I have lived in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the past eleven years. During the Summer months the tropical climate of Mexico’s Pacific Coast regions escalates to extreme temperatures and humidity. Tropical storms frequently slam the coast with tremendous bouts of lightening and thunder. I can see the storms roll in from the ocean from my studio. The sky will darken and assume hundreds of shades of blue to deep grey and black, often punctuated with flashes of intense sunlight striking the clouds and water. My house sits high on one finger of the Sierra Madre Mountains before it descends into the sea. It has a commanding view of the Bay of Banderas and the oldest part of Puerto Vallarta, the colonia of “El Cerro” which translates as “The Little Mountain”. The name of my house is “Descansco De Aldama” (The resting place of Aldama). For decades the landing in front of my front door had been the resting place for workers living on the mountain who loaded the pineapples and bananas from the pongas to the ships anchored in the bay to congregate and rest after a days work before heading to their homes farther up the mountain.

The landscape of my colonia has become a dense matrix of original homes, villas, charming apartment houses with ornate iron gates, courtyards, and fountains all situated off extremely narrow cobblestone streets. The original pedestrian only passages like the one I live on still exist and are the pathways to the slow and tranquil pace of life one associates with Old Mexico. There are adobe houses with palapa roofs nestled in the jungle a mere 300 yards up the mountain from the studio. Materials need to be hiked up the 80 stairs to the studio and finished works descend via the same path. The flavor of the work day is one of quiet concentration above the high density urban landscape below with the anticipation of the night’s pleasures: a walk on the Malecon, a cool drink or light repast at an outdoor café. And the walk back up the hill in the soft night air to Descanso De Aldama to sleep with the windows open and the sound of the sea.

The address is:
Aldama 444
Col. Centro
Puerto Vallarta
Jalisco, MEX
48300

The Tel. is:
52-322-222-3756

My Email is:
michaelcostantini@yahoo.com