French Canadians Arrive in Acapulco

(Acapulco, AN 19 January) This year, as in many years before, retired “snow birds” from French Canada make their way to Acapulco, arriving on the several special charters that leave from Montreal. Yesterday, a special mass was said in their honor in Acapulco’s cathedral in the Zocalo, and the sermon was delivered in French. They were invited to return every Sunday during the winter. Many other Canadians of Italian descent also make annual visits to Acapulco during the winter months. In the Tropicano hotel in Costa Azul, the manager reported being filled with Canadians arriving for 2 week packages, or longer. The hotel threw a special “Mexican Night” party for them on Saturday, complete with Mariachis. Charter company Sun Wing plans weekly charters from Quebec and Ontario through March 25. Sergio Salmerón Manzanares, director of the Playa Suites, also said that his hotel was doing well in the “niche” of Canadian winter tourism. “The climate is favoring us with the Canadians this winter,” he said. Playa Suites is a traditional center of Italian-Canadian tourism.

Interviewed by reporters outside the cathedral, a number of Canadian tourists agreed that Acapulco has improved greatly over the last decade. They discounted reports of violence as a disincentive. One of them said, “That goes on all over. We can’t say that there’s no violence in Canada. Those things happen there, maybe not so often, but we know that nothing bad is likely to happen during our visit. And also, we are already old! Who’s going to bother us?”