…the who, why and what of it all!

If you did not attend the Red Carpet Event at Encantame Resorts this past January 31st, then you really missed out. It was a fun night full of fancy people dressed to the nines in beautiful gowns and elegant suits, and, of course, there was music, dancing, food, and drink – even cash prizes for the best dressed and a movie screening before the party.

I will probably get some grief, but it’s fine because I’m so tired of credit going where credit is not due, rude comments, and incorrect narratives…so let’s spill and send out some flowers.

Let’s start with the “why” and “how” of it all. The “WHY?”…quite obvious…Puerto Peñasco needs tourism and tourism comes when people know about – and visit our city. If you own property here or do business here, then you have a vested interest. We need tourism to keep businesses running, which keeps employees employed. We need tourism to keep property values from plummeting. And we need tourism to keep hotel rooms and rental properties full – just like any other tourist city anywhere in the world. I do realize that not everyone wants Peñasco to grow and change, but I’m afraid that ship has sailed.

The “HOW”…Mary Snyder, who has been a full-timer since 1994, started selling the Pinacate Condos way back then, was awarded Woman of the Year a couple years back, and has sold every Sonoran Resort except the Sun, and then went on to develop Puerta Privada and Encantame Towers (I left out a few things out)…That Mary finally decided to downsize last year and put her Puerta Privada Penthouse on the market. Bruce Regan, a local realtor and long-time friend of Mary’s knew this director/actor/writer/filmmaker, Phillip Penza of Little Books Little Films (www.lblf.net) who has shot movies here in Puerto Peñasco and has been coming down for 30+ years. Bruce introduces Mary to Phillip in the event Phillip might be interested in shooting some scenes in her penthouse for his next movie being filmed here. Great visibility, right? So, Mary and Phillip meet and they are two peas in a pod – lots of energy between those two (frankly, it’s frightening). The two peas yak for hours and hours (I’m assuming knowing Mary) and decide to meet up. Phillip comes down, they roll through town in his Rolls Royce, grab some grub at Mi Hacienda, tour the penthouse and then finish the day off at Garufa Steakhouse (their Lomo is the best!). Mary wants to put Peñasco on the map; Phillip wants to make movies. Mary has local connections; Phillip has celebrity connections. Mary gets on the horn (her superpower); Phillip gets on the horn. Schedules are arranged, plans are made…and tada…the Encantame Red Carpet Event is born.

Mary’s calls Miguel Guevara of MG Developments and developer of Encantame Resorts, Keith Allen, Director of Sales & Marketing at Encantame, Debbie Evans, owner of ReMax Legacy (recommended brokerage for resales at Puerta Privada), and Casago owner, Steve Schwab. Stevie had some questions so Mary FaceTimed Phillip Penza, who then FaceTimed Lorenzo Lamas and they all have a nice little FaceTime FaceTimey. All parties are now in! And by “in”, I mean IN with cash money. They all personally funded the event – top to bottom. Funds did not come from local or state tourism dollars. These people spent their own time, money and energy making this event happen. Peñasco has new eyes on it and is back on the map with great exposure and we all get to reap the rewards.

While Mary worked her end, Phillip worked his end and it turned out that everyone was available January 31st, which worked out great since it was also Encantame Towers 1st official HOA meeting. The Towers have been finished and are all turned over to the owners. And Mary said it was also her retirement day, but none of us believe her.

Keith and Phillip then post a video announcing the event and the attendees who were:

Actors Eric and Eliza Roberts who have acted in a combined 800 films. Eliza was in Animal House, which I must now rewatch! And Eric is also an author.

Actor Lorenzo Lamas who was in the TV series Renegade and Falcon Crest and is credited with 86 films. He was also in Grease – my fave of all time. He is also a producer and author.

Actor Timothy Goodwin is also a director and producer and has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows.

R&B Singer, Actor, Writer and Producer Terrell Matheny have also appeared in numerous films and television shows. His latest music is on Spotify and Apple Music.

Actor, Director, Producer and Writer Michael Ochotorena who has appeared in over 100 films.

Actor, Writer and Peñasco Native Jordan Mejia Lopez.

(Sorry if I forgot anyone or messed up your credits.)

On Friday, January 30th a VIP Meet and Greet was held in the Clubhouse at Puerta Privada, which is where all the celebs stayed. It was a wonderful gathering limited to Privada owners and invited guests (me lol). Julio, owner of Mare Blu provided a lovely spread of elegant snacks as well as alcohol – and John and Fabiola, owners of La Cava Wine Boutique provided the wine. Richard Scott played his sax on the patio and Phillip Penza gave away swag. Everyone took photos, got autographs and socialized. Some couples came decked out and in their best threads – and then there was me just doing my best to not wear sandals. After the event Julio invited the celebs out to Mare Blu for dinner on him. Of course, I tagged along and dinner was excellent!

The next day was the Movie Premiere and Red Carpet Gala at Encantame Resorts. I had two dates for the evening – lucky gal Jose Boo, owner of Boo Bar and Mario Zepeda, of the Rocky Point Times Newspaper 😊 and I, all dressed up in our monkey suits, complained about it for hours and then had a fantastic time! The premiere had a limited capacity so I gave away our movie tickets because I had already seen the movie Malcom – so Boo and Mario lost out. The 3 of us rolled up around 5pm and headed for the pool bar at Soleil where we were they were serving complimentary Palomas, beer and wine. The movie premiere ran late so we were first in the hors d’oeuvres line. Loved them! Lots of snacks including tiny tacos, sushi, sliders, shrimp – all delish – and some were served with these cool little eye-dropper thingies that contained the sauce. So clever! I forgot to pocket one but did take a few photos.

On the main level is where all the action was happening – music, dancing, a 360˚ photo booth, Casago’s open photo booth, Lorenzo dancing with Phillip’s mom, Doris, and the best-dressed winners receiving their cash prizes. Everyone looked great! A big thanks to Miguel Guevara (and his daughters) who personally funded the party for some 450+ people. (You have to go online and look at all the great videos and interviews because I didn’t do it justice.) Troy Hayden, news anchor with NBC affiliate KPNX-TV in Phoenix, covered the event and interviewed the celebs. His coverage ran on the news, and his video went viral and got a bazillion views. (He loved Peñasco and is coming back…sssh, this is tea.) After the event we all headed to Garufa Steakhouse for dinner.

INSERT MARY, ME, FAMILY, MARIO BOO

It was a fantastic weekend, and all the coverage put a lot of eyes on us and there are more big things to come, but I can’t spill that tea yet. I would personally like to thank everyone who put their time, energy and money into these events. Everyone deserves their flowers, but most of all Mary Snyder who is relentless in her fight to keep finding ways to promote Puerto Peñasco and get us to work together for the greater good.