Toasting Mazatlan
Most successful notions get their start because of an unmet need. This Mexican getaway got a boost with prohibition
By Bob Schulman, Travel Editor
No prohibition here -- Some of Mazatlan's old-time hotels are still open in the downtown Olas Altas area. Photos Courtesy of Mazatlan Hotel Association and Sinaloa State Secretary of Tourism.
There was a time when a trip to Mexico meant driving down to one of the country’s wide-open border towns – places like Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez or Matamoros. For a few days you’d yell “ole” at the bullfights, bargain for souvenirs in dusty shops and belt out choruses of Cielito Lindo in the cantinas -- all while keeping a nervous eye on your car out in the parking lot.
Golden oldie—Mazatlan helped write the book on Mexican vacations.Photo: Mazatlan/State of Sinaloa
Of course if you were a movie star or a Texas oil baron you could sail your yacht down to cozy hideaways along the golden beaches of Acapulco, Tampico or Mazatlan.
Coincidentally, or perhaps not so coincidentally, resort hotels began popping up at spots like these in the early 1920s -- just after alcohol prohibition was enacted in Los Estados Unidos de América. “There were speakeasies (illegal bars) all over America, but the law was a great excuse to come down here to get a drink,” reporters were told by Gilberto Limon, Mazatlan's legendary public relations man.
Prohibition was overturned in 1933, but even with the Great Depression raging up north, visitors kept boating down to Mexico and Mazatlan became, as it remains, one of the most popular draws south of the border. “Word had spread,” Limon explained, “that our waters are packed with big gamers like marlin, swordfish, tuna and sailfish, and they'll bite at just about anything with a hook on it.”
The old-time resort hotels were built along several blocks lining the waterfront of downtown Mazatlan's Olas Altas corridor, and several of the classics remain. One, the La Siesta, offers 58 small but pleasant rooms lining a colonial-style courtyard. The 76-year-old hotel also offers an unexpected treat: Its restaurant, El Shrimp Bucket, is the flagship of the wildly popular Carlos' n Charlie's chain.
Limon never missed an opportunity to tell the story of how a young Carlos Anderson and his pal Chuey Juarez came to La Siesta in 1962 to open their first restaurant. “I guess you could describe the place as something like the Rolling Stones meet Pancho Villa,” he said. “Guests sat at beat-up tables along walls decorated by photos from the Mexican revolution while rock music blared from tinny speakers. Sometimes the waiters sang along...it was fun for everyone.”
From El Shrimp Bucket came Senor Frog's, Carlos O'Brien's, El Squid Roe and others in a chain now topping more than 50 eateries in Mexico, South America, the Caribbean, Spain and the United States.
Also still standing (but a lot less preserved) is the nearby Belmar, opened in 1921. Its then-opulent guest rooms, lush gardens and elegant ballrooms were once filled with the likes of such Hollywood superstars as Tyrone Power, John Barrymore, Gregory Peck, Rock Hudson and John Wayne. Hotel staffers say Wayne’s favorite room at the Belmar was closed off after his death in 1979, never to be rented out again.
Still another popular place to stay, the Freeman, debuted in 1944 as the first high-rise hotel in town. It's now the Best Western Posada Freeman Express, having been totally renovated a few years ago. A tip to visitors: Don't miss this stunning view of Mazatlan from the 12-floor hotel's rooftop bar.
A local describes the Olas Altas area, which runs about four blocks from the La Siesta to the Best Western, as “a little seedy here and there, but safe.”
The scene is also safe -- but far from seedy -- a short walk inland that turns out to be a journey back to Mazatlan of the 19th century. Here, in the Historic Zone, visitors wander through block after block of restored buildings, many converted to boutique hotels, shops, museums, art galleries and even an opera house.
Dining out -- Al fresco restaurants line the Plaza Machado, the crown jewel of the Historic District. Photo by Bob Schulman.
Lined by trees and stone benches, and on three sides by al fresco restaurants, the block-long Plaza Machado takes center stage in the Historic Zone. At one restaurant, Pedro & Lola, diners look out at a building across the street now a dance studio, but once a grand hotel, where in 1883 Mexico's famous opera singer Angela Peralta stepped out on a balcony and wowed the crowds with her theme song, La Paloma. She'd come here to sing at the nearby Teatro Rubio opera house, but died before the performance of yellow fever, a scourge that took the lives of thousands of Mazatlecos. Sixty years later, the opera house was renamed the Teatro Angela Peralta in her honor, and it still stands in its restored glory, and offers opera and other entertainment as well.
On a recent night, diners around the Machado were entertained by a jazz band and later on by an Afro-Cuban group. The plaza, which in the old days was a gathering spot for classical music lovers, this night is jammed with hip-shaking salsa dancers.
Also part of the restoration project was the construction of a colorful, seven-mile-long tiled promenade edging the beaches between Olas Altas and the city's modern-day resort strip, the Zona Dorada (Golden Zone). According to Javier Paez, marketing and public relations manager for the Mazatlan Hotel Association, the historic attractions are “a huge draw to the downtown area” for guests staying in the 9,000 rooms of the tropical palaces in the resort zone.
Photo by Bob Schulman.
Details: Visit the Mazatlan Hotel Association’s website at www.gomazatlan.com or the Mexico Tourism Board at www.visitmexico.com.
I'm with it – If you want to show the local folks in Mazatlan how hip you are, use the right pronunciation for their city. It's Mah-zaht-lahn. For some reason, many Americans put the “t” before the “z,” so it comes out Mot-zit-lan – sort of like matzo bread. But don't worry if you get it wrong; most Mazatlecos are used to listening to our liguistic boo-boos.