CHISMES....RUMORS & GOSSIP

What does he know and where did he hear it?

Las Palabras:  Chismes - rumors; Verano - summer; Compadres - friends, pals; Reunion - assembly; La Gente Dice - the people say; Hasta Hay Noticias - until there is news

Since verano seems to have arrived whether we are ready or not and so many pals have made their way north, those of us remaining rely on each other for Yelapa gossip and news.  When everyone is here, including all the vacation visitors, word travels quickly via the jungle grapevine.  Everyone wants to be the first to tell the news - did you hear?  Do you know?  Many a visit gets spent trying to track down the origin of a rumor in order to decide if the news is truth, partial truth, someone's imagination or someone just not hearing the story clearly.

Left to our own devices during the summer months, we use the phone more to try to find out just what is going on around here.  It's too hot to go out to gather the news so I rely heavily on my compadres here, both Mexican and international, to let me know what is the what in Yelapa.  Although we do pass along reunion announcements or upcoming fiestas we really want to know who of us is doing anything even remotely exciting.  As far as I can tell there is nothing to report.  We are all waiting for rain, sunning and swimming and logging a lot of hammock time. 

At a recent water meeting (no, we don't have any) I asked a pal if there was any truth to the rumor that she & her husband were planning a takeover of the playita....really, all I heard was a possibility they might rent the rest of the house they live in.  But how dull would that news be?  I did tell her I couldn't remember where I heard the rumor - maybe it came from me.  Fortunately she did not think that would make the rumor any truer.  If someone would have been eavesdropping I can assure you by day's end the story would be that a foreign investor was building a Club Med on the playita.

Speculation on what Yelapa's future may hold has always spurred the most frightening rumors.  When I first arrived and right up through today there was/is the rumor that a BIG hotel will be built on the playa - I wonder where they will get their water....The other rumor that sends chills through our easy going bones is the onset of the "coastal road" which will end somewhere near Peppermint Patty's house.  That one doesn't get me going much since I think if they started tomorrow at Boca de Tomatlan and there were no delays, no changes of government, no problemitas of any kind, the road would still not be completed for about 10 years....entonces, no coastal road is about to appear...probably not at all in my lifetime.

I even get rumors via email, mostly questions about the weather conditions or inquiries about if someone's house is still standing after a severe storm.  Since we have yet to have any real storms there is nothing to any of those rumors either but the weather is still the best summer topic for the rumor mill.  Some years ago, when Yelapa went through Huricana Rosa no one seemed to know about it until after the fact - maybe no one believed it.  I felt that ignorance was bliss and if I had known I was in a hurricane while staying in a grass hut I would probably have been hysterical rather than merely terrified. Right before Huricana Kenya hit us I was at Byron's watching the news on his TV.  I told him he should come look as the announcer was speaking so quickly I couldn't keep up but I did understand the big red arrow pointing to Puerto Vallarta which was covered by a huge red ball.  I barely got home when it hit Yelapa.  So much for staying on top of the weather.  These days we have Cheryl Harleston's satellite map and storm information at www.elexion.com/local/ , internet access to the weather stations and yet we still cannot say with any surety whether it will rain tonight.  As for the temperatures - hot is hot, humid is humid and that's all I need to know about that subject.

A lot of rumors and gossip carry more weight whenever someone starts by saying "The gente dice.."  That means everyone is saying it is so and therefore it must be true - indeed it is true!  Usually this statement is a good way to determine what the pueblo is thinking about a subject, i.e. the water is coming, the water is not coming, the sky is falling, the sky is not falling.  If there is a majority consensus we can sometimes believe the water is coming because everyone wants it.

So if we are all home surrounded by our summer toys - crosswords, jigsaws, hammock, books, movies - is anything happening here?  I think not, or surely I would have heard some version by now. I do know I am happy to see almost anyone who has ventured out and wants to chat me up, the only disappointing telephone call is from Telmex telemarketing and I am so glad I go swim most days where I encounter mostly summer visitors who don't know the gossip but are bubbling over with enthusiasm for Yelapa.  Since this is the most tranquil time of the year in Yelapa I can easily sing that song with them.

Hasta Hay Noticias! 

Maria

Comments

[1st Mate]

Hola, Maria
We finally got rain, three good storms, this week and of course I was in Arizona and didn't see it. But I hope you get some good rain very soon.