Mexico

[blumpet]

Hi,

 

I have been several time in Brazil. It is a wondeerfull country !

 

However, for a change, I am considering going to Mexico. What about the gay Hutler scene there, either in Mexico city and other place in Mexico. Is it worth going there ?

 

Thanks and best regards

[trilingual]

Mexico is a wonderful place to visit, but it doesn't compare to Brazil as far as escorts go. Use the "search" function within the message center to look for information on Puerto Vallarta that has been posted here in the past.

 

Look in the FAQ for general references to Mexico. There is also information available at http://www.sergay.com.mx one of Mexico's largest gay sites.

 

Good luck, and have a good trip!

[Guest msclonly]

This March, I found Acapulco well past it's prime and will avoid it. The last trip was in the 1970's, which was probably it's peak.

The big hotels are near the airport and not convenient to the nightlife, what there is of it.

Should have guessed this from the fact, that Marriott has no properties there!

Repeatedly warned about safety and need to take care in the the main beach area. Especially at nite!

Many empty stores and trash litering the streets. It got worse along the way from the airport into town.

 

Seems like PVR is the fun spot at this time.

But is not Rio. So another trip to Rio in Sept before a visit to PVR!

 

 

:+

[Guest Valleyman]

The New York Times recently published this article about gay travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico:

 

May 16, 2004 Sunday

Correction Appended

 

RAINBOW BEACH TOWELS ON MEXICAN SAND

 

By DAVID KIRBY.

 

DAVID KIRBY writes frequently about travel.

 

A WARM twilight settles over the Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta as the sun slips behind the pink clouds of the Bahia de Banderas. Tourists at a rooftop bar

burst into applause and raise their cocktails to the fiery spectacle, before settling in for the evening's entertainment. But this will be no night of Mariachi

music.

 

''B-Seven!'' coos a drag queen named Ida Slapter. ''B-Siete! Any lucky winners?''

 

If it's Tuesday, this must be Gay Bingo at the Blue Chairs Beach Resort, perhaps the gayest event in the gayest neighborhood of what may be Mexico's most

gay-friendly town. In recent years, this Pacific coast resort about 130 miles west of Guadalajara, has emerged as a premier destination on the gay travel

map, joining a growing roster of places that are drawing gay and lesbian travelers.

 

So how does a place become a gay destination? For years, friends had told me that ''PV'' was becoming a new gay mecca, but I was skeptical. I had been

there in the 1980's, and could remember just one gay bar, and that was about it. Now, the place feels almost like West Hollywood.

 

My friend Doug and I arrived on a Continental flight from Newark in March, with a plane change in Houston, early enough in the afternoon to check in at the

Blue Chairs and hit the beach right downstairs. Blue Chairs is the unrivaled daytime epicenter of gay social life in Puerto Vallarta.

 

''Ten years ago, it was just a place on the beach, with blue chairs, where gay people would gather in the afternoon to play volleyball,'' said David Lansley, an

American whose Mexican boyfriend, Paco Ruiz, was a pioneer in Puerto Vallarta's evolution into a gay-friendly place when he opened the Club Paco Paco

disco, which beats until 6 o'clock each morning in the heart of the gay zone on the southern edge of the city, around Olas Altas Street and Los Muertos

Beach.

 

Now, Blue Chairs is an institution. The six-floor, 40-room hotel, which opened in May 2001, rises high above the beach below. Its rooftop Blue Sunset Bar

offers a nearly mandatory happy hour and weekly parties that range from bingo to karaoke to Hollywood movie night (outside under the stars).

 

Blue Chairs also offers massages and facials, and a weekly ''booze cruise.'' And of course, there is the lively repartee found daily amid the blue chairs and

umbrellas on the beach, where gay men (and a few women) are catered to by handsome waiters who ferry good food and potent drinks from the hotel's

kitchen out to the sands. When we were there, the crowd was friendly, mostly over 30, and mostly from the Midwest or West Coast.

 

For a gay beach scene, it was pretty low key. Many there said they go back to Puerto Vallarta every year, not only for the gay scene but also the relaxed

atmosphere and gorgeous natural surroundings.

 

The neighborhood was a rundown area of low-rise buildings and empty lots and storefronts until about a decade ago, when gay Mexicans and Americans

began investing in bars, hotels, shops and restaurants. Now it is known affectionately as the Zona Romantica. Within its square mile or so, the Zona now

packs in 16 gay bars and nightclubs (two more clubs lie just north of the Cuale River, downtown) and 12 gay or gay-friendly hotels and guest houses. Hotel

Mercurio, for example, is a quiet lodge just off of Olas Altas, set around a peaceful Mexican courtyard. It was opened last year by Paul Crist, who moved there

from Washington, D.C.

 

''This area has really taken off in the last year or two.'' Mr. Crist said. ''I think we have reached critical mass in terms of gay businesses.''

 

Some travelers find the scene too intense, and get away from the bustle by heading for Paco's Paradise, a sort of gay Gilligan's Island sleep-away camp that

can only be reached by boat. Isolated and beautiful on the south shore of Banderas Bay, Paco's offers snorkeling, kayaking, volleyball and good food to those

who find their way there.

 

We made Paco's a day trip, taking a cab from Puerto Vallarta about 10 miles south along a winding coastal road with spectacular views of the rugged green

mountains and brilliant indigo bay. Just past Mismaloya, where John Huston filmed Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in ''Night of the Iguana,'' we reached

Boca de Tomatlan, a picture-perfect fishing village on a sharply angled cove, the departure point for launches to Paco's.

 

The rustic outpost is carved from the jungle on a small cove. Overnight guests stay in a three-story stone structure with two private suites and a dorm room.

There is hot water, but no electricity. We ate lunch, swam in the turquoise water and took the 5 o'clock boat back with a dozen or so day-trippers, most of

them gay men.

 

Back in town, besides the hotels, there are many inexpensive condos available. At Amantes del Sol, for example, a gorgeous two-story penthouse with jungle

and ocean views is $75 a night in high season, late fall to early spring, $35 in low season.

 

The condo is a short walk from a cluster of businesses that welcome gays and straights. The Zona Romantica is by no means exclusively gay. Its shops and

restaurants attract local residents and tourists from all over the city.

 

Cafe Bohemio offers good home-cooked Mexican and international food on a romantic patio strung with tiny white lights. Across the street is the Coffee Cup,

a favorite of gay tourists on their way to the beach in the morning.

 

The night life, I would say, equals or rivals that of almost any midsized metropolis in North America. In Puerto Vallarta, what visitors will find is a new,

state-of-the art discotheque called NYPV, a cavernous, sleek, pulsating club that could have been flown in directly from Manhattan. The light and sound

systems are first class, the staff is courteous and professional, and the V.I.P. room is adorned with original signed prints by Erte.

 

Other places include Ranch and the adjoining Club Paco Paco, which stays open till dawn, and Balcones and Antropology, popular for their go-go dancers.

Quieter bars include La Noche, Frida and DeWayne's Oasis, which has a beautiful walled-in garden and airy deck with a bar on the roof.

 

Given all that night life, early birds are not much in evidence. But there are many inviting daytime activities.

 

Besides cruises on party boats, there are also whale-watching trips specifically for gays, scuba diving excursions and journeys on foot or horseback into the

jungles and villages of the surrounding Sierra Madre.

 

With so much gay tourism, it was only a matter of time before a gay and lesbian business association made the scene. That happened late last year when

Ambiente Puerto Vallarta was formed. (Ambiente is Spanish slang for gay). It already has more than 50 members, said Teri Reed, a lesbian expatriate from

Seattle and the new group's executive director.

 

Ms. Reed said that Puerto Vallarta had always been attractive to Mexican gays because of its live-and-let-live atmosphere and laid-back social climate. That's

not to say that everyone in town is thrilled to see the resort converted into a gay attraction.

 

Mexico is still a socially conservative, predominantly Catholic country where public discussion of homosexuality is rare. In Puerto Vallarta, some of the town's

socially prominent women complained about three years ago about the rising number of gay tourists. They were dismayed at public displays of affection by

same-sex couples and worried that it would be a bad influence on children.

 

When an American tour promoter printed a brochure saying that Puerto Vallarta was ''where the boys are,'' some residents thought it was promoting

pedophilia. The miscommunication was cleared up after a meeting between the promoter and civic leaders. Any residual tension has since abated, Ms. Reed

said.

 

Martin Rodriguez, a former president of the Puerto Vallarta Chamber of Commerce, agreed that any tensions that existed had subsided.

 

''It has been an informal process,'' he said, ''but today I don't see any problems. Relations between local authorities and the gay business organization are

mutually respectful and very positive.''

 

Indeed, the social climate seems overwhelmingly tolerant.

 

''It's economics,'' Ms. Reed said. ''There is tolerance and acceptance because we bring a lot of money into the community, even more than straight people.''

 

Perhaps that is why men can be seen holding hands inside the Zona Romantica, something that would be unthinkable almost anywhere else in Mexico.

 

Charles Prizzi, a flight attendant from New Jersey who was in Puerto Vallarta on his first trip to Mexico, said he was ''pleasantly surprised'' at how open and

tolerant the place seemed. He added that he appreciated the ''terrific camaraderie'' he found, not only among the foreign gay tourists but also between gay

Mexicans and North Americans as well.

 

''I'm not so much into the night life; that's not why I chose Puerto Vallarta,'' Mr. Prizzi said. ''But as a gay person traveling by myself, I met lots of people to

hang out with and have dinner with. The whole scene is really social, really nice and relaxed.''

 

IN THE ROMANTIC ZONE

 

 

A guide to gay vacations in Puerto Vallarta is on the Web at http://www.guidevallarta.com. High season is November through April. Prices below are at 11.5 pesos

to the dollar, but many places give rates in dollars.

 

WHERE TO STAY

 

 

Blue Chairs Beach Resort, at Malecon 4; (52-322) 222-5040, or in the United States (866) 514-7969; fax (229) 336-0065; http://www.bluechairs.com, has 40 rooms.

Doubles range from $49 to $199; suites, $99 to $229.

 

Hotel Mercurio, Francisca Rodriguez 168, (52-322) 222-4793, fax (52-322) 222-1419, http://www.hotel-mercurio.com, has 27 rooms for $45 to $93.

 

Amantes del Sol, Villa Santa Barbara, http://www.amantesdelsol.com, has two condominium units with ocean views. Rates: $35 to $75.

 

Paco's Paradise, (52-322) 293-4423, http://www.pacopaco.com/paradise, is reached by boat from Boca de Tomatlan. There are two suites for $39 to $69 a night,

including two meals, and dorm room beds for $15 with breakfast. A day use fee of $11.50 includes the boat.

 

WHERE TO EAT

 

 

Cafe Bohemio, Rodolfo Gomez 127, (52-322) 223-4676, serves Mexican and international dishes nightly except Sunday. Dinner for two with drinks, about $30.

 

At the Blue Chairs Beach Resort, Malecon 4, (52-322) 222-5040, a beach bar serves breakfast and lunch daily ($4 to $16). In high season, the restaurant

serves Sunday brunch ($10 with drink) and nightly dinner (about $16 with a drink).

 

WHERE TO DANCE

 

 

NYPV Bar New York, Ignacio L. Vallarta 399, (52-322) 222-7261, is open nightly until 6 a.m. Cover, on Thursday to Saturday, $11.50 and up.

 

Club Paco Paco, Ignacio L. Vallarta 278, (52-322) 222-1899, is also open nightly until 6 a.m. Cover: $2.20 to $4.50.

 

 

CORRECTION-DATE: June 6, 2004

 

CORRECTION:

 

An article on May 16 about Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, as a gay vacation destination referred incorrectly to the cast of the 1964 film ''The Night of the Iguana,''

which was filmed in the area. While Richard Burton was indeed the lead, Elizabeth Taylor, who accompanied him during filming, was not in the cast.