By Manzanillo Sun Writer from the June 2014 Edition
It was not more than just a few years ago that any information in Manzanillo was difficult to come by. What was happening was never known until after it had happened much to many people’s chagrin. Manzamigos A.C. worked hard to set the “information machine” into motion with their monthly newsletter and bi- weekly mini -newsletter during the season, but it still left a huge void to be filled.
Where does one go to get information as to where to find a lawyer or a shoemaker or even a handy- man? Where could we go to get our hair done or buy a piñata? Word of mouth worked extremely well in many instances but what if you were new to town and had a very pressing need to find a notary public? Where could this information be found? Susan Dearing’s “Guide to Manzanillo” helped tremendously but still did not meet all requirements.
The need to fill this huge void was recognized by many and several good hearted and willing ladies formed a group to handle all of the potential problems that people might encounter. A medical list was formed by former professional medical people. Elaine Parker started to write the “Mujeres Amigas” newsletter and Glenna Palidwor organised a “Calendar of Events, Manzanillo.” Darcy Reid set to and purloined every possible email of visitors for long and short term stays, then graciously allowed that list to be used by one or two trusted friends to “pass on the word” pertaining to music, special events, dining out etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. She also later prepared and sent out a “Referral list” of all trades and professional people that made sure that those needing help could find recommended assistance.
Good though this was, still it wasn’t quite good enough as it left a void in the business aspect of the city. Mexican people generally do not advertise their goods or services and saw no need to change this practice. Ian Rumford, masterminded and spent very many hours forming a web site called “Manzanillo Sun” that advertised businesses both large and small for a very reasonable fee. If persons did not have an advertisement prepared, he would then design one for them that would fit the bill.
Whilst this met with resounding success, he felt that something was still missing. The descriptions on the web site of various places surrounding the town were good but just didn’t portray the warmth and character of Manzanillo that he felt was required by the thousands of people accessing the website almost immediately.
Thus was born the idea of the “Manzanillo Sun E-
Magazine.” Speaking to Freda Rumford, who had previously written for “The Guadalajara Reporter” (an English speaking newspaper) a few years before, he suggested that she spearhead a magazine with writers of all kinds telling of the glory of living in the Mexican Pacific town of Manzanillo and its surroundings.
To their astonishment, several good writers expressed a willingness to do this and tell of their initial impressions and eventual happiness in living on the “Costa Alegre”
(the happy coast) of Mexico. The initial magazine burst onto the website and the large list of people on Darcy’s super list were mainly delighted to receive the notification that this magazine was now available. The writers who helped so magnificently found an outlet to tell of their hobbies and the pleasures that they were pursuing in this seaside town. Tommy Clarkson, Jim Evans, Mariana Llamas Cendon, Howard Platt, Freda Rumford, Terry Sovil and Diana Stevens all wrote of the likes, delights, fantasies, the history, the people, the plants, the birds and nature of the district as well as gave information on many of the rules, regulations and changing faces of the city. This they did as an original writers group for many issues and then gradually the group began to change as people passed away or moved on to other interests or other towns. We were however graced periodically with both new writers and an occasional guest writer.
Now in its fifth year of publication, the core group continues to turn out amazing information about, and interesting stories of, Mexico. With the addition of some business professionals, Yann Kostic, Suzanne Marshal, Señior Tech, Mark Wright and Kirby Vickery, the magazine continues to please our readers. Over the years there have been well over six million hits on the site, giving the advertiser’s within our pages excellent returns for their investment.
The magazine has had many readers complement its content of writing and photographs, with very few brick bats along the way. Whilst we appreciate all of the congratulatory comments, the need for new and exciting writers for the magazine is a constant need, so that our mainstay does not get over worked or burnt out. You do not have to commit to a lifetime, nor so many articles or series of articles as we appreciate occasional pieces to give our magazine, of which we are justly proud, a breath of fresh air.
So don’t be shy, if you have an idea of a theme or a story, please let us know. We will be most pleased to hear from you.
If you wish to advertise within our pages or on the website, please
contact: Ian@manzanillosun.com or Jaime@manzanillosun.com
To write for us contact the editor: freda@manzanillosun.com or info@manzanillosun.com
Freda Vickery, Editor/Writer, Manzanillo Sun
Shopping List Manzanillo
Our first updated list appeared in last month’s issue of the Sun. It was for Herbs and Spices. The second one follows this month and is on Baking Products. May we suggest that you select and copy each of these pages to make your own dictionary for shopping.
It is intended to eventually have all of the pages together in a single volume for you to have all in one place but what do you do in the meantime? These two lists were chosen to be first due to their complexity. Please let us know if you find it helpful or if we have missed anything.
So far we have received some favorable comments, yours is most welcome.
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Manzanillo Sun’s eMagazine written by local authors about living in Manzanillo and Mexico, since 2009
