So Many Men – So Little Time
Between Mr Vallarta’s 12 contestants and the Gay Mixer at Studs, and my two lovely dates for the Botanical Garden for lunch yesterday, I am properly sated for now.
A young, coffee-colored Cuban, Ricardo, won the ‘Most Popular/People’s Choice’ vote at Round One of the Fourth Annual Mr Vallarta contest that took place Monday at Coco Cabaret. I had the pleasure of sitting upfront with Matt Karimi, the newly elected President of the Gay+ Community Center. Steven Retchless entertained as Britney Spears – don’t miss that exciting show at Coco’s. Rounds Two and Three are on February 16 at 5 pm, with the finale on February 23 at 5 pm. Mark your calendars!
I went from there to Jardin Cafe Lounge on Lazaro Cardenas across from La Catrina Cantina, to congratulate Warren Wesley Weir on his bar’s second birthday. I got the last seat in the house! Tonny K sang Puccini’s ‘O Mio Babbino Caro,” which he features in his fabulous show ‘Rock the Opera‘ at Coco Cabaret. Gloria Fiona caused a stir with an Adele song – there were people in the bar who had never heard her sing; they shed a tear or two.
If god created anything more beautiful than the Vallarta Botanical Garden, she has kept it to herself. Rob Burton, Jan Dorland, and I drove out for lunch yesterday. Us and half the population of Vallarta! I have never seen it so busy; we had to wait a good half hour for a table. Not a hardship, there is so much surrounding beauty to indulge in. I flew up the stairs when my beeper went off and plunked down at a table overlooking the grounds and the valley. Millions of butterflies and, oddly enough, no hummingbirds or feeders on our side of the building. It was so nice to see Bob Price, Jesus, Claudia, and Christopher, hard at work, but always taking a break for hugs.
After a quick nap, I went over to Raices Restaurant on Venustiano Carranza, right by the tunnel and the massive tree everyone must drive around, for a private art exhibition, organized by the beautiful and charming Anna Gurayevskaya. It was the painter’s first showing! Wonderful pieces, some enormous but all created with precision, with a very old European feel.
I look forward to seeing more of his work, now that the ice has been broken. You may see my friend Lee ‘Cheo’ Moreno’s paintings on display at Raices for the rest of February.
It didn’t take me long to walk from Raices to Studs Bar on Basilio Badillo, and I arrived 10 minutes after the Gay Mixer opened, only to find that 150 people had already preceded me! Owner Mike Owens has added an open-air rooftop patio, a relief after the crush of bodies on the bottom two floors.
The Gay Mixers is an idea brought to life every Tuesday in season by publisher Jerry Jones of Out & About Puerto Vallarta magazine. It began as a way for Jerry to thank his advertisers by inviting new people into their establishments and has since become one of the most popular events in Vallarta! The next one is at El Rey Bar and Grill in Versalles.
Jeff Wilkie’s Puppy Love Valentine Dog Walk Parade is today at Parque Lazaro Cardenas from 5:30 to 7:30. Last year was a blast; I wonder how many of his Xolos Herschel Weisfeld will bring? From Here.