Although the day finds its origins in a bloody episode of biblical times (killing of all children less than 2 years old in Belen, ordered by King Herod), it has mostly become a pagan holiday. It is the occasion for people to play pranks at each other and for the media to announce goofy news.

People must not believe anything that other people say nor let them borrow any amount of money. If any person has fallen victim of the joke, the person pulling the joke will say ¡Inocente palomita…!, literally meaning ‘Innocent little dove’ (equivalent to saying April Fools!).

So watch out!

Taken from www.marbellafamilyfun.com | en.wikipedia.org

The twelve grapes of hapiness and other New Year’s traditions

Mexico is a country rich in tradition and customs. Here are just a few related to the New Year.

• Each year, when the clock strikes twelve celebrants eat one grape as the clock rings midnight, one grape for each chime of the bell. Each grape represents good luck and fortune in each of the coming twelve months.
• If you see someone walking around with a suitcase on New Years Eve, they are not going to the airport, but hoping to travel in the coming year.
• Women looking to find love in the next 365 days will don red underwear. Other colors of lucky underwear include yellow (to bring work), green (to bring money) and white (good health).
• Some believe it is good luck to start the New Year with a clean house, and you may observe people sweeping out their homes at the stroke of midnight.

Taken from www.puerto-vallarta.com/

Christmas for Mexicans, in traditional homes and rural areas, is a religious holiday.

It is a celebration of the Nativity. This means the birthday of Our Lord Jesus. In order to prepare for the day of symbolic commemoration, we have the “Posadas”. These celebrations are a “Novena” or nine days before the 24 which is the “Noche Buena” or “Holy Night”.

These Posadas are an enactment of looking for lodging of St. Joseph and Virgin Mary, called The Pilgrims going to Bethlehem for the Census according to the Scriptures. In Spanish we called them: “Los Peregrinos, San José y la Virgen María”. Each family in a neighborhood, will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th on Noche Buena.ay of symbolic commemoration, we have the “Posadas”. These celebrations are a “Novena” or nine days before the 24 which is the “Noche Buena” or “Holy Night”.

Every home will have a Nativity scene. The hosts of the home are the innkeepers, and the neighborhood children and adults are Los Peregrinos, who have to request lodging through singing a simple chant. All carry small lit candles in their hands and four teenagers of about the same height are chosen to carry Los Peregrinos, which are two small statues of St. Joseph leading a donkey, which Virgen Mary is riding sidesaddle. The head of the procession will have a candle inside of a paper lamp shade that looks like an accordion but open at the top and it is called a ”Farolito” or little lantern.

The Peregrinos will ask for lodging in three different houses but only the third one will allow them in. That will be the house that is supposed to have the Posada for that evening. Once the innkeepers let them in, the group of guests comes into the home and kneels around the Nativity scene to pray the Rosary. The Rosary is a traditional Catholic prayer, which consists of the following prayers: 50 Hail Mary, 5 Our Father , 5 Gloryand the Litany, which is a series of Praises for the Virgin Mary, plus singing traditional songs like Holy Night in Spanish of course!

After all the prayer is done, then it comes the party for the children. There will be a Piñata, (pronounce Pignata, for it has an ñ instead of an n), filled with peanuts in the shell, oranges, tangerines, sugar canes, and seldom wrapped hard candy. Of course, there will be other types of chants the children will sing while the child in turn is trying to break the Piñata with a stick while he/she will be blindfolded.

Although the Piñata was originally from Italy, it has become a Mexican tradition for celebrations where there are children involved. The Piñata was made out of a clay pot and decorated with crepe paper in different colors. Today’s piñatas are made out of cardboard and paper mache techniques and decorated with crepe paper. This change was made to prevent the children from cutting their hands when going for the fruit and candy when the Piñata was broken and the clay piece would become a hazard. They have all kinds of designs besides the traditional star.

For the adults there is always ”Ponche con Piquete”(sting), which is a hot beverage or “Punch” made out of seasonal fruits and cinnamon sticks, with a shot of alcoholic spririt. A good substitute here in Ohio is hot apple cider with fruits, without the “spirits”.

On Noche Buena, December 24, everybody goes to Misa de Noche Buena which is at midnight. After the Mass, everyone goes to their respective homes to have dinner with family and any friend who does not have a family is always welcome to be part of a family celebration, and most important of all to place the Baby Jesus in the manger in the Nativity scene.

The presents are not received on Christmas, for Christmas is a celebration of Life of Our Savior.

Taken from http://www.nacnet.org

What is “Los Arcos”?
Los Arcos is an area of 5 small islands located 6.5 miles southwest of Puerto Vallarta, with an area of approximately 30 hectares. Its name comes from the whimsical shapes that three of its islands have, as they have tunnels that small boats can actually cross under, which gives the appearance of natural arches.

The Birthplace of our City
Since before the founding of Puerto Vallarta, the Los Arcos site was a known and emblematic. These large rocks were baptized in 1541 as “Las Peñas” by the Spanish explorer Don Pedro de Alvarado, which became the first name of Puerto Vallarta itself. It was in 1851 when it was changed to “Las Peñas de Santa Maria de Guadalupe” in honor of these islets and the Virgin of Guadalupe. By the nineteenth century the town site was known as “Puerto Las Peñas”, a name that was dropped at the time of becoming a municipality in 1918, when it finally received its current name: Puerto Vallarta.
Regardless of the story and that the name has no longer remains as, “Las Peñas”, they are better known as Los Arcos, and due to their proximity to the city, have been a site of great beauty and environmental importance, used extensively by tourist service providers for decades, becoming one of the favorite places for recreation, representing major economic income for the city and the entire region.

A “Protected” Area
It was in 1975 when the government decided to protect Los Arcos from the overfishing that existed at the site, declaring it as a “place of refuge for the protection of marine flora and fauna.” Since then, fishermen and service providers perceive the site as a natural protected area, which has allowed them since to maintain their natural characteristics.
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a study of the current status of Los Arcos, since there is a history of two previous scientific studies that concluded that excessive tourism is damaging and degrading the site. In order to ascertain the degree of risk to the site and are widely ecological, legal and socio-cultural, directly affecting the site, which yielded interesting, but also alarming results.
To my surprise, and all those who, for years, have ensured that Los Arcos is a protected area, the reality is that it is that it is not the case. The document which gave them security and protection against bad fishing practices and other activities is now obsolete, as the laws that were in effect are now obsolete and there is no noticeable enforcement. Now, sad to say, there is no decree that protects Los Arcos from abusive operators or bad tourism practices, which, incidentally, have proved to be the greatest threat to the area, as current use is done on an indiscriminate and massive scale, which puts tremendous pressure on the area’s ecosystem.

It’s Not All bad news
Fortunately, the image is that Los Arcos is a protected area has enabled these islands remain intact and the general conditions at the site are still very good. For its economic importance, there are important efforts to enact a new decree to obtain a Natural Protected Area status and the best part is that it is strongly supported by Vallartans themselves, as they are an important symbol of our city. There remains the difficult task of raising the financial resources to complete the formalities, because as you might imagine, it would require costly studies to show scientifically what we all know; that Los Arcos is a unique area that deserves to be protected and respected by us all.

Taken from www.vallartaonline.com

For centuries, thousands of Mexicans have revered the image of a dark-skinned Virgin orvirgen morena. Legend has it that, during one of her appearances as a vision to native Juan Diego, her image was embossed miraculously by the roses she asked him to carry in the front of his tunic to the parish priest. Although it was Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, she was given the name, The Virgin of Guadalupe (La Virgen de Guadalupe), here in Mexico by church authorities.

According to Catholic Church sources, the visions took place between December 9 and 12 in 1531. 2008 is the 477th commemoration of what took place in the mountains near Tepeyac. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of faith and hope for many Mexicans. Each December 12, her followers unite to seek her help or thank her for favors granted.

In Puerto Vallarta, the celebrations take place during the first twelve evenings of December, with pilgrimages leading to the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Downtown/Centro. These processions have taken place ever since this church was built in 1921, but it wasn’t until 1942 that the event began to grow thanks to the promotional work of Father Rafael Parra, who was believed to have been “very devoted to the dark-skinned Virgin.” In 1945, Father Rafael commissioned a painting of the Virgin by Guadalajara artist Ignacio Ramírez, which is still on display inside the church.

This year, more than 300 pilgrimages are expected, just slightly more than the past few years. The pilgrimages usually begin at the corner of Juárez and 31 de October Streets, but some of the larger hotels prefer to start at their location. During the journey, the participants, which include students, hotel employees, community members and all types of institutions, community organizations and merchants, chant and pray in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe as they march

Along the way, especially in the downtown area, the streets are lined with food stands offering traditional Mexican foods and snacks, such as tamales, atole (hot cornmeal drink), corn on the cob, sweet churros (like dough-nuts), fried bananas, salchipulpos (fried, seasoned sausages), tostadas, pozole (corn chowder), enchiladas and tacos at affordable prices.

Staring at midnight on December 11, the parishioners unite at the Church of Guadalupe to honor the Virgin by singing “Las Mañanitas” (the traditional Mexican birthday song). During the course of the day, there are mariachis and local bands livening up the celebration. The main pilgrimage, called “de los hijos ausentes y favorecidos” (the absent children and the favored), takes place midday. The children are dressed in costumes and traditional cotton clothing. Pilgrims continue to arrive until 11:30 pm. The last mass is performed at 8:00 pm, always accompanied by joyful music.

Recommendations:

- Remember that the bus routes are modified and do not reach the center of town. You will have to walk; use caution.
- Another option is to take the tunnel route, cross the Cuale River and walk to the Church of Guadalupe.
- Arrive early; there tends to be a large gathering of people.
- Wear comfortable shoes and warm clothing; temperatures cool at night.
- Bring drinks with you; bottled water is preferable.
- Do not litter on public streets; use the trash bins.
- Avoid bringing small children because the walk is long and may be too much for them.

- Taken from vallartaonline.com

For this reason, Hotel Rio Malecon want to celebrate with you this special holiday. Autumn is the perfect time to revitalize, come to Puerto Vallarta and fill yourself with energy, enjoy our relaxing spa treatments courtesy booking a minimum stay of 3 nights.

You choose …

- Manicure and pedicure
- Facial
- Relaxing massage

* 1 treatment per room per stay
* Restrictions apply

We are just at Downtown!
www.hotelriomalecon.com.mx
Ph. 01(322) 220366

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Tickets are $300 pesos for general seating and $400 pesos for preferred seating and are now available through Ticketmaster, at the Ticketmaster Outlet in Galleries Vallarta Mall (across for the cruise terminal) and at the theatre’s box office Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 9 pm. Teatro Vallarta is located in El Centro at Uruguay 184, just south of LEY’S grocery store on the main street as you enter downtown.

One of the best known soloists throughout Europe, Eszter Horgas was born into a family of artists in Budapest, Hungary and graduated as a flautist in 1990 at the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy. Among others, her masters were György Kurtág and Ferenc Rados and she won scholarships to study with the prestigious András Adorján and Jean Pierre Rampal.

In addition to classical music, Eszter is interested in jazz, Latin and contemporary music. She is continuously working on her repertoire and stretching the possibilities of her instrument by arranging well-known pieces, opera arias, and works from Bizet, Vivaldi, Bach, Bellini, Puccini and Verdi. Two of her most memorable performances were performing the 21st century adaptation of Carmen in 2003 at the Budapest Arena to an audience of over 10,000 people and in 2010 she shared the stage with Natalie Cole in Budapest.

For years, locals have been yearning for a state-of-the-art performance space that could handle world-class touring productions. With the announcement of Eszter Horgas and The Virtuosos of Hungary, expats, local nationals and visitors alike can now enjoy this top production without having to travel. Come support the arts in Banderas Bay and purchase your tickets today to The Virtuosos of Hungary

Additional information can be found on the theatre’s website, TeatroVallarta.com.

- Taken from www.banderasnews.com