Xaviera Hollander spent time in Troncones.

“Then there were my good year long friends Alex and Fred with Fred’s charming aunt, and the brother of the famous dutch author Jroen Brouwers who I know from our Mexican days in Troncones.”

I wonder whether Jroen Brouwers is related to the “Hans Brewer? (sp?) in Troncones.

Xaviera is a locally well-known visitor who used to spend a lot of her time here at Playa La Ropa back before there were any time shares in Zihuatanejo, but since it has become so commercial and overdeveloped a lot of people now go to Troncones to find the peaceful rustic laid back tranquility Zihuatanejo is losing thanks to lousy governance.

Afterward someone asked if I knew who he was. I said “Yeah, Bob.”

“But do you know who he is? Bob Siebenberg“

It still didn’t mean anything to me.

It turned out he “...is an American musician, best known as a member of British progressive rock band Supertramp, playing drums and percussion.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Siebenberg

He watched a movie every night for a year and wrote a book about it. He stayed in Troncones during the year and included movies that he showed and watched at the House of Tropical Dreams and at Posada Eden while he was there.

“A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey is a book written by Mystery Science Theater 3000 performer Kevin Murphy about his experiences of seeing a movie each day, for the entire year of 2001.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Year_at_the_Movies:_One_Man%27s_Filmgoing_Odyssey

“Then there were my good year long friends Alex and Fred with Fred’s charming aunt, and the brother of the famous dutch author Jroen Brouwers who I know from our Mexican days in Troncones.”

I wonder whether Jroen Brouwers is related to the “Hans Brewer? (sp?) in Troncones.

Actually it was Paul Allen’s yacht.

Guy from the yacht whom I ran into on the beach said it was Bill Gates' yacht, but I didn't even know who he was at the time. I told someone else and they went bonkers trying to explain to me who he was, frustrated because I didn't react with the proper display of fawning.

But maybe that was a different yacht.

They would have been in Zihuatanejo for the 1994 movie, “When a Man Loves a Woman”. Some of the scenes were filmed at La Casa Que Canta.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_a_Man_Loves_a_Woman_(film)

Yes, Lupita and I were there with my mother watching the filming of the scene. We're standing right there in front of the Capricho del Rey when they show it in the movie, but you can't see us because we're in the shadows of the tiki torches.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_a_Man_Loves_a_Woman_(film)

The guy who was the character Mikey in the Goonies and later was in Lord of the Rings. Think his name is Sean Astin. He and his wife (or girlfriend) were sitting at the palapa right beside us at The Thompson hotel back when it was the Villa del Sol.

Also saw Viggo Mortensen buying gum and magazines at a gift shop in Mexico City airport when I was catching a connecting flight home from Zih.

Most recently, saw Katie Couric and her daughters in Ixtapa a few years ago.

https://www.catalina-beach-resort.com/english/03/3_6.html

Our only celeb spotting was Dick Clark (and wife) who were on the same flight as us from LAX - ZIH. They were attending a wedding being held at the Villa del Sol.

I don't know if it counts for celeb status, however, one morning while walking La Ropa beach, we (but mostly I) noticed Playboy Magazine was photographing their swimsuit edition at the Villa del Sol.

I took the opportunity to watch the production for as long as I could before being ushered along by a firm grip on my ear by the wife.

Roberto!

What was Lauren like? Always seemed like such a free spirit.

Lauren is about as normal as a "famous" model/actress can be. I used to date her half-sister back in another life. She doesn't like people bothering her. She used to come here and spend a lot of time because no one recognized her and she could walk the streets unnoticed. That used to be why a lot of "famous" people came here. She knows lots of local families, blends in well and probably still maintains friendships with some of them.

A poster I have has a picture of Keith Richards, a glass of whiskey in one hand and a newspaper in the other. The paper's headline is "Pope Declares Keith Richards is God!"

Actually he's a vodka drinker. He loved our local mezcal, but we had to hide it from Mick backstage at the Voodoo Lounge concert in Mexico City because he doesn't like them drinking before a show.

Decades ago when we stayed in Ixtapa we would sometimes see drab armada vessels just outside of the bay fir days at a time. The chisme at the time was that there was a presidential residence in Ixtapa and the president was in residence.

This is true and continued with the previous presidente. Some presidentes had their own places but they either sold them or they fell into ruin. However, I believe Fonatur still maintains a VIP residence. Our current presidente is unlikely to ever use it out of principle.

Rob might have more details about this. I remember years ago (20-25 years ago?) a huge private yacht being in the bay.

A few days later a helicopter landed on the yacht. (Yes, the yacht was that big.)

The story I heard was that it was Bill Gates. The story rang true to me. I mean really, if you were going to make up a story, woukd you have Bill Gates be the lead? ????

I remember learning at the time that some people had jobs cruising Gates’ yacht to various places then he would fly in for a few days. I figured the employees were enjoying better lives than their employer. ????

That's how they ferry the celebs in and out of Comic-Con. A couple of mega-yachts docked at the Convention Center, and choppers from the airport to the yachts.