There is a New Mazatlán making the news…it’s called Old Mazatlán. These days travel articles and internet “buzz” pass over the beaches and discos to concentrate on the “Renaissance” of the historic downtown. While usual types of tourism have diminished, there has been an influx of renters and new homeowners in the old narrow streets and two nineteenth century buildings of the Old Town. Mazatlán might not have the age or architectural grandeur of upland colonial cities, but the combination of pleasant “old Mexico” buildings with a beach resort environment is proving a very attractive lure not only to émigrés from the U.S. and Canada, but also to transplants from older expatriate colonies like Chapala. Restaurants, galleries, and decorators are opening. There is music in the streets. New tourist areas and neighborhoods are springing up in blocks abandoned during the last thirty years, and almost all of the loving restoration and financial investment has been from private funds. And increasingly from foreigners. Much is made of the remodeling of the Freeman Hotel, and the dramatic rebirth of the Plazuela Machado gets linked to the restoration of the adjacent Angela Peralta Theater. The theater reconstruction, funded by a blend of public funds and private donation, rescued the old opera house from virtually total decay—a dozen years ago there was a huge tree growing through the stage. Everyone cheered, and then…nothing happened. Owners of the NidArt gallery beside the theater say, “We moved here and waited for the people and culture to follow the Peralta rebuild, but twelve years later it’s only starting to happen.” There was music in the theater, but outside nothing changed. Only four years ago the Machado was a dusty, abandoned husk with only a single business. Today, of course, the Machado is known as the cultural heart of the city and is lined with busy restaurants offering sidewalk dining and live music. The reason is that private individuals have built there and brought it to life—but they have received almost no public help. It’s a pattern that has repeated itself in the general area, as we will explore as this series of articles continues. The development of the historic center has been slow and frustrating. The city has been backwards about capitalizing on the advantages of having a tourist-attractive downtown built entirely by private investment. Even simple, cost-free things like closing off the street that runs through the Machado have not happened and nobody can say why. Part of the reason for this is the huge civic influence of Golden Zone hoteliers. Although many hoteliers, such as the Julio Berdequé and Sergio De Cima, have been generous in support of the theater rebuild and arts festivals, there is obviously little motive for them to fund the creation of a tourist zone that will compete with their interests. But beyond that, there is a lack of understanding

in Mazatlán—or Mexican tourist boards in general—of the kind of smaller, gentrified type of tourism that typifies, say, Carmel or Nantucket or Catalina, as opposed to the mega glass-walled approach of Waikiki or Cancun. The “official” tourism approach has been slow to recognize that people who invest money in the area and stay here most of the year are a different class of foreign tourist than those who stay a week in a hotel and that they ultimately do much more for the local economy. In fact, as one Canadian couple restoring an old home says, “What you have here is an area in ruins being rebuilt …and all with outside money. You’d think any city would welcome this with open arms.” An attitude exists in some circles that foreign home ownership is not a good thing, that it is creating a foreign enclave. Nothing wrong with that. For one thing French and Latin Quarters have worked out well in other cities, such as New Orleans. For another, there are the examples of places like San Miguel de Allende, Alamos, and Puerto Vallarta’s “Gringo Gulch” that have shown the value of restoration by foreigners. And the ensuing increased interest in Mexican homebuyers once it comes to bloom. Alfredo Gomez Rubio, owner of Pedro & Lola and the Melville apartments and a major force behind the rebirth of the Machado area, explains that there are also problems at the State level, mostly because Mazatlán voted against the incumbent governor in the last election and the city is frozen out of the development funds and tax breaks necessary for re-development of large commercial buildings. Gomez Rubio is now head of the Historic Center Project, a year-old citizens group dedicated to revitalizing the area—and often by applying more “foreign influence”. They have studied restoration projects in the U.S. and Europe and are attempting to apply successes and avoid failures in Mazatlán. They want to balance the need for historical preservation and commercial viability, creating corridors of businesses and pleasant public spaces utilizing the attractive architecture. They work closely with government, business and private homeowners. Project members—and the many foreigners who have bought and remodeled homes in the Historic Center—share many goals, but more importantly, all share the idea that what has happened so far is just the beginning. There is an optimism in Old Mazatlán, a new focus and general feeling things are progressing towards a better future with shops and concerts and a graceful look. One recent resident made a telling comment: “It’s the only place I’ve been where things are getting better and prettier, instead of worse and uglier. I just can’t wait to see how things turn out here.” Increasingly, people from all the sectors and nationalities are starting to pull together to create a future out of the past. Next month, this series will examine the effects of private home ownership on the Historic Center, including some of the downsides of both preservation and new growth.