Happy Holidays from Todos Santos!

It was a beautiful day here in Todos Santos. Another northwest swell arrived, the wind was off shore and the surfers are happy. Here are some recent shots:

It could’ve happened.

In the tube, at least for a second or two.

Just another tough drop for Diego.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Beautiful Bob is back!

Lots of waves today, so how’d this happen?

Tommy, looking really sharp.

Slayter in a spring top….almost missed him!

Yes, there is more than surf happening. The new El Calendario finally hit the streets. We had some production delays but the issue looks wonderful with more color and more pages, 72 to be exact. When we change format size we thought it would buy us some time since the old size was getting so thick…but no. Even the new better and larger format is getting very thick very quickly. I’ll be posting the new issue online soon. Sorry about missing the last issue but there is only so much time.

Suki is open and in full force. Jessie opened this weekend and is serving pizza and has a full bar. A new Italian restaurant is open on Degollado, Il Giardino. They serve pastas, really thin crust pizza, great Chianti and other dishes. Marco says he should have something happening at the old Iguana – maybe it happened last night. The Todos Santos Inn will have a tapas bar to serve food to compliment the wine bar, perhaps as early as next week.

Barbara Matthews prepared an exquisite and elaborate Christmas tree for the Hotel California. Here’s a night time, natural light shot.

Happy happy, joy joy! Be safe and have a great holiday!

Todos Santos Cultural Center

There is an enormous brick building on the corner of Juarez and Obregon. It was built in 1931 and once housed a teacher’s school as well as an elementary school. It fell into disrepair in the 1990’s and was rescued by Professor Nestor Agundez when it became home to the Centro Cultural Siglo XXI. In recognition of Profe. Nestor’s hard work and dedication, the center’s name was change to Centro Cultural Profe. Nestor Agundez in 2002.

Typically Profe. Nestor decorates the main foyer for the Mexican holidays of Día del los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Navidad (Christmas) and La Semana Santa (Easter week). The displays are quite amazing and certainly worth a visit. Here are some photos:

A natural light night shot of the cultural center.

The nativity scene in the Centro Cultural foyer. Note the devil on the left hand side.

The same foyer scene at night.

The Season’s First BIG NW Swell

Finally…it actually arrived yesterday but today I could get to the beach and take photos. And it was a beautiful morning with off shore winds and clear skies. Lots of bodies in the water too. There will be even more people as we get closer to Christmas. Here’s a taste of the photos from today.

The waves first thing in the morning, about 7:35 am.

Three pelicans out for a fly by and possibly breakfast.

The waves were overhead, sometimes smaller, sometimes larger.

Often you just can’t make the drop.

Nico always surfs with style!

Updates and Missed Items from Yesterday

I ran into Jessie last night and she won’t be opening the restaurant this weekend but hopes to open next weekend, Dec 16.

I hadn’t driven north to La Paz for many weeks and was suprised to see the Pemex station on that side of town was nearly completed. This station is owned by the Todos Santos ejido and there was lots of controversy surrounding its construction. The water table in that area is very close to the surface and many were concerned about the inevitable gasoline leakage and how it would affect the water. Petitions were circulated to trying to stop the construction but they were not successful. The leaders of the ejido assure us that the water table is in no danger from the station. Hmmmm.

On a similar note, on the night of the Pueblo Magico celebration, the road north to La Paz was temporarily shut down in both directions due to water in the Las Quintas arroyo over flowing the roadway. The governor and mayor of La Paz were unable to immediately return to La Paz. In the time since then, the road bed has been raised and large drainage ducts run under it so that the arroyo water no longer threatens the highway and traffic can pass even when the arroyo is running. Now if only the governor would get stuck in el otro lado when the callejon is flooded or between Todos Santos and Pescadero when the San Pedrito arroyo is running. I am guessing that’s what it will take to fix those two perennial problem spots.

No, I Didn’t Die or Move Away

But I have been so busy that the blog and other web projects, including posting the latest El Calendario issue, had to take a back seat to more pressing personal matters.

Meanwhile things keep on happening in Todos Santos. Galería On·cé had a big and successful opening on November 21. Thanksgiving came and went. La Galera, Perla’s gallery, had an opening on November 25. Surfers are all still waiting for the first big NW swell of the season. Looks like it might arrive over this weekend. It rained some today and has been cloudy and overcast for a couple of days. We had a huge wind storm on Nov 28, I think. It was like strong Santa Ana winds but not warm. My guess is 30 mph+ winds began at about 4 am in the morning and continued long into the following night.

And of course, Mexico has a new government with a new president. That inauguration was something else. At least the players involved all felt strongly about their political beliefs.

The Banorte bank really is open until 4 pm now. And sometime in 2007 they should be open on Saturdays too. This is a big leap forward for business in Todos Santos. Rumor has it that another new bank will be opening across the corner from the existing Banorte. Vamos a ver.

A new tapas bar will soon be opening in the Todos Santos Inn’s La Copa Wine Bar. That should be exciting. Buena Vida, Jessie’s new restaurant in between Mangos and Ricardo Amigo on calle Centenario, is opening this weekend. Suki and Matt have returned and Suki’s Asian Restaurant should also be opening soon.

The Hotel California is having another (5th annual) New Year’s Eve bash and only 300 tickets will be sold so get yours early. They will have two bands, a reggae band and Flashback. Last year’s bash was the talk of the town, so you don’t want to miss this one!

Your intrepid blogger managed to move his trailer and everything else to his own lot in Las Tunas. Took a massive effort but it’s done now. And with luck I will have electricity on that lot in the near future. How near is the real question.

So here’s some promised photos from the 20 November parade and Galería On·cé opening.
The Honor Guard from the CECYT high school. This is a privilege offered only to the top students in their final year of school. Note that all the members of the honor guard are female.

It’s a big thing among the boys…making pyramids, sort of quasi-gymnastics.

This group acted out the participants of the revolution, including the poor farmer peasants, army, bandidos and Zapata.

The evil Porfirio Diaz attacking Emiliano Zapata.

The lovely winners from the town festival were there too. That’s the Queen, Princesa and Dama from left to right.

The schools are really big on pagaentry in the parade. Note the red, white and green colors of the Mexican flag.

The little ones get to ride on a truck. But the revolution still will not be televised.

Galería On·cé opened the doors on November 21. The gallery features the photographic work of yours truly, Howard Ekman, and Jack Hamilton. About 100 people showed up for the 4 hour party. We killed 36 bottles of wine and had a jolly good time.

This one is just for fun. My friend Kali Rodriguez called one day and said she had a hummingbird nest in a tree and would I please come over and take some photos. There had been two babies but by the time I could get there, only one remained. Still, it’s quite a sight!

I am glad to be back and hoping to post more often as events warrant it.