ZIGF

Iv’e noticed no reference to the guitar fest here. Is it because it politically resembles sail fest?
I broke down and went to Patty’s Miramar last eve. because I adore the local Jossy Gallegos. Venue was nice but dozens of 65 year old white women standing up in front of me taking photos with their phones. Food was marginal and next door a band played on at the same time as Jossy and Ali Tod. Like the writer Charles Bukowski said “I’m miserable when more than 3 people are around me”.

It certainly does look to the public like the government has taken over the GuitarFest, and they most definitely are using it for their own political benefit. Every reference to the event in the local news includes smiling politicians, same as the Sailfest did. Not sure why no one has referenced it here.

There was an interesting discussion on a popular morning radio talk show about how Zihuatanejo lost and continues losing its ecological zones on the hillsides surrounding the bay and what that has meant for our future. The part where foreigners are partially responsible was only mentioned in passing. Good thing, because that discussion could quickly turn ugly. Instead, the smiling politicians who pose with the foreigners in every photo op possible were the principal target of criticism.

Another part of the discussion was about how we keep losing public access to our beaches, and again, foreigners were mentioned but fortunately not dwelt upon.

Not sure why everyone feels the need to tear down our trees and build stuff here. Soon there won't be any trees or birds or wildlife left at the rate we're going. Then those folks who built something here will just sell and move on to repeat the process somewhere else. I know what it's like to have your community taken over by condo commandos and strip mall joints, when the roads become too congested and the services stop working, and the attraction that used to bring so many visitors stops being attractive and the tourists look for the next big vacation discovery to converge on, and the process repeats itself.

Of course, if the USA gets in another war soon then locals will quickly get another dose of just how fickle the tourism industry is and how absolutely irresponsible it is of our government to bet 100% on tourism for our livelihood and have nothing else to back up our economy. I watched communities where I lived in Florida discover this the hard way and make the necessary adjustments to cultivate alternative industries in their local economies so folks wouldn't starve when the tourists decided not to come for whatever reason. Gee, that was over 50 years ago. I wonder how long it will take the Zihuatanejo community to "get it". Some already do, but most folks here remain starstruck by tourism, like deer staring innocently at oncoming headlights.