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Pedro at a young age.
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Pedro Gonzalez Araiza remembers the days when he first arrived in the area now known as Boca de Tomatlan. When approached and asked about it, he was clearly caught off guard but soon after the sparkle shone in his eyes as the memories started flowing and he began reliving the different events and experiences in his lifetime here. He promises someday to write his memories and share them with us. In the meantime...
It is 1952, and he was 17 when newly arrived here from el Tuito, with his parents and many siblings. His family had been traveling the countryside looking for yet a better place to settle. They decided this would be it. They had been carrying all their belongings including dozens of pigs, which they kept loosing to mountain lions that roamed the area and would come down from the surrounding hills. Boca was undeveloped land, and previous settlers had decided to move away due to the lack of everything. Pedro recalls only 2 families left living in this area, when he arrived. Yet the land was rich and bountiful, had good soil with many fruit trees and much life in the waters.
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Life was simple, they would work all week making charcoal, collecting stocks of bananas and the oil from coconuts. They would pack their produce and head north towards the town of Vallarta, traveling aboard small, oared canoes that were equipped with a sail. A good windy day would make for a quick arrival, but if not, it would be a 3 to 4 hour row. Once there, they would sell their goods and stock up on supplies for the following week, and head back for the return home. Pedro’s wife, Maria Isabel, remembers many a time the men would arrive three days later, without supplies, with jolly smiles and recovering from there…till this days favorite sport…beer guzzling.
Soon enough the local economy began to flourish, attracting more and more settlers and bringing the original settlers back. More parcels of land were being farmed and produce was now abundant. There came the need for larger canoes for the trade voyages. The hillside trails towards Vallarta were traveled as well, yet this was less appealing since they were merely burro and goat trails.
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Maria Isabel, teenage town beauty. |
Horcones river, divides the land in two.
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Pedro talks about the beauty of the area back then. The lands rich soil full of life, with -mango, lime, guanabana, coconut, etc.- fruit trees all around. The abundant rains flowing from the mountains maintained the river water at high levels and these would merge with the ocean waters. The settlers established on the riverbed, could fish right off their back yards, catching plenty of mullets that teemed in the waters. It wasn't uncommon to find 2 1/2 ft. groupers stranded on shore. All kinds of aquatic life roamed nearby, even shark. It was a time of abundance.
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He remembers the arrival of the foreigners, who came exploring and buying archaeological pieces the local men would find while working the land. Yet soon enough, another type of scout would find this paradise, and this would lead to the beginning of a new destiny for the land. A film was to be made in nearby Mismaloya, and Pedro would be part of the buzz. Walkie-talkie in one hand and aboard his boat, he would make sure to keep anyone and any boat out of the bay waters, while John Huston, film director, went ahead and directed Richard Burton and others in the infamous movie the Night of the Iguana. He remembers afternoons drinking “raicilla” back at Huston’s place, Caletas, with the director and friends, while watching the takes from the days filming.
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It had finally happened...and there was no stopping this. Soon, Pedro would be assisting in the production of other films like Arnold Schwarzenneger’s Predator, by grouping locals for prospective parts as film extras. Opening scenes to this movie would be placed on Boca’s beach. Since then, the village has served as the set to many a movie.
Boca has grown and is a promising land. The life here remains fairly similar to days of the past, you will still encounter thatched roof homes, dirt roads and so much still to be done. Now, there are all level of schools for the local children, kindergarten to high school, many classes taught by teachers at the distance via satellite and the internet encroaching on the daily life. The livelihood is still from fishing, but more and more have found tourism as a way of life, with an organized boat cooperative and beach-palapa restaurants. The word of Boca de Tomatlan has been let out, with beautiful vacation homes and condos popping up all around.
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Pedro and his wife, always in the company of a good friend or two, now enjoy the days at their corner restaurant / souvenir stop, from where they watch the day long hustle-n-bustle of this funky and remote place. His hearty, good humored character keeps him in good stead as a well respected member of the community.
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