The Leaflet Vallarta Botanical Gardens AC Curator`s Corner

The Leaflet
Vallarta Botanical Gardens AC
April 2012
April 2012
Curator’s Corner
Volumen 2, No. 4
Content:
Dear Friends of the Gardens:
Curator’s Corner
1
Bird Festival
2
Flower and Graden
Show
3
The Capomo
Festival
4
Alexander Von
Humboldt
5
Jorge Acosta
6
Volunteer
Spotlight
7
Special visitor
8
In the Garden
9
Garden Club
10
Announcements
11
Mission statement
12
I’d like to recognize the April birthdays of
two visionaries that I draw particular inspiration from: Nezahualcoyotl (born April 28th,
1402) and John James Audubon (born April
26th, 1785).
The pre-Hispanic Mexican poet-king Nezahualcoyotl (pronounced “nets-a-wall-COYoatl”) is considered not only the wisest ruler
to ever govern the Valley of Mexico (modern
-day Mexico City), but is particularly remembered for cultivating the beginning of a
golden age in which art and culture thrived.
He also promoted the development of one of the most expansive ancient botanical gardens with extensive canal systems and collections of plants from
throughout the Aztec empire and beyond.
Those of you with great eyes or a good magnifying glass can read one of Nezahualcoyotl’s poems printed on the face of the Mexican 100 peso bill:
Amo el canto del cenzontle
Pájaro de cuatrocientas voces,
Amo el color del jade
Y el enervante perfume de las flores,
Pero más amo a mi hermano, el hombre.
I love the song of the mockingbird,
Bird of four hundred voices,
I love the color of the jadestone
And the intoxicating scent of flowers,
But more than all I love my brother, man.
John James Audubon, an artist and naturalist from much later in history,
traveled extensively through the wilderness researching for his masterpiece,
The Birds of America. His monumental work is a combination of art and science
filled with over 400 brilliantly lifelike paintings of birds in
their natural habitat. Audubon transcended the purely
anatomical drawings of scientists before him to create
art that captured the essence and movement of his subjects without sacrificing accuracy or detail. Although failing health in his later years never allowed him to make it
to Mexico, I’m confident that this amazingly biodiverse
country would have been his ultimate destination.
I particularly admire the perseverance of this great
man. Part way through his work he discovered that rats had ruined his entire
creation of over 200 painstakingly researched and priceless works of art. Undaunted by this set back, Audubon took this as an opportunity to remake his art
to a higher standard.
We at the Gardens are striving for the highest standards
for our botanical collections,
works of art, interpretive displays, and educational programs. We hope you will join
us in celebrating the birthdays
of our role models whether
here at the Gardens or from
afar.
Despite sensationalist media
reports to the contrary, Mexico
remains a safe and beautiful country to visit. To those of you in Puerto Vallarta,
please come up and visit us soon; to those of you in other places, keep Mexico
in your hearts.
Bob Price
Curator & Founder
First Annual Vallarta Bird Festival
holiday with nature
March 15th –18th, 2012
Thanks to everyone who participated in the first PV Intenational Bird Festival!
Four fun filled days spent in the beauty of the Mexican outback revealed many
new and beautiful species of birds to festival participants. Thanks to our sponsors Claudia Lovera, Rancho Primavera, Villa Azalia, Vallarta Botanical Gardens
and Eco Tours also profesional birding guides Alex Martinez and Greg Hummel.
The PV Bird Club is already organizing the 2013 Birding Festival. Please contact
Claudia Lovera for more information: mataortizgallery@gmail.com or
www.vallartabirdfestival.org
Flower and Garden Show 2012
This year the Flower and
Garden Show was a
blooming success!
Thanks to everyone who
came out. We would like
to thank to our sponsors
Chiltepec Flower Company from Mexico City and
Vive Plant from Manzanillo for the beautiful orchids and tropical plants
they provided. A special
thank you to the students from CUC Universidad de Guadalajara.
The Capomo Festival
Capomo –Brosimum alicastrum–
was a staple food of the ancient
Mexican Cultures. Largely forgotten in recent years this amazing
plant is now enjoying a comeback.
One of the activities of the
Flower and Graden Show was The
Capomo Festival where the
Nayarit Seed Women´s Group
with leader Rosa Orozco, the
women from Emiliano Zapata
ejido and the Mayan Nut Institute
(www.mayanutinstitute.org) participated in cooking delicious
food made with localy harvested
capomo and taught us the history
and the nutritional benefits of this
important tree.
For anyone wishing to learn more
about capomo, you should first
begin with us here at
Vallarta
Botanical
Gardens,
where
many ancient capomo trees can be
found in the jungle
along our enchanted
pathways.
Capomo nuts have a
mild nut flavour and
can be used to prepared cakes, cookies,
salads, tamales, tortillas and beverages
plus many other delicious creations.
German naturalist and botanist
Alexander Von Humboldt
Another exciting event of The 2012 Flower and Garden Show was the unveiling
of the life-size cantera sculpture of the German naturalist
and botanist Alexander Von Humboldt.
Alexander Von Humboldt visited Mexico in the year 1800
until 1805 and discovered many new species of plants
and animals. Statues of Alexander Von Humboldt are in
other places in Mexico, including the Plaza in Cuernavaca
and on Alameda Central in Mexico City. His
home on Republica de
Uruguay Street is a historic landmark. He was
granted
honorary
Mexican citizenship by
president
Benito
Juárez because of his
important contribution
to natural history and
science of Mexico.
The gardens honor Alexander Von Humboldt
for his spirit of discovery and knowledge and
promote his legacy.
Mariachi legend Jorge Acosta performs at
Vallarta Botanical Gardens
Veracruz native and local
heart-throb Jorge Acosta
delighted the crowd with
his voice and guitar at a private concert at The Gardens on the night of March
27th.
For those of you who had
not heard Jorge sing you
are missing a great musical
talent. You can check him
out in The Zona Romántica
almost every night in
Puerto Vallarta.
Volunteer Appreciation
We want to thank the enthusiasm and great contribution that our volunteers
show throughout the year and at the Flower and Garden Show. Always friendly
and sharing their knowledge with the visitors, their efforts are so appreciated!
Thank you very much Neil Gerlowski, Mary Nary, Monika Hilson, Rosemary
Stuehmer, Lynnette Fairclough, Janice González, Craig Helmrich, Shirley Smith,
Dee Daneri, Karin Lehnerts, Rick and Char Main, Bev Leyton and Ken Plante.
Thank you!
Forward this newsletter to a friend and help us in our
mission!
Special visitor
This week, the Gardens are celebrating the arrival of the original
VBG co-founder, Betty Price and
her charming friends from Georgia,
Anice Mc Arthur and Eileen Winget. Betty will be at the gardens
until April 11th and is hoping to
visit with many of her old friends.
April Puerto Vallarta Garden Club Meeting
The PVGC meeting will be held on Thursday April 19 th at 1 p.m. at the Puerto
Vallarta Botanical Gardens in The Hall of Flowers. The guest speaker will be the
curator and founder of the gardens, Bob Price on the topic of “Puerto Vallarta´s
public parks and gardens and how you can help”.
Included on the agenda will be election of officers and planning for the 2013
Bougainvillea Festival. 2012-2013 will be a big year for the club and we invite
you to come out to the gardens, have lunch in the world class restaurant overlooking the river and the valley, tour the gardens, and attend the meeting.
The PVGC is seeking energetic and enthusiastic new members to join on our
executive board of directors. Please contact Garden Club president Suzanne
Kirkpatrick at:
suzkirk@aol.com
In the Garden
“SKY”
Photo by Luis Inzunza
Announcements
-Like past years, The Vallarta Botanical Gardens will be closed every Monday
starting April 16th. CLOSED MONDAYS OPEN TUESDAY TO SUNDAY 9:00 a.m. TO
5:00 p.m.
-The Garden´s restaurant “Hacienda de Oro” closes at 5:00 p.m.
-If you want to be a volunteer at The Gardens now is the time! Join us this summer and help the gardens grow!
-Remember you can renew your membership on line at our website:
www.vbgardens.org
Mission Statement
To create Mexico´s foremost botanical garden for the propagation, study, discovery, conservation and display of Mexican native and exotic plants for enjoyment by Puerto Vallarta´s residents and its visitors.
“Donate to groups and individuals working to improve
the world. And encourage others in the businesses and
communities around you to donate as well.”
Steve Jobs.
“The greatest solution of all is to live and work in partnership with yourself, your family and friends, your work and
your community, your nation, your world, nature and
spirit.”
Nelson Mandela.
Visit our Hacienda de Oro Restaurant for authentic Mexican food and brickoven pizza. Hike nature trails and bask in tropical mountain scenery. Experience
the Orchid Conservatory, Gift Shop, Plant Nursery, Tequila tasting and more.
The very best of Vallarta!
Become part of the family that preserves this important sanctuary forever!
Become a member today! Click here for more information www.vbgardens.org
We appreciate your feedback!
We encourage you to write about your visit here on TripAdvisor, to friend us on
Facebook, and to follow us on Twitter.
Please support the Puerto Vallarta Garden Club by sponsoring a planter! Click
here to go to the organization’s website.
Vallarta Botanical Gardens
Your Best Vacation Value!
Spend the day in the Gardens for only $60 pesos.
The VBG are located 30 minutes south of Old Town, Puerto Vallarta, on Carretera a Barra Navidad at km 24, just past Las Juntas y Los Veranos.
Telephone 322-223-6182
Open 9 am to 5pm