History

Zihuatanejo, captured in print
By Nancy Seeley

The Shawshank Redemption (Bfi Modern Classics) by: Mark Kermode 2003-09

1994 was a banner year of sorts for Zihua. Millions of moviegoers worldwide heard the name Zihuatanejo for the first time after both "The Shawshank Redemption" and "When A Man Loves a Woman" were released. Many even learned how to pronounce all of its five syllables!

Both before and since, Zihua has figured in a variety of books, legends and myths. Early written references stem from accounts of Zihua being the favorite haunt of Tarascan kings back in the 16th century when Sir Francis Drake was sailing the high seas. Ask some of the locals and they'll tell you that Amazon women featured in famous tales of yore were modeled after Zihua matriarchs from bygone days. And why not, since the name of our town comes from a Nahuatl word meaning "place of women"?

Tales of Fishing Virgin Seas by: Zane Grey 2000-04

Fast forward to the early 20th century, and we learn that Zihua inspired Zane Grey when he wrote his 1925 book, "Tales of Fishing Virgin Seas," still available from amazon.com in paperback. Although best known for his unforgettable Westerns, fishing was Grey's first love. He often spent up to 300 days a year chasing swordfish, tuna, Pacific dolphins, marlin, tiger sharks and more. (In 1924, the 135-lb. sailfish he landed in Zihua Bay was a world record catch, one of many in Grey's angling career.)

Grover "Ted" Tate's pioneering 1983 Zihua guidebook (more on him later) features this Zane Grey quote on its back cover: "Zihuatanejo has more authentic South Seas atmosphere than the South Sea islands themselves."

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out by: Timothy Leary 1999-04

Around 1963, Timothy Leary and some of his cronies arrived at the Sotavento Hotel on La Ropa Beach and established the "Mexican Freedom Center." They had been dismissed from Harvard for experimenting with drugs, retaliated by creating the "International Federation for Internal Freedom," and headed south of the border to give their psychedelic version of life another try. The "Zihuatanejo Project" was on a high for awhile, but it wasn't too long before Leary and company were asked to leave and experiment in another country.

In 1964, Lorene Wingard wrote "After the Children Have Gone," a personal narrative detailing the adventures of an Arkansas couple who drive all the way to Panama, spending some time in Zihuatanejo en route. Back then, it took nearly 24 hours to reach Zihua by car from Mexico City! Interestingly, perusing Zihua's online message boards today still nets the occasional mention of Wingard's book by travelers using it as a reference source four decades later.

Mexico's tourism agency, Fonatur, began developing a lush coconut plantation into what is now Ixtapa in the 1970s, and nearby Zihuatanejo got a higher profile as a result. Guidebooks to the area started appearing a decade later, with Linda Fox's "Guide to Casas, Camas, Comidas y Cosas" following Tate's offering in 1989.

Fox, a feisty female who has lived here off and on for about 20 years, just published the 5th edition of her anecdote-laden book in November, 2005. If there's a phone number, a restaurant, or a bit of local lore you can't find within its pages, track Linda down before eight a.m. walking cocker spaniel pooch Chuleta along the Paseo del Pescador to get the lowdown. (I did when I was stumped on a couple of things researching this article.)

Fox owns one of few remaining local copies of Ted Tate's 1983 guidebook, "Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa." Like my own copy, her other four were lent out and never returned - easy to understand, because they're so much fun to read. Amazon.com has this one for sale, too, but the $74.99 price tag is rather daunting.

Retired from the military, Texan Tate came down here to write in the early '70’s and for 20 years did a weekly column for the now-defunct Mexico City News. I met him in 1994 while planning to relocate from Wisconsin and was saddened to learn that ill health soon forced him back to Texas, where he died in 1996. He wrote many books, including the charming "Wash Gently, Dry Slowly," published in 1990. Now out of print, it's chock full of interesting tidbits about his experiences in Mexico and life in Zihua.

Then there's Owen Lee, well-known owner of the Las Gatas Beach Club and former member of Capt. Jacques Cousteau's diving staff. "In 1968, he sailed into Zihuatanejo Bay aboard an old wooden sailboat. He has lived here and loved it ever since," according to the blurb on the back cover of his 1996 guidebook. Called "Owen's English Language Guide," one of my favorite chapters is titled "The Bridge That Never Was." It recounts the endless bickering over the rickety structure that was once the only way over the water to the Almacen area of Zihua from behind the Naval barracks near the fishing pier.

Let's Get Moving by: Xaviera Hollander, John Drummond 1995

In a different vein entirely, Xaviera Hollander -- still remembered as the Happy Hooker of the '70’s -- published "Let's Get Moving" with John Drummond in 1988. This book chronicles the pair's love affair in Mexico, with the author's beloved La Ropa Beach vacation spot playing a starring role.

Five years later, New York Times best-selling author William Caunitz, also a frequent visitor here before his untimely demise in 1996, published "Cleopatra Gold," a novel partially set in our tropical paradise. Caunitz's good buddies Tania Scales (owner of Galeria Maya) and Bill Fisch (the "mayor" of La Ropa Beach) appear as characters in the book under other names. Hmmm, hard to figure out that Bill Trout is really Bill Fisch!

Ana della Marina Rego, who has long been spending winters in Zihua rather than cold and snowy New York City, is skipping her annual sojourn this year to finish writing a book she's tentatively titled "Blood Moon," influenced by decades of soaking up the local ambiance. One of her stage plays, "Failure to Fly," suffered a similar fate when a scheduled off-Broadway opening was cancelled by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. (The play is based on a true story related to her in Coconuts by a tourist who found himself -- time and again -- unable to tear himself away from Zihua once he got here.)

The Cooking School at Z by: Daniel Kennedy 2005-05

Early in 2005, Daniel Kennedy released "The Cooking School at Z," subtitled "a novel of romance and food in Mexico." He told me the plot idea struck him on a terrace in Zihua one February afternoon. Reviewing the book last season in this magazine, editor Catherine Krantz said it "reminds us why we love Zihuatanejo, the beauty of the place and the people here." Kennedy says his best-selling bookstore is the international airport in Sacramento, "where people want a novel for a long plane ride to shift them into a vacation frame of mind."

The Obsidian Stone by: Elisabeth Ashe August 29, 2005

Canadian snowbird Elizabeth Ashe put Internet publishing to work when she released "The Jade Pendant," totally set in Zihua, about a year ago. It, too, is a novel with some recognizable characters, despite Ashe assuring me in a recent e-mail that "for the record, it is 100 percent fiction hehehehe." The book's sequel, "The Obsidian Stone," came out a few months ago.

Ashe says she feels "Zihuatanejo is the most romantic and inspiring place on earth, particularly for women, and it will always hold a special place in my heart no matter where my future takes me." Touché

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