Ahhh, to be back home again, in my “hood”, mi barrio. Every
Mexican city has a Centro Historico, an old town, and ours is most special.
It’s a place I’m proud to call home.
Our Centro, like others across Mexico, boasts a beautiful
cathedral, a lively open air market, a bustling commercial district, government
offices, a lovely plaza (in our case, a few lovely plazas), and many mobile
carts for a wide variety of good eats from ice cream to tacos.
Mazatlan’s Centro also has a picturesque waterfront area.
Our local beach is called Olas Altas (high waves), but the coastline extends
out and around from this little beach to spark one’s imagination for a
lifetime. We have viewpoints that attract the local lovers on weekends, a
lighthouse path that beckons exercise enthusiasts on a daily basis, and a wide
malecon (waterfront sidewalk area) for walkers, bicyclists, skateboarders,
roller bladers, dog walkers, and sunset watchers.
Plazuela Machado, two blocks from our home, boasts the
Angela Peralta Theater which brings in world class entertainment on a regular
basis. Next to the theater is the art school for music, dance, visual arts.
Around the perimeter of the Machado are wonderful restaurants, and within this
peaceful plaza are benches for resting, for chatting, for watching the world go
by. It’s our nightly walk, evening entertainment, a place to greet and
socialize with neighbors, or listen to some amazing music. Other local plazas within
Centro have their own unique charm: Plaza Liones sits next to the local Mexican
library, Plaza Republica is adjacent to the cathedral, and Plaza Zaragosa is
home to the Thursday night dance invitational and Saturday’s organic market.
The streets of our Centro Historico boast some magnificent
old buildings, many restored as comfortable homes, bed and breakfasts, inviting
restaurants, or interesting shops. It’s a walking town, a picturesque town, a
friendly town, and again, a place I’m proud to call home.
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