Author: Marcia Blondin

Happy Halloween, everybody! And it’s Friday, and also the end of another month. As a kid, I used to adore Halloween. It was the first of three events (only) that I could look forward to and enjoy, gripped in the very center of yet another long Canadian winter. How I loathed the cold and the…

Let’s get this out of the way…the Toronto Blue Jays won again, 6 to 1 over LA, and now lead the series 3-2 with the last two games to be played on home turf in Toronto. Any heavy betting going on out there? Ya’ think! Scrabble was fun, Sharon is back from tramping all over…

Patrice and I are well rested after many hours of uninterrupted, delicious sleep. Good thing, as we have a busy day with Scrabble, at Qulture, Bingo for the dogs at Nacho Daddy, a birthday party at La Catrina Cantina, followed by Angeloo‘s show at 8. On our way home, I want to stop to say…

A couple of days ago, on October 26, I spent some quiet time remembering my dear friend Allyna Vineberg. Two years ago, on the 26th, I saw her at her home for the last time; she would pass away mere weeks later. Her PV Mirror newspaper, which she founded almost 20 years ago, continues to…

It’s 7 am and a mere 24 degrees C. A week ago today, at the same time, it was 32º. The difference is so wonderfully dry, and the air feels downright balmy. Loads of stuff going on this week, with Halloween happenings – parties, concerts, and costume contests scattered around town, some with enormous cash…

Here we are, the last day of the rainy season in Vallarta. Tomorrow marks the 23rd anniversary of Hurricane Kenna, and the latest occurring ‘big event’ weather-wise in the 34 years I have lived here. Kenna gave us only her tail end as she flew by up to San Blas, where she made landfall and…

The cast of Humans flew across the ceiling of Coco Cabaret in a decidedly different approach to center stage! The aerial acrobatics in this third show of the new season (with BOYS ON FIRE and Dia de Muertos) created by Sebastian Coronel and Alejandro Barron were stunning. I am thrilled with the latest capabilities at…

I love Mylar! It reflects light in all directions, and the magpie that lives in my heart loves to see this shimmering fabric under uber-bright spotlights on stage. The latest (and greatest!) Lady Gaga tribute at The Palm Cabaret ‘Mother Mayhem’ has a gazillion meters of it on the dancers, superstar Maru Prado Conti, and…

Musical Dreams is the accumulation of months and months of work by students of Sebastian Coronel and Chris Lopez. About 35 students began the program in June, following the last show of the season at Coco Cabaret. Classes took place twice a week for two hours and stretched over four months. I popped into one…

Opening Night(s) Week is behind us for the start of the 2026 Season. All I can say to that is, WHEW! We have a minute or two, like a couple of days to breathe and remember what it’s like to try and be in two places at once. After a four-and-a-half-month break, it is nothing…

There is something endearing about Elton John and his music. He is wonderfully weird and complicated, but under the layers of bejeweled eyeglasses, sequins, and feathers, I believe, is a kind and loving man. Daniel Celis captures that aspect of Elton John in ‘Rocketman Concert‘ and embodies the sheer joy of entertaining, after first making…

Oh! What a night at Coco Cabaret! Their Opening Night with BOYS ON FIRE. No amount of air conditioning could have cooled off that room. The Boys – Sebastian, Alex, Pedro, Angel, Woody, and their host and compadre, Nacho, obviously spent the last five months training like maniacs in the gym. Maybe not Nacho so…

I have a new word to use for last night’s weather as a couple of hundred of us squeezed onto the rooftop of Cuale, a chi-chi renovated condo hotel on Aquiles Serdan – S U L T R Y. Another rendition of hot and humid. Still, it has a flick-feeling to it, as in moving…

Today is going to be so great on so many levels, I can hardly stand it! First, at the crack of 8:30 this morning, Deborah Cole is picking me up and we are going to the Coapinole tianguis. Her, for the first time. Deborah is a gifted photographer, specializing in black and white dramatic pics…

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians out there! A number of fine restaurants in town are offering traditional turkey feasts; you can check VallartaCalendar.com for a comprehensive list. Enjoy the food and company, and give thanks for our remarkable abundance of all things necessary to life —the biggest and most important thing we…

Yesterday I sat down with Brian Peters aka Mama Tits, over mango smoothies at the Vallarta Factory. I wanted to find out how he was feeling and his plans for the near future, given his recent stage three cancer diagnosis. Friends have set up a GoFundMe for Brian’s uninsured medical bills, which could easily reach…

My living room floor has been returned to me, and all my old books are gone to their new home – The Living Room Bookstore and Cafe. Thanks go to Madeline Milne for taking them off my hands and leaving me with barren shelves. I won’t allow that to accumulate again. The books, I mean.…

Humpday means Scrabble – yay! Everybody is still out of town; we’ll have to wait and see if there is anyone to play with. I was busy yesterday sorting through things, mostly books. Dusting them, then making piles, in alphabetical order. Then, stacking repeat offenders – the piles of David Baldacci, Lee Child, Harlen Coben…

Stepping right back onto the sand at El Solar, Sandra Bradley and I, snifters of mezcal in hand, made a beeline for a small clump of gorgeous men – Sebastian Coronel, Alejandro Barron Ortiz, and Daniel Celis. Dani’s show, a spectacular tribute to Elton John, ”The Rocketman Concert,” opens The Palm Cabaret‘s 26th season, at…

The weekend flew by on top of expectations of rain and storms, and nothing happened. Lots of people are champing at the bit for Season to hurry up. We are impatiently tapping our toes and planning outdoor renovations that won’t be altered by a massive storm or, god forbid, a hurricane. It’s early to assume…