A book where the everyday life of a woman, her family, her friends and everyone in her town, reminded me and made me value what Puerto Vallarta has represented in my life and that of my family, my friends and of all of us who have come from outside to settle in a land blessed by God.About three and a half years ago, I had the opportunity to purchase one of the few original editions still in existence. I remember when Gerardo, a close friend, told me that I could get it at the bakery located on Basilio Badillo Street. I thought he was joking but knowing what we were dealing with, I did not hesitate in going there to buy the book.

That same evening I started reading it as soon as I returned home. From the very first paragraphs, the narration by Señora Catalina Montes de Oca de Contreras, the book's author, captivated all my attention, inviting me to go on without stopping. Only one other book, "La mujer dormida debe dar a luz", had ever captivated me this way. Little by little, through her clear descriptive and very easy manner of relating life in Vallarta during an age of real gold, she incited me to visualize, to feel what she was experiencing, and even perceive the refreshing ocean breeze against her face as I walked in her footsteps along the Malecon.

Reading "Puerto Vallarta My Memories" is an event in itself. Besides educating me, it taught me values and principles that force me to revise everything that had happened in the life of this beautiful port so that I could arrive and receive its warmth, along with a wave of hope when I needed it most.

Reading the book reminded me that shortly after our arrival in the mid-seventies, thanks to the simplicity and cordial warmth of its people and the marvelous setting of the town, and especially the picturesque nature of its everyday life, I was able to feel for the first time what faith and hope really are. The simple fact of seeing Vallarta proves to me that there is an all-loving God who manifests Himself in every moment. I felt the hope when I realized that it was only thanks to Him that I arrived in such a privileged place where, without being asked for anything in return, I was given the opportunity to make a worthy life for myself.

Today, at a time of continuous growth and tourist abundance, I live enamored of Vallarta, although I must admit that I miss those times when one of my favorite activities during the rainy season was to go out barefoot to walk along the streets that were flooded. I remember very well, and I can still feel the coolness of the current of water against my feet and my legs as it ran down to the ocean. The best part of all was to stand there mesmerized as I watched hundreds of flowers of various colors floating and letting themselves go. Once, when we had just moved here, I heard an old man say, "here, during the rainy season, instead of rain, it is the flowers that fall…" Every time I saw them float, carried along by the current, I would remember those words and think about the wisdom of the elders. Today when it rains I don't go out walking any more, but I do open the windows in my home, I sit down to read in my favorite chair, and when I feel the ocean breeze coming in through the window and wet me with the rainwater, I close my eyes and I see the buganviliae and the hibiscus flowers floating on the water, carried along by the current, down to the ocean.

"Puerto Vallarta in My Memories" has shown me the true essence of a town and its people. Today I thank God and this town which, without asking for anything in return, has offered me shelter.

Thanks to the invaluable collaboration of the Coastal University Center (CUC) of the University of Guadalajara, a second edition has been published without any modification to the original text, though enriched with excellent photographs that could tell the story of the town all by themselves. Thanks to an excellent translation by Yolanda G. de McCullough, daughter of Yolanda Contreras de Garduño, co-author of the book and grand-daughter of author Catalina Montes de Oca de Contreras, this book has also been published in English and is available for sale.

Now anyone, local or foreign, has the opportunity to buy what I consider to be a true historical and cultural treasure of Puerto Vallarta. In mi opinion, no one who lives here or who visits this destination should miss reading this marvelous work.

Until the next one!…

Jesús de Avila
editor@pvmirror.com