Expat Living

Costalegre’s live music capital

When The TallBoys Band came to La Manzanilla last Sunday afternoon, I expected them to be good. With the previous night’s palapalooza performance of Scottie and Friends still ringing in my ears, though, I found it difficult to believe anyone could be appreciably better than that particular pick-up group of wandering minstrels. Scottie and each of his friends, after all, plays and sings and has a fan base on his respective home turf. Playing together, they kick ass. About three chords into The TallBoys’ opening song, however, it was obvious that they were about to kick some bigger, badder rock-and-roll butt than has been kicked here in recent memory. And that they did.

Anatomy of an event

Over 5,000 groups in 200 countries participated in the Valentine’s Day One Billion Rising movement to end violence against women. La Manzanilla was one of them. As near as I can tell, we were the only location along the Costalegre to host anything organized. Ours wasn’t quite the flash mob of other cities around the globe, but it was as close as La Manzanilla is likely to get. And it all coalesced within two weeks. Said co-organizer Stephanie Wunner, “This evening practically put itself together. All I did was hold on to the strings to keep them from getting tangled.”  

‘Dixie Swim Club’ a hit

Members of La Manzanilla’s Bare Bones minimalist readers’ theater troupe staged sold-out performances of “The Dixie Swim Club” on January 27 and 28 at Las Cabañas restaurant. The popular little-theater play, written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, spans three decades in the lives of five Southern college swim-team members who share one weekend every August in the same cottage on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Intermission

The curtain has closed on the first act of the living theater that is La Manzanilla in Season. The scene faded to black as the Thanksgiving-to-New Year’s whirlwind blew out in a blaze of beach bonfires, fireworks and unseasonable rain squalls. Now we’re taking a post-holiday breather, waiting for the lights to blink and the curtain to rise again. Meanwhile, the movers and groovers who make things happen are back stage busily preparing to roll out the big-gun events and fund raisers for Act Two.

Great to be here

I was having such a good time on December 21, I’m glad nothing apocalyptic happened. Dearest friends from Southern California, who’ve previously visited only in May when La Manzanilla could hardly be more dead or boring, finally came down for Christmas. There’s nothing like being with old friends to buff up the holiday glow of the most dedicated Bah Humbugger. They finally experienced La Manzanilla with people and traffic in the streets, restaurants and shops open, and life after dark.

The End of the World?

I’ve barely come to grips with the start of this year’s season, and organizers are already ramping up for La Manzanilla events and fund raisers happening next year. Granted, 2013 is less than a month away, but isn’t a majorly significant event supposed to happen between now and then?