Vistas de la Ciudad
Jim Hlavac
Mazatlan, Mexico
I had two fantastic times of
several months in Mazatlan,
Mexico in 2007
The first was from
March 15th through June 6th,
and then again from
September 28th through
December 11th
During these months I lived
in a neighborhood called
Olas Altas
(In English "High Waves")
And in the aerial view
at right you can
see virtually the entire
neighborhood.
Over the next few pages
you can walk the streets
that I walked as I went
about my day,
and then follow me to
where I played piano
5 nights a week.
Every time I stepped
out my door
these were my views.  
The city is a charming collection
of old and new, ramshackle
and well kept,
very familiar and yet
incomprehensible
at the same time.
Every thing I needed
was within quick walking distance
through
busy streets filled
with sights and sounds
that seem so like what I knew
of New Orleans, or the East
Village in New York,
or any Latin neighborhood
I ever ran across and yet it is also
strangely foreign, and
bewildering.  It works fine,
but seems to be held
together with just a shred
of hope and string.  
The people I met were great
and my Spanish made  
a surprising leap and bound
toward fluency.
All in all, one of the best times
of my life.  Not bad for just
happening upon the city
almost by mistake.
The Malecon along Olas Altas is filled with odd architecture and palm trees in a
tropical melange, with the Pacific Ocean just yards away, pounding on the little
beach. This boulevard is filled with people from early morning to late at night,
enjoying a calm, happy existence.