Expats Organize First Annual Mazatlan Summer Festival

MAZATLAN, MEXICO -- (Marketwire) -- 07/20/11 -- Mazatlan's American and Canadian residents hosted the first annual Summer Street Festival on July 14. The family -friendly event that was open to the public, took place in the city's historic center of town. Organizers provided outdoor entertainment and vendor displays lined the Ricardo Urquijo plaza. This event showcased the community's own efforts to promote downtown businesses, several of which are owned by expats.

Hundreds of people - mostly families - began to arrive before sunset to enjoy music, face-painting, and magic shows. Artistic performances included dance and art exhibits. Adults enjoyed the beer garden while Nieve de Garrafa - hand-made ice cream - was a favorite refreshment for children throughout the balmy evening. Mazatlan's Centro Historico is known for restored neo-classical tropical facades that are a backdrop to the city's artistic hub.
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Mazatlán Sets Stage for 2011 Gran Fiesta Amigos, Oct. 31 – Nov. 3
–17th Annual Celebration Spotlights Authentic Culture, Cuisine and New Cosmopolitan Flair–

MAZATLÁN, Mexico (August 3, 2011) – The Pacific Coast city of Mazatlán kicks off the Fall travel season in grand style with its 2011 Gran Fiesta Amigos celebration, taking place Oct. 31 – Nov. 3.

With festive music, cultural events and delicious cuisine, this “Big Festival of Friends” promises a vibrant welcome for honored travel partners – including the wholesalers, tour operators, airlines, incentive companies, journalists, tourism dignitaries and friends of Mazatlán who continue to support the ongoing growth of this seaside destination.

Mazatlán recently celebrated a new partnership with the launch of American Airlines’ daily non-stop service from Dallas-Fort Worth, boosting tourism revenue by more than $15 million USD and affording new travel options for the more than 2 million travelers who visit Mazatlán each year. Earlier this summer, the destination’s legendary waves and golden-sand beaches hosted the world’s top surf athletes for the Quiksilver Clásico Mazatlán, a four-star event of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) international tour

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Dollars and Cents, Pesos and Sense

This wasn’t my first trip to Mexico, not by a long shot. I frequently have traveled there on business, to places like Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Mazatlán, Morelia, Taxco, Cuernavaca, Mexico City, and even less touristed spots like Patzcuaro, Saltillo, Poza Rica, and Tequesquitengo.

What’s struck me recently about Mexico, apart from the usual beauty of its beaches, mysticism of its colonial cities, delectability of its culinary arts, and friendliness of its people, is how different the reality is from the perception.

But this isn’t a travel story. It’s a personal finance column. I hope to show why shrewd investors savvy enough to discard naysayers’ messages should put their vacation money into an undervalued investment in personal enjoyment.

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