Author: Marcia Blondin

Scrabble at Qulture today at 12:30, then at 4 pm, the PuRR Project kicks off their bingo fundraisers for the season at Nacho Daddy. Concert #5 of the Fiesta de Cabaret begins at 7 pm in the Casa Karma Red Room featuring Perry Ojeda. That’s my schedule for today; find me – I am still…

I was grateful the Fiesta de Cabaret at Act2PV took a break last night so I could attend the Grand Opening of Íntimo Wine Bar & Restaurant, a new restaurant and wine bar high up on one of our downtown hills overlooking the city. It was the most thoughtful, well-executed opening I have ever had…

Birthdays are fun! I have enjoyed 73 of them and look forward to a pile more. Hundreds of kind people sent regards, congratulations, videos, and short notes sent with love and/or Facebook obligation, and all were avidly read. I wonder where some of the people go on the other 364 days of my life every…

When I really need pasta it’s time for Il Pesce. Cocina de mar, the tiny Sicilian restaurant on Constitucion. I always have the same thing, and it is always perfect – handmade fettuccine with various mushrooms and truffle oil. A friend once said it was like eating God’s Earth. Rapturous. Four dear friends met over…

I forgot to mention a delicious thing yesterday! While supplies lasted, guests seeing Buenos Aires: A Tango Murder Mystery at The Palm Cabaret and Bar were gifted a small brown paper bag containing two Argentine-style empanadas. Patrice and I enjoyed ours, which were stuffed with corn. Fabulous and fitting, a lovely, savory touch! Patrice and…

On the agenda: Scrabble Tourney, Bingo, and the Opening Night of Vaude-Villains this evening at Act2PV. Restful compared to yesterday’s offerings that began at the crack of 8:30, shopping in Coapinole for a few choice pieces of clothing and a stop at my fave seed store for flax and chia. I wanted Patrice to see…

Francesca Bavaro (Effie Passero) celebrated her birthday early (November 09), as she is leaving Vallarta soon to cut her first solo album in Nashville, tentatively titled Francesca. Afterward, she will join her band, Postmodern Jukebox for a North American Tour. Her next solo performance in town will be in March of next year. So, she…

Welcome back to the land of the Living after three straight days and nights wallowing in Death’s brightly lit dark side. What a party on the Isla Cuale last Friday afternoon and evening. Non-stop music from 4 pm on began with La Bohemia Quartet, whose Gipsy Kings-type music drew dozens of people walking around the…

I trust everybody’s Halloween was as much fun as the revelers on the streets of Centro. All. Night. Long. As we were constantly reminded yesterday with the passing of musician David Duvall, life is short, so play it loud. The Greatest Show last night in the Casa Karma Red Room, usually a wildly exuberant production,…

We were supposed to have a mango smoothie last Saturday at noon. He canceled pretty much at the last minute, apologizing that he was recovering from passing a kidney stone and needed to rest. He was chipper, and his last words were, “Enjoy your sister!” with a big heart. David Duvall died 72 hours later.…

Patrice and I were boots on the ground at the tianguis in Coapinole by 8:45 yesterday morning, and the place was already a madhouse. The tables right at the entrance usually do not have prices marked overhead (we have learned to avoid them in general), but yesterday, 10 pesos/piece was the rule of the day.…

Today will be jam-packed full of shopping with my sister, starting at the great tianguis in Coapinole. This outdoor market covers blocks and blocks and features beautiful fresh produce and new and used clothing, mostly for women and kids but there are requisite shorts and tee-shirts for the guys. I have found couture gowns for…

Every time you see the words “Chris Lopez Production,” buy tickets to whatever it is, knowing whatever you are about to see will be outstanding. Chris’s magic is written all over the latest, greatest Tribute to Rihanna that opened at The Palm last Friday night. Cecille, an extraordinary young singer/dancer from the other coast of…

In 72 hours, my baby sister will be here; there is much prep work to be done; it’s a good thing I work better under pressure! And, by my calendar, Rainy Season is over! Today marks the passing of Hurricane Kenna 22 years ago. While Nora and Lidia, our most recent hurricanes, were dreadful, the…

I won all day yesterday – the day was crazy busy (read: no time for a nap!) but fluid and exciting enough to keep me going. Scrabble at Qulture welcomed Maureen back from a long absence, and Sharon Gerber Scherer was, once again, across the board from me, often wishing she was elsewhere throughout our…

“Aaaand… that’s a wrap!” The imaginary curtain came down in the living room at Casa Karma last night, closing the Summer Season celebrating live music. And, big bouquets go to Georgia Darehshori, who threw open the doors to her magnificent villa in Conchas Chinas and flew in the face of convention by daring to suggest…

A year ago this week, I stood at one of those proverbial crossroads everybody faces in life. On the morning of October 26, 2023, I received an email that the PV Mirror was ceasing publication. The enormity of the decision is still having a ripple effect. The first thing that crossed my mind was that…

This’ll be a two-cup column with two reviews, Freddie Mercury and Madonna at The Palm Cabaret and Bar; two birthdays, Jordon Carnegie and Bri Bott; and two Musical Directors, Salvatore Rodriguez with vocals by Sargento and David Duvall and his very own jazzy voice. Freddie Mercury – The Legend, stars Roy Cruz in his fifth…

I first heard Enel Ram sing at the Voice of Vallarta contest in the summer of 2022. Then she competed in the So, You Think You Can Rise talent contest, coached by Jan Dorland and Rob Burton. In the wonderful production Vacare, Enel Ram played four non-speaking roles with finesse; her blowfish, as adorable as…

I played a couple of Scrabble games with Sandy Lopez with Kathleen Palmer in the cheering section. The former has finally moved to Vallarta permanently with her husband, and Kathleen will play next week. All that means is we start at 12:30! I met up with Madeline Milne, my editor from the now-defunct Vallarta Tribune,…