 1970s.

Las Bancas beach that for undisclosable reasons is better kept secret – nowadays people here are hardworking, accustomed to progressive projects that contribute to their personal and collective wellbeing.

Thus, by orders of Mexico’s then-president Luis Echeverría, the University of the Third World was erected, with sheds and warehouses for various agricultural programs. Barely a memory of all that survives in today’s San Pancho: some buildings purchased by private buyers, others mere ruins with street names that recall the then-called non-aligned nations, like Algeria, Cambodia, Egypt, and a main street called Third World Avenue.

It is not odd to find, near the public garden, the headquarters of Hojanay (acronym for: hombre, jaguar, Nayarit), a nonprofit principally devoted to saving the jaguars who roam the Sierra de Vallejo and surroundings, caring for the environment and creating ecological awareness, as well as selfguided and sustainable projects for the region’s residents. A jaguar’s roar is heard near the inlets, creeks, wetlands and sometimes even close to sea. The jaguar is a distinctive animal; silent, watchful, decisive, aggressive and highly intelligent, an expert at hiding in the jungle’s foliage, within branches or in those least accessible of crannies.

So-called modernizing attempts have tempered the enthusiasm of this village that, like Sayulita, attracted a large foreign community. But San Pancho’s spirit is more serene, unhurried and calm; so much so that you may often find yourself alone on a half-moon beach, with a rickety wooden lifeguard seat looking out over the waves, a few albatross flying solo overhead, an almond tree wobbling with the weight of a Canada goose, a slender girl who has the sea all to herself, and nothing else.

That distinctive roar has been felt close to Sayulita and San Pancho often, and on Los Venados beach in Lo de Marcos. This inconspicuous beach is covered with white frangipani blooms, palm trees and black rocks, shaded ramadas, warm sands for whiling away the hours while aimlessly wandering through frivolous recollections, and dipping into the iridescent waters that ebb and flow between shades of blue and a whole range of greens.

But don’t think San Pancho is an abandoned town of ghosts and foreign residents passing through. Although goblins and apparitions in these parts indeed materialize – as in the enigmatic legend of

A lone girl has made contact with the sea on this very beach. Her trek quickly brings to mind the words that storyteller Juan Rulfo, in Pedro PĂĄramo, his immortal novel, used to describe the confessions of Susana San Juan: â&#x20AC;&#x153;My body felt fine on the warm sand. I had my eyes closed, arms open, legs spread to the sea breezes. And the sea was there ahead of me, but far out, hardly splashing any foam on my feet when the tide came in...

“… I came back. I’ll always come back. The sea wet my ankles and took off again; splashed my knees, my thighs; wrapped its soft arm around my waist, lingered awhile on my breasts; hugged my neck; squeezed my shoulders. Then I sank, all of me, into the sea. I surrendered to its overwhelming force, its gentle hold, without leaving anything behind. I like swimming in the sea... And the next day I was once again in the sea, purifying myself, surrendering to its waves.” Whether under the huge ferns at Los Ayala or in the captivating calm of San Pancho’s beach and tide pool, aroused by melodies of coral sheltered in the parota trees of Careyeros, feeling the ebullient eroticism of Sayulita, chasing subtleties of memory born of ramblings through Litibú, just between the mountain and the sea, on that strip of sand and stone, moss and snails..., there is a space for sensual encounters and exalted fellowship, of a jaguar once in awhile meeting a mermaid and a mermaid a jaguar. Then they look each other in the eye and sniff each other’s spirits, recognize one another, loosen up, lighten up, become phosphorescent, naked, surrender and transfigure themselves, and leave, with a smile on their lips, sometimes to the mountains, sometimes to the sea...

LINES WRITTEN ON THE SEA, ECHOES IN THE WIND headlands, water trickling from the rocky heights onto Del Toro beach, nature’s polychrome nooks and the popular curved beach at Rincón de Guayabitos. Tepalcate ducks and vestiges of times long-gone that shine at specific times on the sands of la Peñita de Jaltemba. Should one turn to the far side of the island the infinite sea opens up to the stars, though not without a gripping feeling of vertigo, all chance and circumstance, right up to the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

If there is any region of the Nayarit coast where one can appreciate and be entirely grateful for the view’s magic, so graceful and gorgeous, it is the stretch between Los Ayala and the port of San Blas. All wonders that inspire the senses, as perceived and distinguished through vision, taste, smell, hearing, touching, the enigmatic sixth sense and the even rarer common sense, have found a home here somewhere. To contemplate Crab Rock and La Peña Island, their cliffs piercing the ocean’s geometry, sea urchins clinging to their rocks, frigate birds playing on bougainvilleas that tumble in cascades from the sacred hill, gives new meaning to life. A statue of the Sacred Heart greets visitors and watches over the Virgin Mary at that small beach’s brim. Starfish and colored finned creatures play irreverent jokes on those who dive and snorkel in their blue-tinted waters. Boats dance light-heartedly around this brief geography.

In one legendary place the weight and footsteps of centuries past, of stories told, of ways to exist as humans, are still felt. The archaeological site near the village of Altavista carries cosmic energy, concentrated drawings sketched on cave walls and engraved on gigantic rocks. Arising out of thick jungle, one marvels at the brilliance of creation, remnants of ancient inhabitants. Some researchers say these people were Tecoxquines; others refer to tribes lost in the mists of prehistoric time. No matter, all things worthy of being carved in stone are to be found here: spirals,

Near Coral Island dazzling sights emerge: Crab Rock, populated by eponymous small and curious creatures, faraway, Devil’s Profile at Punta Raza, hidden secrets of bandits and pirates on Los Ayala’s well-trodden

winged men, warrior women, serpents sabotaging the creation of the universe, sharks that foretell the future, flags waving from their stony chambers, bearded men evoking later myths, thrones conferring power and vanity, gods’ boats that guard wisdom, whether within caves, on mountaintops or at the bottom of the sea, shrimp defying the laws of gravity, trees supporting the universe and combating everyday chaos, as well as the peyote (“that you may see and know all”) which is the very entrance to other worlds. This site at the center of the Vallejo range, with its dense and stirring jungle, is today a sanctuary for Huicholes and other indigenous groups, and for those who seek to invoke and pray to the spirits of mountain and sea. In the trees and improvised altars, pilgrims have left offerings – their ojos de dios, dream catchers, guardians of energy and good luck. Amidst huge ferns, the jungle opens onto a gallery of rocks with sacred engravings, where a river pool coincidentally but carefully forms a small amphitheatre. While a disembodied scream reaches from the ocean, voices clamor in unknown tongues a message that no one has managed to decipher. That antediluvian clamor may also be heard at nearby Divisadero (better known as Las Cuevas - the caves) where, after descending the jungled slopes a beach bathed by cool ocean waves is reached. Waves that calm themselves in this small bay, blanketed by volcanic formations in red and amber tones, by a few rocks also carved with shrimp and armadillos, circles and squares; pointillist sketches alluding to earth, wind, fire and water.

a strange young man called Mateo (or Matías), who according to oral tradition preached a kind of freelyinterpreted Christianity here – well before the arrival of the Spaniards.

One need not keep alert to messages on rocks at Las Cuevas: to examine the vegetation and all the surprises it shelters, be they venomous snakes or secret codes from ancient cultures, just a few meters from the water, is unmistakably enlightening. Lush, lustful and fascinating, this beach grants a glimpse from its cliff-top lookout point of majestic Chacala (Shrimp) Cove, seat of one of Nayarit’s first ports, and Chacalilla.

Although some claim insistently to have seen “brother Matías, brother Mateo” wandering through the beach on new-moon nights, it is more likely that Chacala was discovered in August of 1524 by the conquistador Francisco Cortés de San Buenaventura, who came expecting to find a town ruled by Amazons and a city of gold and precious gems.

Beauty and mystery abound in Chacala. Like several of Altavista’s incised rocks, this place also alludes to

He found no legendary women, or mythic riches. What he did find was Chacala, which later became the departure point for expeditions made to California by the famous Italian priest Eusebio Kino (better known as Padre Kino), and for other voyages to lands as near as the Islas Marías or as far north as Canada and Alaska. It also witnessed the cruelties of Dutch and English pirates during the colonial era, and right up through the 19th century. For most of the 20 century, Chacala was a shipping port for agricultural products, especially tobacco and coconut oil headed to distant Pacific harbors. Today, it is a respectable trading port full of stories, palm trees, plums, figs, mangos, orchid trees and seagoing vessels. Its large, beautiful beach lined with gray rocks and golden sand, welcomes waves continuously beckoning; its waters delicately, lightly and gradually deepen as they meet the open sea. th

Another special place, for contemporary and ecological reasons, comes into view beyond the crossroads at Las Varas - historically an important destination for pilgrims, mule drivers, voyagers, visitors and castaways. Past the festive town of Zacualpan, close to Boca de Chila and the marsh alternatively called Mataiza, Tortugas and Boca de la Bahía, the mangroves appear. This swamp is defended, preserved and valiantly maintained by a group of villagers from Zacualpan, whose ecological sense and long-term vision are commendably committed to its present and future.

An oar-powered canoe takes us through this lovely marsh, amidst birds chirping and fish washing about, though a walkway also crosses the mangroves. Wave sounds with uncertain origins echo through the trees. We proceed to find they emanate from an unusually lovely beach called Barra de Chila. We are welcomed by an extension of sand, sun, clouds, palms and impetuous sea from Barra de Ixtapa. A few meters from the first sea turtle protection and preservation center, founded in 1990 under the name Platanitos Turtle Preserve, Boca el Custodio sits at the end of Ixtapa’s ample bay. A fully natural layout provides memorable experiences. The mouth of a watery current, an endless palm grove, the last traces of marsh and the walls of a rocky shelf, combine with shining waves on the long beach to inspire and enliven. A show of harmony, seduction and mystery prevails. A quick stop at neighboring Platanitos beach is essential, no matter the hurry. A not-to-be-missed spot on any trip through Nayarit’s coast, it boasts the best grilled fish on the planet, a beach to wander and a half-hidden florist’s shop selling forget-me-nots: a perfect place to spend the night, to watch the sun climb up the sky or the rain fall on the horizon, or to examine fading colors at dusk over the water. After Punta Custodio and Platanitos, all becomes more bearable, more easy-going; that is, unless you seek

to cross the San Juan mountains to the sea, through forest and vampire tunnels (not bat-caves), between mudfilled gaps and grasshopper havens, along crafty creeks that confuse heedless drivers, among bursts of brilliant green, wild and compelling mountain scenery. Whether following the mountain road or the coastal line, a climb to Punta el Caballo affords a visit to three marvels, each for its own reason and from a different vantage point, unforgettable sights to dream about for a long time: Los Cocos Cove, MatanchĂŠn Bay and in the distance, the Port of San Blas.

Even after the most fleeting of glances, these unusual landscapes remain in one’s soul, like strange and unhoped-for treasures flung by the sea: elegant palms visited by pelicans on Los Cocos beach, Aticama’s sandy pillars prefacing the ocean’s immensity, incredibly large fruits and sweet lychees strung like floral necklaces in Matanchén, the roar of waves and rustling thatched roofs on Las Islitas, towering observation points that inspire dreamy gazes upon this magnificence. Los Borregos beach provides undulating waves to any

and all who dare to glide along an aquatic tunnel, through the surf’s heart, earning that moment of peace after buffetings by water and weather. Then, right in San Blas, across from its venerable port and the mangroves at Playa del Rey, the massive Piedra Blanca (‘white rock’) rises above dancing waves. This grand image of Aramara, the Huicholes’ and Coras’ goddess of the seas, is the site of an annual pilgrimage, rendering homage and respect, invoking

her gifts and good fortune, obtaining her protection in these waters. The great Pacific Ocean is imposing, gripping, and simply spectacular when seen from this rock. San Blasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history and legends leap out at every turn. A port noted for its insatiable mosquitoes, shrimp and shark fishing boats filled with seaweed and ropes, hunters of dreams and exalted ardors, it is also a town marked by its retiring, melancholic character â&#x20AC;&#x201C; expressing itself through the slow passage of time, of life in its old city and new environs. That character and space have stalled its streets and castles, its churches and bars, mangroves and beaches, as if a kind of Brigadoon. People do indeed believe the stories of improbable shipwrecks, of brides so in love they crave the docks like Penelopes in mini-skirts and shawls, of kings and queens who will never again tread the lands they once ruled, of hotel rooms transformed into underwater resting-places of European galleons and clippers bound for Asia, of bells heard among the ruins of past splendor, of canals threading through La Tobara leading to enchanted mangroves â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is said those who renew themselves after 27 years travel through

the twilight zone -, of lightning bolts illuminated by Lisbon’s sorrowful light and songs, fados and salutes to the Virgin of Guadalupe, who protects – like a magical lighthouse – women and fishermen from beasts of land and sea; of golden anchors and silver ships that glitter at night near Paraje del Rey, ‘the king’s place’; of stone and sun calendars charged with time’s real essence. All prevail in people’s veins along San Blas’s drowsy avenues, large halls, old custom houses, and of course, in the treacherous undertow around Aramara Rock. Each man and woman of San Blas lives his or her own story, which is told – in the eternal present tense of myth and art – to other beings, invisible and unknown. Beneath the sky, each exists within his or her own dimension, his or her own destiny, as a teller of tales. In that vein, perhaps a few lines from the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who visited San Blas in the middle of the 19th century and died remembering his impressions of that trip, will free us from the spell cast over the town to discover images concealed under its cloak of carefree relaxation, of taking-its-time; the real magic and beauty of this port, its wild combative nature, its lines written on the sea, its echo in the wind:

“But to me, a dreamer of dreams, To whom what is and what seems Are often one and the same,-The Bells of San Blas to me Have a strange, wild melody, And are something more than a name... ...O Bells of San Blas in vain Ye call back the Past again; The Past is deaf to your prayer! Out of the shadows of night The world rolls into light; It is daybreak everywhere.”

THE NORTH EXISTS

From aesthetic and landscape perspectives, such a stance amounts to no more than a reluctance to widen one’s view, depart from a prejudiced conception of reality and its essence, see beyond certain canons and parameters, and grant oneself the good-fortuned opportunity to discover nature’s most varied forms and expressions: other ecological niches, other incarnations of its barest beauty – without masks or fancy dresses, disguises or doubtful architecture.

This large area forms the National Pacific Coastal Plain and Marshlands, which a bird’s eye view shows to be a labyrinthine network of canals joining sea and land in fits and starts. Like a pleasant floating limbo containing the pounding ocean as well as the fertility of the region’s plains, it is a refuge for biodiversity, for lovers and others who rebel against tired customs; a carnival of sensual brushstrokes and blurred colors where life bursts forth with shrieking, splashing and dizzying flight; a sublime locus for beginning and ending any great tale or song, from ritual pilgrimages to myths of how a nation was born; a sandbar that stretches and stretches and stretches until the eyes tire of seeking that unreachable end.

A free and open-minded look at the world and its mysteries reveals unexpected sceneries all along the coast, passing San Blas and continuing through Nayarit all the way to Sinaloa, that confirm nature’s transformative and regenerative force, the evermoving tracery of one universal inclination to balance, evidence of a transcendent communion between apparently opposite elements and energies: earth and ocean, salt water and fresh water, tangled vegetation and splashing surf.

It’s no surprise that here – according to pre-Hispanic and colonial accounts – stood the legendary site of Aztlán: some say on the fabulous island of Mexcaltitán, others, to the north in the mangroves. Nor is it strange to envisage tribes who founded the Aztec Empire departing from this area. At any rate, debating the point leads to one single question: how could such tribes have chosen to leave this natural paradise to chase a visionary sign: an eagle devouring a serpent atop a nopal cactus?

That most of Nayarit’s attractions lie between Banderas Bay and the port of San Blas has been proposed in public and private forums time and again, usually with a reductionist view and narrow criteria for both natural beauty and economic development.

Beyond the nationalist myths and conflicts lie the realities of what has herein taken place in recent times, and what the region is today. Up until perhaps five years ago, when Santiago Ixcuintlaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shopping center sparked modern development, this region was a major producer of cotton, tobacco, corn, beans, fruits and beef. As the tobacco monopoly passed to government hands, along with other social, natural, national and international factors, the so-called Gold Coast overwhelmingly saw its dream of prosperity, growth and progress wither, tumble and fall. But despite a decadent air and melancholic reiteration of bygone glories, Santiago Ixcuintla remains a city full of charm and wonder, literally at every turn. In no other part of Nayarit does such ebullient energy throb as in this dreamy community suspended in time with its small 19th-century palaces, its intriguing alleyways, esoteric symbols everywhere, its conspicuous river that tempers the weather and sometimes leaps the banks, its savory tlaxtihuille stew and shrimp turnovers, its sleeping dragons ever about to awaken, its congregation of coastal folk and people from the high mountains (Cora, Huichol, Tepehuano and Mexicanero Indians), and its winding trails running up into the hills and down to the plains and seashore. Near Santiago Ixcuintla, between the mouths of the Santiago and San Pedro rivers, lie the sandy stretches

of Los Corchos, Sesteo and Boca de Camichín, popular weekend and vacation spots. Between a proud mix of various mangroves and restless surf, relentless in its commitment with the sand, Santiago Ixcuintla’s enthusiastic and joyful spirit survives on these beaches. Still, tinged with nostalgic memories of better times, moments of splendor lost in mist, few choose to unveil these secrets. On these shores, burnished by vague expectations, birds pretending to forget where they’re headed, boats carved from trees of good and evil, sailors longing some imaginary port, dolphins swimming down to chat with girls on riverbanks... The Sailor’s Elegy, written years ago by Alí Chumacero close to these beaches, in the northern Nayarit city of Acaponeta, resonates with special fervency: “Bodies remember themselves in yours: their delight, their love or suffering. If night were to love, then your gaze in incessant dark would negate me.

In Boca de Camichín it is not romance and verbiage that make the heart beat louder and evoke the taste of ripe fruit; what elicits such feelings is, literally, the oyster. Watching the men, women, children and elders devote their days to cultivating oysters (“with the idea of repeating the same with shrimp and other seafood, someday”) is awe-inspiring. To appreciate and value their efforts, one must carefully observe their delicate use of marsh water, a perfect brackish mix, persistently, diligently. These local residents seek not only to preserve their natural surroundings, but also to develop productive projects that raise their own standard of living. After harvesting, entire families take to market their precious oyster catch, time and again passing through Boca de Camichin’s maze of canals and mangroves, amidst the chattering of chachalacas, the winks of crocodiles, the gliding of canoes and the ever-present waves of the Pacific.

Shadows pass, voices in my ear say what you now retell, and on your lips the names again become the memory of other names. The autumn, roses and violets are born from you, swayed by the wind whose source may be on other lips among them, mine. A sad air drags images that arise from your body like salty streaks on a sepulcher: marble and radiance nearly deserted, their dance in the night forgotten. More time dissipates our shadows, and I will be a man without exit, lover of a cadaver in living memory. Then I’ll find you anew, in other bodies.”

Isla Isabel, a few kilometers out to sea, is just a short sail away. This National Bird Preservation Sanctuary harbors thousands of winged and beaked species who offer daily banquets and performances: concerts reminiscent of Persian and Hindu tales featuring the mythic Island of the Golden Birds.

“Toward the lukewarm sand the flower unfurls from fugitive foam, and in its glass the wounded air navigates, imperceptible, broken, dark as a dove that quickly denies its marble counterpart the summer or the fear that in silence hurries and the only trace may be of swerving, melancholic fog that leaves you listening to its quiet dismay...

The Nayarit shoreline plots a path northward via splendid marshlands and intricate swamps, insistent ocean inlets and ‘mestizo’ ecosystems – their mix of salt and fresh waters akin to Mexico’s rich bloodline –, which are all home to peculiar marine breeds. A road leads to El Novillero: a seemingly infinite strip of flat sand almost 90 kilometers long and 50 meters wide. This captivating marvel gently slopes into the water, barely two meters deep a hundred meters from the beach. This unreachable horizon marks a clear boundary, a clear end to our journey north along the coast.

...Lovely like this and nude, no longer the illuminated flesh which the arrow lustfully describes in the wind the quake that then has to surrender; nor is it the burning, smitten mouth, insatiable on contact, the avid kiss like a profound silent aroma... ...and in a candid or winged moment drowning in suspended desire, like a blind lurching storm abandoned to the body it besieges and to the conjoint caress, obscure image of rude impulse become feathers and darkness lost forever, knowing how at the end of sand lies the grave, shaky border where fugitive flowers open themselves to sea foam, resolved now into silence and slowness.”

Maybe here, so close to his birthplace in Acaponeta, is where poet Alí Chumacero wrote the following words to an impassioned and elusive Wave:

But, in this region of northern Nayarit, glowing waves do not simply ignite passion on the beach or in the mangroves. Near El Novillero, at the crossroads that lead back to Tecuala, that romantic village with its evocative plaza, its church a lantern of delicate colors, its brick seaside hacienda, and the iguanas that in some old sailor’s dreams and maps denote the water’s edge, San Cayetano emerges. Its treasures abound: mother-of-pearl pathways, dusty trees and swamps wrapped in daybreak, flowing into hillocks of varying heights, made up of layers and layers, sometimes of white seashells against dark earth: nature’s prodigies, mysteries of primitive dwellers in these timeless regions. With the countryside merging into flat beaches, so near and yet so far, beaches that seem not to know the words ‘the end’ and swamps converging upon mangroves create and recreate biodiversity. Natural riches and alternative community projects, with singular meeting places and mixes of mountain and sea people, with delicacies and secret joys, with legends, rituals, mythologies and geographies of the sacred and profane, with continuous defiance in the face of prejudice that covets an orthodox landscape without exceptions, but above all, with inhabitants proud to be the most lively, convivial and libertarian men and women in the state... No doubt, Nayarit’s northern coast has proven it exists, just as much, on maps and in everyday reality. No doubt, it is a different kind of coast: esoteric, symbolic, labyrinthine, open, relaxed, and, with its divine mangroves dampened by the sea goddess’s waves, very, very, beautiful.

SAND ON YOUR SKIN In any real or imaginary geography, places that shine shall always exist. Like enigmatic jewels with a thousand facets, they represent a synthesis of all they evoke. Such is the essence of natural areas that shelter – in their waters and on land, in their stones carved and scattered by the wind, in their voluptuous botanical innocence, in the multiplicity of flora and fauna, in the murmurs of the centuries – the incomparable beauty of Nayarit’s coast.

Together these places, with their own characteristics and charms, outline the coastline’s magnificent scope, allowing one to glimpse at mythologies placed between Nayarit’s solid ground and the Pacific Ocean’s endless crashing surf. From beaches that allude to the length and breadth of the word infinity, to tall escarpments that mercilessly rub the sea’s body; from marshes that zealously guard nature’s and mankind’s mysteries, to the twists and turns of rock and sand that bespeak seductive legends and grand passions. Volcanic vestiges at the beach’s interface, where rugged mountain foothills caress rebellious wave-crests; galloping sea-level flatlands so close to brightly colored boats, and to mangroves nestling in the moisture from river and sea, fresh and salt water in their arms – all an undeniable and necessary chant to life.

These terrains, barely touched by human activity, where sand and waves constitute an everlasting challenge to sensual exploration, where the jungle’s diversity and the ocean’s reveries reach an endless celebration of intended and unintended delights, bear the names of unforgettable words, syllables that take shape as destinations and landscapes: Punta Raza and Destiladeras.

T H E I N C O M PA R A B L E B E A U T Y O F N AYA R I T ’ S C O A S T

Like a mirror that creates two views of fathomless contradictions and wonders, at the summitmeeting of land and ocean, so all the legendary Nayarit coast is reflected â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as an aspiration, as a reality, as a challenge, present and future â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the waters of Punta Raza and Destiladeras.

Like a restless cliff, hear my cry Traveling north along the forever-fascinating Nayarit shoreline, between the old village of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Punta de Mita â&#x20AC;&#x201C; like a vision wrested from another dream, like the warm confirmation of intuition â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the beach known and celebrated as Destiladeras emerges from rugged valleys.

and countless beaches; sometimes so well concealed within stony gaps to ignite any imagination, at other times wide and inviting to barefooted guests, to eyes gazing towards eternity. At Destiladeras no limits exist apart from those naturally imposed by ocean and jungle, the watery frontier and barricade of branches and leaves. A landscape opens onto labyrinths of fantasy, sensation and metaphor: on occasions, depending on weather and climate, its scenery almost ignores any inherent accountability to the rest of its kindred bay.

In this singular spot, lush, druidic low-lying jungle vegetation, characteristic of the Sierra de Vallejo, interweaves with the meandering coast and its cliffs, outcroppings, ravines, craggy walls

A T

D E S T I L A D E R A S

N O

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Thus, between memory and invocation, on cloudy afternoons steep moss and foam-covered rocks evoke the Celtic precipices of Wales, Brittany and Galicia, where Merlin cast his enigmatic spells. On days of contemplation, otherwise sun-filled, without a cloud on the horizon, the conjunction of craggy stone and open beach appears more like any scene from the Tasmanian coast. Factoring in lush greenery’s magic touch, the view approaches those of seascapes in Asia or South America. You might spot cacti perched on the rocks, witnessing sunsets so intense and romantic they make the ocean’s heart - and that of a few human beings as well - skip a beat... as if this landscape could belong to Baja California, or just as likely, Africa. Destiladeras is a place where diversity of universal physiognomy and its strange ambience are both circumscribed by the constant of change. But its transformations are not simply consequences of such phenomena. In times of drought its trees and plants literally shrivel up, remaking this territory of white papery branches and other jungle phenomena. As the rains peek through, all vegetation explodes in a thousand shades of green; its tangled jungle, its most spacious beaches, revive themselves with deep breaths and emerald light that transfigures everything. In truth, Destiladeras’ affinity to change is dictated in large measure by its favorable location between the Vallejo range and the bay’s northern plains. But there is always something more, beyond geographic location

and climatic circumstance, something closer to the human experience provoked by this idyllic setting. A recital of actions and fictions brings one closer to the universality of Destiladerasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spirit of place. Of late, a highway splits the jungle between Punta de Mita and La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. Still, for most of its long history Destiladeras has faced the sea, given over almost exclusively to the waves and sunshine, to its own solitude and silence, its convulsive beauty, its deep and recurrent metamorphoses.

Perhaps that mythic halo of natural splendor brought pre-Hispanic inhabitants to the region, to install, between Destiladeras’ sand and its high rocks, facing the emerald transparency of its waters, cosmic temples honoring the Sun, life’s perpetual renewal and regeneration, the goddesses of Earth and Sea; as some ancient reports insist, therein lies a confluence of energies, for giving thanks, for promises, for transmutations, for destinies and blessings. Later, according to colonial and 19th-century chronicles, came mestizos and Indians, along with fugitive Spaniards, who in turn hid their treasures and secrets within the vast array of caves, hollows, rocks and fissures found in this geography. It’s not strange to hear, even today, tales describing apparitions of ghost ships off the coast, flames and flashes on rock shelves that signal that “a treasure wants to make itself visible, wants to talk,

wishes to be discovered by someone, anyoneâ&#x20AC;?; or the sighting now and then of solitary men, with raiment from other times and places, that walk along the beach, among the outcroppings as dawn breaks, at the precise moment the sun sets, or on those nights when the moon comes out resplendent and radiant, moving tides, lives and hopes.

During the chaos of the 20th century and even now, disturbed only by the comings and goings of a highway, Destiladeras has remained faithful to its mutant form, to its history of loneliness and encounters, to the beauty of scenery that dazzles, seduces and captivates. Over time, it has survived as a place of discovery - eloquently described in the song â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Roses in the Seaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; -, as a place of experience beyond the everyday, and as a place of capitulation to the winds of change, to cosmic tides, invisible forces and mystic communion. More than legends and daily life on the coast, on its restless cliffs, in its green mazes and waters, both calm and rolling, in the sensuality of a natural unfolding that goes from one tone of green, or blue, to another, diversities are nevertheless unified. A unity we see through aerial views and obstinate roots, sand and leaves, rocks and ocean, however much it is distilled, purified, naked and yielding, receptive, amused, demystified by the passions, ironies and fluctuations of universe, mind, body and spirit.

Come, reveal the sorcery Without forsaking charms and mysteries, we set the bay behind us and head north, to a point between Lo de Marcos and Los Ayala, very close to El Monteón – a typical farming village at the center of verdant valleys, near the shore yet insurmountably separated by palmlined ridges – where outlandish and paradisiacal exuberance is commonplace. Alas, we have reached Punta Raza. On this Nayarit promontory, totally at the ocean’s mercy, the wild vitality of the Vallejo range blossoms while the full biodiversity of animal and plant species explodes, precisely where jungles of different altitudes converge. Its ability to create scenery and legend - the desires, pleasures, feelings and fantasies that awaken within those lucky ferries who witness the jade and opal cores – clouds seem unfazed. The possibilities are endless: orchards with lasting aromas, tidal pools with inhabitants ever-ready to seize the day, charming and contrasting outlets to the sea, as well as dawns and dusks that lift us, via nature’s alchemy, to the other side, and back to the here and now. From the air, Punta Raza traces a curving feminine form that melts into the ocean’s eternal embrace: a voluptuous body within which desire takes the form of leafy forests, starfish, mangroves and manzanilla trees, moist sand, white coral encrusted on volcanic rock,

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hopelessly confused mountain paths, astonishing walls from which tresses of palm and fig trees dangle; and above all, millennial rituals where give-and-take balance, without fanfare, between jungle, marsh and beach open-air temples.

Not so strange for a paradise of light and water, tamarinds and grottoes, leopards and lava, palm groves and abstract forms, all better known as Punta Raza, to recall the words of Alí Chumacero, Nayarit-born and one of the 20th century’s greatest poets: “The mountains distant, impassive, lift up my poem. You, naked and transparent, coming apart in sturdy petals, reclining on my poetry. Your untenable hair tangled in the sea, the sun flying in your fragrance. The sea at the base of my yearning, a useless crab grants my disguise. The voice beats in your breast and buries itself in your hands, so that I will hold it close.”

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Punta Raza is not just a place where meditation, imagination and a thousand green shapes burst forth at any given point from its topography, its poetic fruits and the earth from whence they spring: exhortations to dream. It is also a region open to action and creation – for picking and devouring mangos and guanábanas, exploring crocodile and jaguar prowling grounds, for feeling ferns and thistles on soft skin, for dancing in the hollows that end just meters from salt-sprayed cliffs, for playing with time and space while seeking a way out. Shadows and tree sap, shortcuts and nests, the earth’s footprints and the ocean’s whisper: to absorb what nature in its wildest most unpredictable state offers is to embrace life itself with no qualms at all.

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While Punta Raza’s tide pools screech, awakening the vivacity of its many plants, birds, reptiles and mammals, on its beaches, long stretches of fine delicate sand mix indelibly with enormous volcanic rocks hunched over the water. Huge boulders take a climber’s breath away; steep cliffs are better left for viewing in the distance – like mirages or magic spells from which no one escapes – Coral Island, also called La Peña, and Crab Rock. Sandy stretches made for walking, enjoying the benign billowing surf that from morning to evening takes on different shades of turquoise; that is why we are here… And winds rustle aspirations and thoughts. Dinosaur remains are nowhere to be found, nor deep jaguar tracks, nor signs of ‘sea monsters’ or local fantastic bestiary. That rustling undoubtedly presages an arrival; the moment to return has arrived before the legends once again become an experience that is painfully, happily, real. Not to blow the region’s oral traditions out of all proportion, merely exploring Punta Raza from the water elevates us into another tale: a sensory communion with its long beach and jade waters, soft sands, timeless corals, seagulls merging with the firmament, and lava peeking out here and there from a shore where terrestrial and aquatic worlds unite; crossing the riotous tide pools, their prodigal and racy life, undeniable vitality that responds to itself alone. Finally, arriving at blanketed hills and mountains,

ravines that only end when faced with rushing tides, islands of stone and cliffs, a peculiar formation rises bearing the devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profile which, as locals claim, has played nasty tricks on all who walk within view of its face, whether on land or at sea.

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Still, no devilment or spell can resist the magnetism, grace and extraordinary beauty of the site. Perhaps if an incantation is called to dispel such phantom messengers, Alí Chumacero’s impassioned Amor es Mar should suffice: a tribute to the surf, at times calm or agitated, that wildly hurls itself upon this part of Nayarit’s shore: ”...Waves light your voice, your breath, your glance on my body’s aching beach; waves unfurl themselves on me like wings, become the rustle of foam, darkness, tender scent, when sensing myself naked next to you my body’s contours begin to glow. A sea of shadow you are, and within your dark wit there is a world of dawning light.”

Between legends and presences requiring no reason or justification, between gods’ embrace and Aramara’s mixed messages, between the mountains and the ocean, between wholeheartedly contemplating landscapes and life, between myths and realities at every hour of the day, between riotous nature as a gift and commitments to the present and future, at Punta Raza an undiscovered cosmos throbs tirelessly, enjoyed through spontaneous experiences of liberty, pleasure, creativity and imagination, while the breeze dampens centuries of sand that caress your skin.

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HOMES TO FIT THE LANDSCAPE Nayarit is indeed a fascinating human habitat, full of contrasts and paradoxes. However, throughout history no desire to live along its gorgeous coasts was characterized by continuity or, unexplainably, sustained efforts toward growth. Only just recently, and driven by different motivations, did a shared desire to reside here permanently materialize. The search for a comfortable life – a life thoroughly enjoyed, not just endured – has slowly filled the shore with creative architectural solutions linked to resort communities and projects at the ocean’s interface.

length of El Novillero and all the way to Sinaloa, have been conspicuous for their absence. Groups who appeared displayed nomadic, transient and precarious inclinations. If anything, only very slowly did anything resembling a thriving community evolve. In contemporary times, particularly starting in the nineteen seventies and eighties, Nayarit’s shores gradually began to populate, enjoying quantitative and qualitative growth. Tourism development began and intensified with the creation of new hotels, country residences, beach houses, second-home resorts, gated communities and eco-developments along the entire coast, especially between San Blas and Nuevo Vallarta, a corridor now known as Riviera Nayarit. This construction boom foretold further investments, projects, architectural challenges and solutions.

Most who have studied Nayarit’s history during the pre-Hispanic era, colonial times, the 19th century and up through the middle of the 20th century agree that permanent human settlements along the coastline from Banderas Bay, along the impressive

- A L I F E T H O R O U G H LY E N J O Y E D , N O T J U S T E N D U R E D -

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But, what has it been truly like and what does it now mean to inhabit Nayarit’s coast? How to describe its most humble abodes, or its most sophisticated estates? From time immemorial, the most characteristic residence on these shores has been the ramada: a building on the beach, or very close to it, supported by poles cut from local wood species (ocote, mangrove, parota and cedar) and covered by fastened palm fronds. An old Punta de Mita ‘sea lion’, Don Justino Niebla – that commanding voice of Nayarit’s spirit and its most venerable traditions – points out what constitutes a veritable ramada, one worthy of the name, of being raised on this coast: “The ramada must be made of the biggest, most mature palm leaves. But all must be done at its proper time. You should cut the palm or palapa at just the right hour, when the moon is at its fullest and you can see the ‘rabbit in the moon’ walking across it. The poles should also be cut when the moon is waxing full, so the mangrove wood carries

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its own moisture and creates its own humidity. That’s the only way the wood, and the palapa, will be ready. All this I was told by the old folks way back when, and they learned it from other old folks even farther back in time. And that’s how the chain of knowledge grows. On this coast, that has always been our way, and where for as long as I can remember or have been told, we have had ramadas, both large and small.” Given that heritage, neither humble nor luxury abodes recreating Nayarit’s architectural traditions may ignore the ramada, or its descendant, the palapa, as a central element, or at least an essential component of eating, sleeping, recreational or social areas. Nowadays several buildings on the Nayarit coast have become prototypes for those who notice - and wish to follow -, so aptly integrated and impeccably blended are they with their settings. Using sound ecological criteria, they succeed at heeding local building traditions – or ones similar, such as those from Asian coastal regions -, intent on causing the slightest possible environmental impact. To celebrate the joys of daily life through superior landscape architecture, one that respects local setting while passionately caring for the marshes, jungles and estuaries, has become a Nayarit hallmark. Resort developments and single-family residences designed along more international-resort lines also address the palapa, with its multiple-use possibilities,

as a decorative resource, a bonding element with coastal landscape and local tradition. Other homes and constructions, however, employ contemporary architectural language in defining spatial proposals and solutions, reflecting the best Nayarit’s coast has to offer: the ineffable grace of this, the most northerly of Mexico’s tropical jungles; its sharp mountain abutments; its rounded boulders; its sand and surf, summoning Aramara’s dreams and songs. Large terraces with jungle and ocean views are particularly favored, as well as infinity pools that vanish into the liquid horizon, artificial caves emerging from unsuspected crannies, verandas balanced between palm and pink-trumpet trees, living rooms open to afternoon breezes facing the infinite sea, pebble mosaics evoking jaguars and mermaids, stairways and passages where crabs reign, swirling leaves and impudent, interloping grains of sand… On Nayarit’s coast, development of new domestic and community ideas, tourist and residential spaces, is like the beach lifestyle itself: open to all tastes and possibilities, but always demanding elegance while highlighting the refined and select; incorporating local and cosmopolitan elements, which not only embody the art of living well, but carry it to new heights.

Whether sunning or surfing the waves that carry you home, reading or meditating in the shadow of elephant ears or manzanilla trees, playing or conversing on the terrace, swimming in the ocean or the pool, the will to treat life as an art form is inevitably reflected in homes worthy of that proposition. They make every inch of every space, indoors and out â&#x20AC;&#x201C; parlor, dining room, kitchen, picture window, pergola or bathroom â&#x20AC;&#x201C; into a gallery showcasing artful living.

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This condition is clearly evident in those beach homes whose architectural interpretations best relate nature outside to beauty found indoors. In myriad ways they define imperatives of modern comfort and sophistication, yet they also honor and enjoy palapas. Refinement means no sterile accumulation:“less is more” in both exterior and interior design. Above all, a room’s main function has become conveying convivial pleasures, of spending hours, days and weeks marveling at awesome seascapes, of absorbing that mass of light, sand, green and water. So, in these first years of the third millennium, a windfall is upon us. Life on the coast awaits more passionately flawless architecture, commitment to the region’s natural and human diversity, and years of continued innovation. These are fitting and authentic homes for a jade and golden coast, the legendary coast of Nayarit.

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NAYARIT HOMES: EXCLUSIVE RESIDENCES ON MEXICO’S PACIFIC COAST For each of us, the search for everyday pleasures is a constant: to have a home surrounded by beauty, to watch vivid sunsets at day’s end, to delight in gourmet delicacies, to laugh at nothing at all. All is possible on the Nayarit coast. Amanda González Moreno

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In Nayarit the Pacific Ocean, in its endless sparkle of wave-motion and sunshine on water, stretches as far as the eye can see, and beyond. Faced with this infinite horizon, the spirit soars. Nayarit’s coast spans cliffs, extended beaches and small crevices within abstract rock formations. Above, an aerial view reveals the earth’s gentle curvature, tiny private beaches, larger sand flats preferred by turtles to lay eggs, and jagged lookout points for whale-watching in the wintertime. While there is no fixed date for man’s initial presence on this coast, an identifiable chronology refers us back through groups of Coras, Huicholes, Tepehuanes and Mexicaneros who wandered through this rich biogeographic setting, fishing, hunting, collecting fruits and paying tribute to the gods. Today few indigenous communities remain, but their wise customs and cosmologies thankfully survive in art and building methods. Southward along the coast, inside Banderas Bay, lays the old fishing town of Puerto Vallarta, in centuries past an ever-charming but inaccessible place. However, after Night of the Iguana – a film with honors earned both in the United States and Spain – the port saw the arrival of Hollywood’s most famous stars in their private planes, followed by thrill seekers, travelers and intellectuals. Back then, no major highway connected the town to Mexico’s central cities, though the small fishing village instantly became a glamorous tourist destination. Puerto Vallarta’s rapidly growing fame first reached privileged Californians, desirous of exclusivity, privacy and tranquility, who wasted no time exploring the area’s hinterlands. Soon after, celebrities from around the world appeared, not merely sojourners, determined to create their own Mexican paradise. This coast became a favored spot for beachfront second homes. White sand and clear blue sea, lush vegetation and growing accessibility remained the area’s key attributes. Today distinctive residences stand out all along the coast; estates built with consummate care, detail and elegance, symbiotic with surroundings; homes where blissful days are spent amidst stunning beauty.

A SENSUAL EXPLOSION Paradise comes into being when the place to create it is found: dreams become reality in just the right setting, while ideas flourish when surrounded by splendor. Seaside homes built to satisfy their residents’ every desire: rest, pleasure, contemplation, fun, each affective state within its own space… Compounds that exalt the senses demand rigorous selection of furniture, colors and materials; those accoutrements of each resident’s favorite pastimes complemented by eye-catching decorative elements. Nayarit’s coastline is a land where everything is possible, where no walls detain the constant breezes, where everyone can take a mouthful of fresh air, where beauty stretches farther than your gaze can reach, and where, in every corner, in every detail, there is a story to tell and relive. Senses awaken with the fragrance of blooming jasmine, freshly mown grass, the salty murmur of the sea. A beach house on this coast becomes a refuge, a restful sanctuary, a beacon of inspiration, a site for sharing private moments: where each step and every word, express all that is.

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ELEMENTS OF STYLE Homes on the Mexican Pacific are invariably praised for their audacious mix of vernacular elements and contemporary architecture. Delicate finishes, where each decorative touch stands as a work of art, are ever more surprising: rough plasterwork wrought from mixes of river sands, sponge-painted to create tone upon tone, curved edges to every surface, and masterful integration of trees and rocks into building. Details so laborious they demand extensive manual labor, edges that outline and highlight shapes, special designs for every visual surface, deft layers that create amorphous silhouettes, latticework to protect from sun and windâ&#x20AC;Ś accompanied by marble beveled for matte finishes, onyx on glowing fixtures, vaulted ceilings ribbed with brick, floor and wall moldings of meticulous handwork, and copper-covered gutters.

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A new surprise awaits everywhere you look. Nothing is left to chance: each staircase riser of a different color, with treads of etched stone. Tonalities layered on each wall highlight volumes and profiles. Walls flow into niches and become living sculptures. And outside, the site’s very geography creates a visual statement. At the same time, complex engineering structures and new technologies support these creations upon jagged lands: retaining walls transformed into aesthetic elements, entrance halls in bold mixes of wood, metal, concrete, polished quarry stone and palm roofing. Interaction with the outside is essential. Designs seek transparency in all elements, replacing walls and roofs with immense picture windows,skylights and portholes to create plays of light and cross-ventilation. Homes born of complex relationships between light and space transform interior enclosures into dynamic links with the outside. Open areas achieve distinctive design through wooden pergolas and spatial structures yet to be named. Still, traditional bricks and adobe tiles, innovatively arranged, provide decisive spaces. These spectacular mansions are grand yet intimate, combining Mediterranean and regional Mexican styles. Presenting themselves as private dwellings, they invite us to cherish their views and the interior spaces they enclose: predominantly open spaces merging with their settings. But within, all is finely crafted: a plethora

of materials, metals and minerals, bush-hammered terrace floors, infinity swimming pools, hidden patios, oversized palapas and lush gardens, a characteristic stamp of these Pacific homes. Gone are the humble designs pioneered by Freddy Romero and Guillermo Wulff. Novel perspectives and styles, initially developed by renowned architect Marco Aldaco in Careyes, further south in Jalisco, paved the way for explorations by Mexican and foreign architects, whose bold achievements leap out along Nayarit’s coast. The stylistic diversity of these oceanfront homes is infinite; there are as many expressions as personalities, though all share a sense of luxury, beauty, comfort – the urge to establish a constant dialogue between spaces and the way life is lived within them. Here, days at the beach serve not just for meditation; specific spaces often satisfy the needs and tastes of every resident. Movie lovers retire to viewing quarters with the highest audio and video technology. Exercise buffs head to specialized training rooms, saunas and steam baths. Outdoor-types prefer twin open showers, with one protected and another exposed to a landscape of choice. Suite kitchenettes let espresso lovers start the day without exiting the bedroom. Kitchens opening onto terraces allow cooks to make their activities public while partaking in poolside interaction. A wood-burning oven just off the dining room serves those who can’t live without pizza.

To open your eyes and see the ocean, to wake up and have but a few steps to the pool for a dip, to watch the stars through a retractable bedroom skylight (that closes in the daytime while extracting solar heat), to walk amidst leafy trees, all is possible in Nayaritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coastal homes, lively habitats that gratify any ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wish.

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HOMES THAT COMMUNE WITH THE OUTDOORS Homes on the Pacific live in constant dialogue with their pristine surroundings. Among prevailing features, striking settings merge with those salient aspects of intrinsic life all around. Ever-changing nature creates private amphitheatres from which to appreciate it. Whether in lush summer green or spring’s fleeting flower blooms, brightening the earth’s ochre tones, colors surrounding these homes go far beyond the sea’s endless palette of blue.

offering sanctuaries. Hidden nooks, private refuges to indulge in jacalosuchil (frangipani) fragrance, provide a starting point for sunlight in its journey across the curved wall, transforming intense reds and contrasting accent tones of a polished cement surface. The staring role in these beach homes is unquestionably played by the sea. Each room applauds, sometimes with allusive decorative elements, sometimes with choice materials, both fresh and durable, always respectful of layout – looking out to the ocean – with each wall a doorway, and every window a chance to be closer to the tides.

Ideal for endless nature-admirers, interaction between interiors and landscape is achieved by numerous architectural features. Huge folding doors open out from living rooms, picture windows of amazing size become clear walls within bedrooms, and at every opportunity, patios, terraces and balconies breathe in the sea’s wind. Pergolas and other ingenious solutions, canvas ceilings and ramps make for shaded rooms bearing the breezes’ full majesty.

Outdoor lighting guides life on seamlessly at night: concealed gas torches behind walls, luminaria lanterns sparkling patterns on the lawn while fiberoptic fixtures irradiate the swimming pool. Homes’ visual schemata exude self-sufficiency: systems that take over at day’s end, redefining private spaces for after-dark enjoyment.

Frequent within these homes, different volumes, angles and levels adjust themselves to contour and scenery,

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ECLECTIC GARDENS Nayarit’s flora is among the most diverse. Landscape architects have thus created true microcosms within estates by integrating a wide range of plants – some native and others brought from like latitudes, adapting themselves to this new region. A garden may be spectacular on its own, but only the surrounding greenery’s flawless interaction with planted areas makes for that worthy paradise. Various moods are repeatedly created within these gardens, from entrances guided by curving walls, to huge stone fountains, bamboo groves and flowering trees. Areas overlooking the sea suit themselves well to large palms, ecstatically swaying in the wind, or huge planters with colorful bougainvilleas and aralias, and tiger’s-paws in those secluded spots. Yards that join house to beach, covered with grass and vines verdant year-round, invariably complete the picture. Not to be outdone, interior spaces scream out for green too; a taste and predilection for plant life is a must. Different botanical varieties found in flowerpots placed on windowsills and balconies, in every corner and passageway, add lively color to each and every room and chamber. In particular, living areas and bedrooms call for green accents against white walls and sand-toned floors, wherein select cactus varieties craft varied visual interests. Hedges, nearly impenetrable walls of euphorbia and other shrubs, achieve privacy while demarcating living areas. Bedrooms with no ocean view are instead drowned by leafy green, their picture windows opening east for birds to trill, lizards to scratch and cicadas to sing in the morning sun. No need to mark property lines, majestic walls of saintly trees will do the job much better, and bring you that much closer to yourself.

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PALAPAS Those whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d prefer walls to disappear and ceilings high enough to be inconsequential, find in the palm-roofed palapa their right answer. This most traditional of Mexican structures proves ideal for covering common areas yet retaining freshness and ventilation. Palapa roofs, which originated eons ago, are actually among the most efficient and functional structural forms used in Mediterranean climates. Their design allows for maximum vertical air circulation, maintaining cool temperatures throughout. Ingeniously weatherproof, their intricate system of layers functions in much the same way as a snakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skin, also restricting outside flow to one forward direction. Nayaritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artisans know palapa construction by heart, skillfully fitting these versatile structures over terraces, above living and dining areas, and bedrooms as well. Huge supporting beams are otherwise arranged to form visual spectacles by themselves. Each laborious design requires hands expert at interweaving palm fronds to form solid and durable joints. An idiosyncratic mix of materials used in palapa-covered rooms: concrete, wood, ceramic tiles and more palm leaves, creates that very particular Nayarit style. Its immaculate combination of traditional elements within a contemporary aesthetic blends elegance with comfort, beauty and the finest sensation of shelter.

BODIES OF WATER Beyond the ochre tones prevailing throughout buildings and gardens, pools play with the landscape, mimicking their scenery. Gardens emulate glowing colors of encircling hills, whereas small bodies of water pay homage to the ocean. Fountains and reflecting pools delineate villa entrance areas, highlight patios and enliven corners, drowning out any and all urban vestiges. But it is innovative design and careful manufacture of swimming pools that provide the strongest link between privacy of home and grandeur of the sea. The pool areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elements are all clean and tasteful, with surfaces that showcase colorful mosaics and rough quarry stones. Weather-resistant furniture, lounges and sun umbrellas coherently round out a pleasant living space. More than architectural statements, these areas promote a clear purpose: ensuring memorable moments, to swim, socialize and relax. Decorative fountains also benefit from the creative use of innate materials, such as quarry stone, limestone and wood: some so simply designed they have a Zen spirit; others recreate vegetation-banked waterfalls. Designs incorporate abstract contours, serpentine motifs and geometric figures that form very personal patterns by bouncing colors and textures against each other.

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WOOD In Mexican Pacific homes it is common to find a wide variety of regional and imported woods. Among the most sought-after are mahogany, cedar, teak, and the native guayabillo, mango, cuapinole, parota and cumarĂş. Each species is worked into intricate patterns to produce solid columns and railings so slim they seem organic; pergolas, and jalousies, and of course, window and door frames. Colorful strands are sometimes mixed, set together with ingenious marquetry to create new patterns and tones not found in nature. Finished work is done by hand, delicately dovetailing pieces, as if grafting. Although hardwood floors are rare in beach homes, primarily for maintenance reasons, some intrepid architects nevertheless employ such flooring. More commonly one finds floor beams interspersed with designs in cement or stone. Palapas, of course, rest on wooden frameworks providing strength and durability, though primary columns often use higuerawrapped palm trunks for increased visible sophistication. Finishes in every room â&#x20AC;&#x201C; closets and armoires, drawers, tables, doors, dressers and windows â&#x20AC;&#x201C; executed in the finest woods, are crafted to give optimal form and resistance. Carving is often complemented by staining: the fine art of matching wood grains and contrasting tones according to design requirements.

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INTERIOR DESIGN “The fundamental objective behind my aesthetic ideas is to make them visual while creating, through harmonious fusion of elements, a faultless dialogue between one space and the next. “Design is my means of expression, a daily stimulus that arises from personal ways of thinking; like art, it elicits emotion and satisfaction. Good design dignifies its surroundings; refining them, adding magic and richness to these places we inhabit; providing our every day with an added dimension that is decorative as well as functional.” Adriana de León Interior Designer

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Vital for leisure and proper living, Nayarit offers the undeniable experience and good taste of its interior designers. These professionals have striven to know their clients so well that every need - and the way they live – naturally flows into their finished work, creating subtle reflections of style and taste in every room – a warm setting for inhabitants’ shared lives. Designers choose furnishings and decorative elements that respond to clients’ every dream, integrating style and comfort, as well as casual elegance. Special attention is paid to functionality and aesthetics: in common areas this may mean mixing traditional equipales, rustic wood-slat and leather furniture, or rattan pieces, with comfortably cushioned teak chaises, sofas molded to wall curvatures, or even internationally recognized pieces such as Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair. Elements that stand out: mirrors, carpets, embroideries, sculptures and paintings create a tour of visual pleasure. Every detail is precisely studied: antique tables, wooden chests and immense bookcases; from unobtrusive wicker ceiling fans to the color of each decorative accessory. Rustic fibers in a wide range of tones bring textures to life. Vibrant hues announce themselves from every bench, bed, armchair, occasional chair, sofa or hammock. This style, Nayarit’s style, unique and personal, blends a taste for Mexican tradition with up-to-date aesthetics to create triumphant homes. Cotton, silk, muslin, gauze and even high-tech synthetics, each is selected for a particular use. Beauty and elegance reside in small visual touches: hand-woven rugs by local indigenous communities lying beside bedspreads of delicately-patterned European fabric; thick cotton towels and cozy robes resting by the pool. This assortment of textiles would seem a bit eclectic, but here, on the coast of Nayarit with its carefree breezes, anything goes.

LIFESTYLE With one single purpose, these homes have been created to delight inhabitants. Well-equipped bars for socializing, terraces for drinking mimosas out in the sun, rooms brightened by vases full of flowers, and grills for al fresco cooking on cool evenings provide the basic elements. Every corner provides a chance for lighthearted activity. Kayaks and surfboards lay waiting at the boathouse, ready to furrow through the waves; motorcycles parked patiently beside the ATV’s, look to tackle the mountains. Open-air living also means superior recreational alternatives, be they athletic, social or cultural. Sports offerings are among the region’s strong points, with three marinas and nine golf courses in the neighborhood. Skiing, yachting and tournament fishing have long been staples. However, superior golf is plentiful inside Banderas Bay, growing every year as the sport of choice. A wide range of extreme sports can be found by those seeking adventure and exercise, such as scuba diving, skydiving, rock climbing and trekking. Still other attractions involve the pleasures of fine cuisine. Choice culinary spots abound inside Banderas Bay, though more continue to appear as one heads north. For those preferring to dine in the privacy and comforts of home, special chefs make regular house calls, preparing all manner of flavorful dishes on request. A foreign contingent found in Nayarit’s principal coastal towns, whose active participation yields frequent artistic events, has been culturally determinant. In lively villages such as San Francisco or Sayulita, visitors can tour galleries and artists’ studios, listen to open-air concerts, or otherwise discover the community’s thriving interest in the arts. Not to be discounted, shopping outlets, select boutiques and fashionable stores vie for the night’s attention. Glamour’s in the air, and there is always time for a night out on the town.

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A SETTING One key area of interest is Punta de Mita. Its advantageous location overlooking three compass points foretells a convergence of varied ecosystems. In every direction there lies an element of surprise, from antediluvian coral reefs to mysterious rock formations and extensive beaches made of crystalline white sand. To the south, shallow waters fade into a pale blue sea. Gentle waves entice walks along the water, to absorb the grandeur of Banderas Bay, and in winter, follow whales and their calves up close. Westward, extravagant rock formations look out toward the Marieta islands, unrivalled bird sanctuaries, and beyond, to the ocean’s infinite expansion. To the north, Litibú’s protected waters, ideal for snorkeling and swimming, wave the day goodbye. Whether in deep or shallow waters, calm or thundering waves, Punta de Mita is the right place to experience all the sea’s sensations.

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THE SEASONS The sun always shines on Nayarit’s beaches. Over the course of any year, seasons bring about the subtlest of changes. Plants’ vibrant colors subside in early spring and burst forth again through rainy summers, retreating again next year to complete the endless cycle. But above all, visitors take comfort in the certainty that one same atmosphere will prevail, upon their next return.

Spring is a time of contrasts, with warm nights, windy days and low water temperatures. It is a season of clear skies, ideal for stargazing, and engaging the sea once more. Summer awakens the senses, with rainy afternoons quickly darkening all vegetation. Filling the air with moisture, rainbows in broad daylight arouse the soul.

The sea under the moon’s dominion changes tides and defines seasonal activities. Drastic transformation of beaches dictate the interaction between river and ocean, which together with the winds, mark the rhythm of the waves.

Autumn marks the transition from the deep green to the warm and balmy days of winter. Whales arrive, looking for sublime tranquility. Long days of warm sea are over; the forest still glows. A favorite time for foreign visitors fleeing inclement weather, breezy nights renew their spirits.

Rain season’s impact on seaside living is directly proportional to humidity, noticeable with every breath. At the same time nature’s colors grow intense, the clouds themselves heightening the contrasts we see, in sunrises and sunsets.

But the time of year barely matters, for visitors can always savor each season’s favorable conditions. Nayarit’s homes adapt well to the region’s lightly varying temperatures; their organic structures encouraging breezeways, shaded areas and lush vegetation; their cooling systems creating microclimates within each section. Alternatively, rooms may open completely to fresh breezes or make use of artificial climates,

Winter’s dry spell, with its singular charms and uninterrupted sessions of the sun, with the constant assurance of fresh breezes, longs for thunderclouds long gone. Leading to spring, ‘good sleeping weather’ has returned.

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which when necessary, expose the panorama through wide picture windows. The versatility with which they adapt to such diverse preferences, and their capacity to breathe salty air or retire into a personal milieu, make these Nayarit estates the height of luxury.

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LIVING TOGETHER Roomy and comfortable spaces that open themselves to the ocean; sanctuaries to satisfy imagined aesthetics. Nayarit’s Pacific homes are an explosion of texture, sensation and color. On the coast, facing the horizon and the endless sea, nothing halts one’s gaze. Numerous animal species coexist in the sea off Nayarit. Grey and Humpback whales journey from beyond to give birth in the winter months. Come summer, varied turtle species are drawn to miles of beach, to lay their eggs and leave. On moonless nights, beneath the starless cloud cover, darkness unfolds a new phenomenon. Lights dancing on the waves, like the ocean’s own fireflies, perform a spectacle. Bioluminescence occurs when high concentrations of dinoflagellates - microscopic single-celled algae - shaken by the currents, are brought in contact with the wind to produce light-emitting chemicals. Terrestrial animals, even more diverse, include the Sierra de Vallejo jaguar - a protected species – and the marauding caiman of the mangroves, both apex predators of countless myths and stories. Here, in this land of opposites, humanity must closely coexist with nature.

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EPILOGUE SEASIDE REVERIES IN KING NAYAR’S REALM Francisco Javier Ibarra

Touring the Nayarit coast from north to south and south to north, one delights in observing natural beauties, its wide bays; its marshes abundant with wildlife; its cliffs that defy wind and waves, night and day; its infinite beaches that lose all gazes in horizons of sand and clouds; its coves and ports harboring nostalgic canoes beside post-modern speedboats; its mossy bluffs, its islands hoarding new and ancient hopes; seaweed fingers reaching out to caress the ocean’s skin; birds and fish in love with their spacious Pacific home.

in green and flowery fields. Enigmatic loveliness is condensed in the depths of lagoons. Mountains wind right down to the damp sands of the Pacific. Earth and sea, sky and wind are diffused through the multiplicity of forms that we call landscape, and therein lies the exquisite richness of this coast: a territory where every step, every glimpse, uncovers scenery that leaves a mark on body and spirit, memory and desire. Unforgettable and unmistakable, Nayarit’s natural sights and sounds leave no room for apathy, disinterest or indifference. Quite the opposite, these panoramas open onto earthbound and watery plains that actively engage the spectator, inviting him or her to their most private corners, and to live within their miracles, marvels, their undisguised truths.

Beauty soars inland, rising and falling with Nayarit’s geography, revealing the boundless exuberance of jungles high and low, thrilling ravines and peaks, elegant ferns and elephant-ears, the indomitable mystery of its waterfalls; canyons that drive themselves dizzy, wide-ranging coastal plains, the sensual embrace of fig trees and palms, the brilliant spectacle of palo verde cacti and tabachines. The fog over pine forests transports journeymen to other times and places, where volcanoes left lava flows

Striking settings along Nayarit’s shores become, one by one, a trail of unparalleled discoveries. Travelers, foreign and local, tourists, investors, and even natives of the coast – those who have seen with new eyes inspired by avid looks of visitors - reevaluate and reexamine

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beaches and swamps, rocky cliffs and coves, islands and riverbeds, jungles and ocean. Longtime residents witness a curtain raised revealing the indelible charms and enormous potential of the region’s hidden recesses. To revel intensely in the coast’s majesty, to become part of nature, to live and breathe its essence, also imply a responsibility shared by all – especially those most involved (citizens, local businesses, real estate developers, corporations, civic organizations and municipal, state and federal governments) with today’s realities and the future of this land, this coast, this quadrant of the earth’s vast waters.

From this vantage, the message is clear, decisive and inevitable: we all share an individual and collective responsibility to preserve Nayarit’s natural splendor, to raise ecological awareness in spheres of society and politics, to encourage sustainable projects and care for the environment, to keep beaches and jungles clean, to observe nature’s cycles and use its offerings wisely, to protect the region’s endangered species, to create firm conditions for growth so residents may live in balance with neighboring biodiversity. Any intervention in vulnerable areas should be made with acute delicacy, awareness, accountability and earnestness; as if taking care of the family home, our own body even; so that none of nature’s countless beauties end up fuzzy memories, old photos, meaningless images in an album devoted to marvels no longer present.

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Clearly, the true legends of Nayarit’s coast do not lie in its buried treasures, pirates and ghostly brides that tread surrealistic cliffs and misty wharves, jungle creatures appearing when least expected; its hidden cities that sing at midnight, gold coins that become volcanic pebbles, unpredictable sea gods and goddesses, wizards and sorcerers reworking the limits of passion; or its enchanted islands guarding – by some accounts – the origins of pilgrimage and an entire national mythology... but no, the greatest legend of this coast, the one that captivates and seduces, does not lie in those myths and tales. The true legendary spirit is in the coast itself, once ruled by King Nayar but now living, and living well, within a frame of nature that will neither succumb nor perish; where incomparable beauties appear ever startling to our eyes – new, compelling, enthralling. Here lies our present, our future.

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HOMES

Pages: 121 a, b, c, 123, 124, 125 Haramara Retreat. Location: 15 minutes north of Punta Mita, Nayarit Owner: Tita de la Borbolla.

Pages: 139 a, 146 Casa Los Zalates. Location: Marina de Chacala, Chacalilla, Nayarit. Owner: Alfredo Fenández Architecture: Ignacio Colín García de Alba

Pages: 128, 129, 130-131, 150 Casa Fortuna. Owner: Damavandi Family. Location: Punta Mita. Architecture: Guillermo Michel Renteria. Construction: Álvaro Gómez Flores. Landscape Architecture: Jean Phillipe Armenta. Interior Design: DUPUIS. Lighting Design: Javier Ten

Pages: 141 Villa Ballena. Location: Real del Mar, Nayarit. Architecture: Marta Lozano. Construction: José Daniel Segura Sandoval.

Pages: 126, 133, 139 c, 144, 145, 151 Villa Aurora. Location: Punta Mita, Nayarit. Architecture and Construction: Rubén Álvarez Ibarra, Enrique García Álvarez.

Pages: 132, 136, 143 Casa Chololo. Location: San Francisco, Nayarit Architecture: Rubén Álvarez Ibarra, Enrique García Álvarez.

Pages: 127, 137, 139 b, 140, 147 Casa Chololo (Guest House). Location: San Francisco, Nayarit Architecture and Construction: Rubén Álvarez Ibarra, Enrique García Álvarez.

Pages: 152-153, 154 Beach Club, Marina de Chacala, Chacalilla, Nayarit. Architecture: Xabier M Pagazaurtundúa Interior Design: ESENCIAL

Our special thanks go to the following people. Their collaboration made this book possible: Ney González Sánchez Governor of State of Nayarit

Ángel Ortipadilla Anthony D. Rump Antonio Ruelas Chon Borges Claudia Moreno López Crescenciano Flores Alvarado Edgar Noé Hernández Valencia Edgar Regalado González Eduardo Fernández del Valle Enrique García Álvarez Enrique Tron Erik Saracho Fandor Ojeda Moreno Francisco J. Sánchez Zúñiga Fray Pascual Morales Fredy Magallanes Rodríguez Georgina Rodríguez Martínez Guillermo Stein Guillermo Michel Rentería Gustavo Villalobos Estrada Ignacio Colín Javier García Ruelas José de Jesús Altamirano Zamorano José Luis Gras Menaut José Ramón Rosales Juan Bananas

Juan Pablo Araiza Aguilar Julio Mata Ceja Justino Niebla Karen Collignon Jonsson Kárima Dipp Kristal García Lucio González Robles Luis Lauro Flores Manuel Paulsen María Kariluz Aguilera Silva Marta Lozano Martha Castañeda Barrios Martha Collignon Hoff Miguel Ángel Flores Pablo Torres Sánchez Pedro Luna Jiménez Pedro Medina Rosas Rafael Becerra Pérez Rafael Gutiérrez Villaseñor Rebeca Cervantes Cortina Rigoberto Moreno Flores Rubén Álvarez Ibarra Rubén Arroyo Arámbul Salvador Covarrubias Padilla Tita de la Borbolla Xabier M. Pagazaurtudúa

Costa Nayarit was printed in october 2007 in China. First edition of 2,000 copies, 1,000 copies for a Spanish Edition and 1,000 copies for an English Edition.