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Amigos de Magisterio 2011
Most tourists have never visited
the Magisterio slum community of
Puerto Vallarta. It is situated in the
northeastern area of the city, next to
the garbage dump. The real-estate
would be the cheapest, most streets
are unpaved, the dust, decay and
chemical stench of the dump are the
norm. Many of the residents make
their living sorting our garbage in
order to find recyclable articles, to use
or to sell. Their shacks are fabricated
with cardboard, scrap metal or pieces
of plastic. We have never visited
during a rain, surely it is not pretty.
Puerto Vallarta is continually making
efforts to improve and beautify the
city; in Magisterio, progress is very
By Lyse Rioux
10 www. .com March 12 to 18, 2011
slow. A few streets have been paved
only in recent years, the pavement
ends at the school, 3 blocks away from
the dump and many homes.
Again some concerned tourists have
cared enough to raise funds to bring
good wholesome food to the people
of Magisterio. This year over 91,000
pesos was raised from residents
of the two trailer parks in Puerto
Vallarta, Tacho’s and El Pescador,
Condos la Marina, Las Moras, Condos
Cocorit, Club Richelieu Vanier-
Laurier Ottawa, Canada, École St.
Antoine, St. Gédeon Quebec, Canada,
the Bayview Grand, families and
friends of the organisers and a special
collection Feb 12 and 13 at the two
tourist Masses at Nuestra Senora de
la Guadalupe Church in the Centro
of Puerto Vallarta.
With these funds 1200 kg of rice
were purchased, 1200 kg sugar, 1200
bottles of cooking oil and 4620 kg
of beans. So 1200 bags were put
together containing each 1 bag of
rice and sugar, 1 bottle oil and 3 bags
of beans. The remaining beans were
distributed among the poorest homes.
Beans have become an expensive
item, a Mexican staple consumed at
nearly every meal, the only consistent
source of protein for the poor. This
has been the focus of our project.
The Magisterio residents buy at the
same prices as tourists or even higher.
Because of their distance to the larger
retailers, they are obliged to purchase
from corner stores at much higher
prices. One year their half liter oil
cost the same as our 1 liter in a bulk
purchase. Since the world recession,
tourism has been affected here, there
is less income arriving into Puerto
Vallarta, fewer jobs, and consequently
more pressure on food banks.
The organisers were again very
happy to welcome our Mexican
sponsor, Frigorizados La Huerta, who
donated 1200 bags each containing 2
personal pizzas, 1 cheese bun, 2 frozen
desserts, one kilogram of frozen
vegetables, 1 bag of candy, 1 bag of
peanuts and a box of popsicles from
Chiquitina. They also donated 300
balls. The schools were approached to
make pinatas in their art workshops.
The Mexican sponsors then supplied
the materials (oranges, mandarins,
candy and peanuts) required to stuff
the pinatas so the children could enjoy
a real fiesta.
We had identified 1096 children
in 5 schools to receive our donation.
The children appear fairly well
and energetic. You have to look
beyond the worn and stained handed
down school uniforms. Many are
unbathed... Years ago the organisers
decided to donate through the schools
to encourage school attendance and
this way break the cycle of poverty.
The 2 shifts of Kinder at Gabriel
Mistral, Juan de la Barrera, Ignacio
Altamirano a stone’s throw from
the garbage dump a large school of
over 300 students, each, morning
and afternoon, but with a very small
inner courtyard to play in. And Los
Volcanes further up near the mountain
jungle with the view of the city, the
ocean and where there is also abject
poverty. This school is nice by area
standards, fairly new although water
and washrooms were only installed
last year; a cement trough was built
along the school to drain rain water
from the adjacent hill; we were asked
as a volunteer group, to add a grate
on this trough because the children
stumble into it and get hurt. That was
last year. Still no grate...
The remainder of our bags was
distributed among the poorest homes.
We will agree that our vacations
in beautiful Puerto Vallarta are most
enjoyable. Tourists come here with
an extensive budget for personal
enjoyment. It is all well and good to
cater to our whims and fancies and
oil the Mexican economy. But let us
not forget the poor who try to make a
living here in a higher cost of living
area because of tourism, and let us
send them more than our garbage. Let
us make a significant contribution to
a whole society that welcomes us so
graciously.
With this in mind, the balance
of our funds are being donated to
Caritas, the ongoing food bank based
at Nuestra Senora de la Guadalupe
Church. You are welcome to “pay”
them a visit.
In closing, the organisers would
like to thank Frigorizados La Huerta,
Club Richelieu from Ottawa, Canada,
Ecole St. Antoine from St. Gedeon
Quebec Canada, the school directors,
the staff at Walmart, especially
Ricardo, Sam’s Club, all the donors
and the workers, Tacho’s trailer park
for the use of their premises for
meetings and packaging, and also a
special thank you to Father Estaban
Salazar, pastor of Nuestra Senora
de la Guadalupe Church, who is a
constant source of encouragement
and help.
Lyse Rioux from Manitoba,
Canada, is presently wintering
at Las Moras, Puerto Vallarta