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Gella
Navarro: Award Winning Local
Fashion
Designer
By Tara Spears
Gella Navarro was born to the
designer’s life: “God gave me the talent and imagination to create
beautiful clothes, so I have worked very hard to become a recognized
Mexican designer.” Her Galion label clothes are sold in several
countries. In fact, Gella earned the Mexican fashion industry’s highest
award for several years (1985-87) for the most foreign clothing sales.
Other notable events in her long professional career are producing
wardrobe for the movie “Cocoon” and for Bette Midler.
 Gella’s trademark style is luxurious
tactile combinations that creatively blend several fabric types to form
a 3-D garment. As a tribute to her Mexican heritage, Gella frequently
includes hand-beaded embellishments. The results are unique garments
that have the look of artwork.
Purse, below; shawl, right.
Although she was born in Mexico City,
Gella spent her formative years in Aguacaliente state . “I attended a
bilingual primary and secondaro (Mexican high school)”said Gella. “I
drew my first design when I was four years old.” Both of her parents
worked in the garment industry. Her father, Julian Navarro, was the
designer and manager of a large garment company.
Gella apprenticed for two years
working with her father, during which he taught her all phases of the
design process and the steps involved with garment production. She also
went to school to learn the techniques for creating patterns.
 “As a child, it was a hobby for me to
sketch designs and make my own outfits,” she says. “It was my friends
and father that encouraged me to turn my hobby into a career.” Gella
went to work as a director for a design shop, creating original patterns
and sewing the haute couture clothes. “My design philosophy is to take
elements from the Mexican artisans, use organic Mexican fabrics to
create fashions. I was the first to combine jute and cotton for casual
wear; the first designer to prewash fabrics before the garments are cut
out,” she proudly relates. For 36 years Gella worked hard to develop
the quality that the Galion label stands for and to earn respect for
Mexican designs in the international fashion market. “I feel euphoric
when I complete the process from imagining the design, creating the
pattern, selecting the right materials, cutting and then sewing the
garment to end up with a unique, comfortable, and beautiful garment.”
She travels all over Mexico searching for just the right fabrics for her
creations.
All three of her children inherited
Gella’s sense of style and artistic talents: Wesley, 24, is a jewelry
artist, Oliver, 22, and Rochelle, 19, are painters. About 14 years ago,
Gella started to show her designs in Las Vargas, Nayarit. She decided to
relocate to the Riviera Nayarit area in order to reduce her 60 hour
work-week schedule and to have more time for herself and her family.
Gella is passionate about the importance of art for children, and dreams
of establishing an art school in the area: “Art is such a part of me,”
she says, “I want the local people to have an opportunity to develop
their talents.” Although there has been an explosion of development in
the area, Gella would like to see better education and services for the
local people.
Presently, Gella’s Galion designs can
be viewed by appointment in her boutique at Bahia de Manzanillo 9A, La
Penita. She accepts commissions for original outfits, or you can see
her work modeled at the Mujeres a Mujeres Fashion show, February 10,
2009.
Gella is wearing Galion garments; son
Wesley
Original designs: Galion label
close-up of intricate details
Contact Gella:
gella_wor3@hotmail.com or, telephone for an appointment:
322-103-6777
Original jewelry available at Gella’s boutique by Rochelle & Edy
Alicia
Conshey:
Energetic
Designs
By Tara
Spears
This
novice designer may be new to the local fashion scene but she radiates
enthusiasm and creativity. Alicia Rivas designs express a youthful
outlook on life- one can’t have a bad day when wearing one of her
original outfits! Her colorful clothes radiate positive energy, as does
her shop, Nahual, located on Lazaro Cardenas Calle #12 in La Penita.
You can sip fresh espresso while browsing the artfully displayed funky
bags, hats, blouses and slacks. There is also an attractive selection
of original jewelry to compliment the outfits and complete the
ensembles.
Although
Alicia was born in Los Angeles, California, she has been living
part-time in the Riviera Nayarit area for more than 20 years. The
commercial development and expansion in the area is not to her liking:
“It is such a beautiful natural area with a relaxed lifestyle” Alicia
said, “I hate to see it get too big.” Settling permanently in La Penita
about three years ago when she married Wesley Rivas, a talented jewelry
artist, they decided to open a boutique/coffee shop to market their
creations to the public. The colorful shop mirrors their philosophy: “We
think it is important to live a healthy lifestyle, work hard, and to
take the time to appreciate what you have!” she says with a dazzling
smile. Alicia finds designing clothes very satisfying, a perfect outlet
for her creativity and imagination. “In the future, I hope to be able to
make a living from my clothing sales and offer a larger selection of
items.”
This
self-taught seamstress began designing clothes for herself eight years
ago and was surprised when others asked her to make a similar outfit for
them. “I love working with natural non-dyed materials,” Alicia
laughingly explains, “and I find such satisfaction creating clothes that
others enjoy.” She comes up with inspiration from music, fabrics, and
dance: Alicia relaxes by belly, jazz, or modern dancing. Right now,
Alicia describes her style as ‘spontaneous eclectic’. She loves quirky
details, lots of color, and a surreal feel in her designs. To see her
fashions, Nahual boutique is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
and Sundays from 7 am to 2 pm., or attend the Mujeres a Mujeres Fashion
Show 2009 to view her latest designs.
Email:
clavada@hotmail.com
Daughter Catalina, Alicia, husband
Wesley Contact Alicia: 322-157-4519
Agoda is the on line company that we book through when we travel.
Mexico
Book Club's January Book Recommendations
Ed Hutmacher - MexicoBookClub.com
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| For more information on these or other books with
Mexico-related themes, please visit
MexicoBookClub.com. |
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A new year always brings a rededication to read more books. From the
biography of a literary legend to a true-crime thriller to books for
Mexico travelers, here are a handful of recommendations you might want
to dig into this January.
Elena Poniatowska: An Intimate Biography by Michael K.
Schuessler (University of Arizona Press; 2007; Non-fiction) — Author,
journalist and poet Elena Poniatowska is a living literary legend in
Mexico. With scores of books, essays and articles to her credit, she is
perhaps best known for her novels Hasta no verte, Jesús mío
(1969; "Until I see You, My Jesus") and La noche de Tlatelolco
(1971; "Massacre in Mexico"). Born in Paris in 1933 (her father was
French-Polish and her mother Mexican), Poniatowska's family moved to
Mexico City when she was nine. By the time she was twenty, Poniatowska
was making a name for herself in the male-dominated world of Mexico City
journalism. Her skill as a journalist and novelist was her ability to
combine fact with fiction, allowing the voice of the Mexican people to
be heard through her writing. Many of her characters are women whose
lives are ruled by men in a world made up of double standards. This
superb biography is a great read for anyone interested Mexico's
journalistic-literary scene of the past 50 years.
Trail of Feathers: Searching for Phillip True by Robert
Rivard (Public Affairs Publishers; 2006; Non-fiction) — There's nothing
as suspenseful as a true-crime thriller, and this fascinating tale of a
Mexican misadventure is a page-turner from the get-go. "If I'm not back
in 10 days, come looking for me," he said, then waved goodbye through
the open window as the taxi disappeared from view up the steep, winding
street. No one who knew True ever saw him alive again. When Phillip
True, a journalist chasing down a story, disappears in Huichol Indian
territory in Mexico's forbidding Sierra Madre, newspaper editor Robert
Rivard goes on his own long journey to discover what happened to him —
and why. True's life and death in Mexico is not exactly a warning, but
it is a reminder that there are cultural elements that can trip up the
most seasoned travelers. It doesn't matter the size of a person's heart
or the pureness of intentions.
Mexican Days: Journeys Into the Heart of Mexico by Tony
Cohan (Broadway Books, 2006; Non-fiction) — Tony Cohan fired the
imagination of every armchair traveler north of the Rio Bravo in his
2000 bestseller On Mexico Time, a seductive chronicle of
discovering a new life in 1980s San Miguel de Allende. But Mexico has
changed considerably since then, thanks in large part to a horde of
touristy, well-to-do North Americans like Cohan who have turned
once-remote colonial pueblos into chic expatriate havens. In Mexican
Days, Cohan embarks anew into Mexico's heartland, hoping to rediscover
the lost authenticity and charm of his adopted homeland, "...to see how
the puzzle of old and new fit together." Well written, evocative and
perceptive, he gives readers a sympathetic portrait of Mexico, without
ignoring its political problems, its poverty or the changes that have
marred its landscape and its culture.
Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society, 1896 – 2004 by
Carl J. Mora (McFarland & Company Publishers; 2005; Non-fiction) — Much
can be learned about the culture of a country by examining (and viewing)
the films made there, particularly so in Mexico where uniquely Mexican
values and symbolism are depicted quite differently than in Europe or
the United States. Mexican Cinema is primarily a reference book, but
Mora's intelligent narrative and comprehensive review of Mexican films
is a captivating chronicle of Mexico's history, politics and social
mores viewed through the medium of cinema. Especially enjoyable is
reading about the groundbreaking films from Mexico's Golden Age, the
1940s, out of which some of the world's greatest cinematic art was born.
The Mexico Reader: History, Culture, Politics edited by
Gilbert M. Joseph and Timothy J. Henderson (Duke University Press; 2002;
Non-fiction) — The Mexico Reader should be on the shelf of every Mexico
aficionado or in the suitcase of every Mexico traveler. It's that good.
There's nothing in this hefty paperback (792 pages) that isn't
informative, enlightening or entertaining. The considerable collection
of articles, essays and excerpts explores what it means to be Mexican,
tracing the history of Mexico from pre-Columbian times through the
country's epic 1910-17 revolution to the present day, leaving no
political, cultural or social stone unturned. Already considered a
classic, readers will find themselves referring to The Mexico Reader for
a lifetime.
Ed Hutmacher is Editor in Chief of Mexico Book Club. For more
information on books with Mexico-related themes, please visit the
website at
MexicoBookClub.com.
New
Classified Ads
 Car
Trailer For Sale
16 feet car trailer with brake on both axels.
 Very
strong and ride very good. The trailer is plated in Québec Canada and is
also legalise here in Mexico.
27 000 pesos.
Stéphane at elrefugio rv park in lo de marcos (villas tlaquepaque)
or cell 322-111-5390 or skype at stephane.rvpark
 FOR
SALE 5TH WHEEL TRAILER
2000 HITCHHIKER PREMIER
35 1/2’ BAY WINDOW TRIPLE
GLIDE
NUWA products are known for their quality and
craftsmanship.
Large queen bedroom with
full closet.
Front loading Simplicity
washer.
Full frig and freezer,
microwave, 3 burner gas stove/oven
Lots of cabinets + pantry
2 recliners + love seat
(hide-a-bed)
 27”
TV set in Oak cabinetry with computer station, VCR & DVD
This is a well maintained
unit inside and out, and
Is being sold furnished
with linens, dishes, pots and pans,
Small electrical
appliances as well as a “beer” frig.
7 years remaining on a 10
year import tag.
Asking US$ 19,000.
ALL OFFERS
CONSIDERED
Email:
fire117@hotmail.com
Location: Site # 52 La
Penita RV Park
Go to our
classified Ad Page
For
Sale Quad
Yamaha 350 Warrior
6 speed
Low miles-Like New Good Condition
$3000.00 US ($40,877 Peso)
La Penita RV Park Site 127
Talk to Bob or John
Freezer Wanted
Want
to buy a small used freezer. Please contact: corvina@shaw.ca
with size and price."
"Quiero
comprar un pequeno congelador usado. Por favor ponerse a contacto
con Judy a correo electronico
corvina@shaw.ca , dar precio y tamano del congelador".
BEACH PARTY! Always Fun Every Sunday! 
Consider Retirement Options in Mexico
Laurence Iliff - McClatchy-Tribune
go to original
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Cielito Lindo is a new assisted-living development outside San
Miguel de Allende, Mexico, that charges about a third of what care
and meals would cost in the United States. (McClatchy-Tribune) |
With 75 million American baby boomers heading toward retirement and the
cost of private nursing care in the U. S. outstripping hammered
retirement funds, Mexican developers say they have an irresistible
product in the works: active senior and assisted- living facilities in a
warm climate full of friendly people for as little as $1,100 a month.
Some developers are shifting their traditional condo and townhouse
developments midstream to include assisted- living wings focused, in
part, on Americans who want modern facilities with quality services at
reasonable prices.
There are already an estimated 1.2 million retired Americans and
Canadians in Mexico.
“This is not going to be a niche market; this is going to be an entire
industry,” said Eduardo Alvarado, chief executive officer of La Moreleja,
a residential development in San Luis Potosi, a colonial city in
northern Mexico that also sports Wal-Mart, Home Depot and many other
businesses familiar to Americans.
“We already have the pioneers here, but what we are seeing is that many
people will come — perhaps not because they want to, but out of
necessity,” he said. Many will find Mexico far more modern and far safer
than they had imagined, he added.
Alvarado said the drug cartel violence that gets so much U. S. media
coverage rarely touches civilians. Mexico “is as safe or safer than the
U. S.,” he said.
The U. S. Embassy warns Americans to be extra careful along the U.
S.-Mexico border, but otherwise considers attacks against the millions
of U. S. citizens who visit and live here to be isolated and rare.
Alvarado said his property is scheduled to be finished sometime next
year, with 180 spots for assisted living and 250 for independent.
La Moreleja will charge a onetime inscription of $9,000 and a monthly
rent of about $1,100 that includes a full range of services, including
meals.
One problem, developers said, is a lack of regulations. The private
assisted- living and nursing industry is so new in Mexico — there are
about a half-dozen facilities under construction — that laws need to be
written to cover its activities. The Mexican Association of Retirement
Communities is lobbying for legislation similar to U. S. regulations.
Marisol Ancona Velten, director of planning for Le Grand Senior Living,
an assisted-living development in Mexico City, warned against informal,
“clandestine” senior housing that caters to Americans and offers
substandard care in converted private homes. She also said many Mexican
resort cities, like San Miguel and Puerto Vallarta, do not have the
world-class hospitals found in the Mexican capital.
Mexico has a national health care system (which Americans can buy into
for $350 a year) along with many private hospitals and clinics with U.
S.-trained doctors. Average life expectancy for Mexicans is 75 years,
just three less than in the U. S., according to the retirement
organization AARP.
Since most Mexicans take care of their parents often until death, there
is not much of a nursing home industry at all, except for those run by
charities or the government.
Many Americans who retire in Mexico have often been adventurous types
willing to learn the language and traverse the obstacle course of
setting up a home, securing quality medical care and adapting to
cultural differences.
Jonathan Taylor, 78, came to San Miguel de Allende from Dalhart, Texas,
almost six years ago.
Taylor now spends his time running, playing tennis and socializing but
can imagine the day when he might need to move into a place like Cielito
Lindo, an assisted living development outside San Miguel de Allende that
opened in September.
“I hope I don’t have to consider it for a while, but if you get into
your 80s and need assisted living, what could be better than this?” said
Taylor. “The people are so friendly and the scenery is so beautiful.”
At another location favored by American retirees, on Lake Chapala near
Guadalajara, several small retirement homes have sprung up, often
operated by locals, to serve Americans as they get older and can no
longer take care of themselves.
What’s coming now, developers say, is completely different: brand-new,
turnkey developments, for sale or rent, that come with a buffet of
services (from a maid to full Alzheimer’s care) at about a third or less
the cost of that in the U. S.
A report last month by the Met-Life Mature Market Institute put the
average rate for an assisted-living facility in the U. S. at $3,031 a
month. Generally, that included room and board, at least two meals a
day, housekeeping and personal care assistance.
For problems or questions regarding this Web site contact
editor@jaltembasol.com
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As a child in Mexico City, Ruth was
always d
ressing
up dolls and planning outfits for them. By age 16, she was sewing
clothes for herself, designing original outfits for parties. “Both of
my grandmothers sew and taught me the basics at a young age,” said Ruth
in excellent English. “I’ve always loved working with my hands and
creating things with fabrics. Sewing was a relaxing hobby for me all of
my life. I am so thrilled that I finally have the opportunity to turn my
creative passion for sewing into a business!” Ruth’s pride and
enthusiasm for her work is evident in the top quality of the finished
products. Enhancing Ruth’s designs is her reputation for honest, fair
prices and on-time deliveries-crucial to the customer’s with
company coming!
Ruth relaxes, she enjoys the views
from her hillside home to paint or read. Spending time with her friends
is an important element in Ruth’s busy week. Her future goal is to
expand her textile business to market her original designs in larger
markets, such as Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara.
To
contact Tara:
tara.sprs@hotmail.com 
