Memories of the tragedy
A year ago, a group of journalists came to cover the Mining Convention. Yes, we literally had to be in the eye of the hurricane and the place that sheltered us was the Pierre Mundo Imperial which is in Costera de las Palmas. It was destroyed, with mattresses and televisions outside the rooms, all the windows and doors broken, countless damages, and we left it at that.
A year later, I’m back at the Pierre, I find it closed, but clearly repaired, even with a different color. I know it was half-functioning after Otis, and John made it stop again.
The guard at the booth gives good news: “We are open from Monday (October 21).”
Its neighbor, the Princess, where I was able to communicate with my loved ones, thanks to the fact that they had a satellite dish, will unfortunately keep its doors closed for another half year. No wonder, Otis’ damage was greater there.
Who doesn’t remember the horrendous image of the car left in the middle of the Princess lobby among a sea of debris that circulated after Otis?
There are hotels that didn’t have such a bad time, neither with Otis nor with John. The One hotel, which is near the Imperial World Palace, is almost at capacity. One of the receptionists talks about how things have gone very well for them, “right now there are only four rooms available.”
The Secretary of Tourism of Guerrero, Simón Quiñones, says that the port of Acapulco already has 11,500 rooms available and by December there will be 15,000. More than 120 million pesos have been invested in the reactivation of three hotels alone.
no one was saved
While Otis destroyed everything in his path, John submerged him; Neither the popular neighborhoods nor the most exclusive area of Acapulco were spared.
In the Luis Donaldo Colosio neighborhood, people continue with their normal lives. A few weeks after John, only a few puddles remain; In the surrounding area you can also see repair work, a large drainage pipe occupies a large part of the landscape.
The curious thing is that, unlike this low-income neighborhood, the most luxurious condominium area of Punta Diamante in Puerto Marqués Bay suffered the most from John’s floods. Along the road that leads to the most opulent condominiums like the Real Diamante, there are rock slides, which in many sections complicate the passage, and if that is not what makes it difficult, it is the dozens of boxes of stones for covering that they are using. to fix the damage.
A worker in the area says that they were just finishing cleaning Otisc’s when John did his thing. “We are cleaning everything by hand,” this is because the machinery is difficult to get through the narrow path, but they will have to do it somehow, because there are stones that can only be removed that way.
With the destruction, several owners are looking to get rid of their properties. Signs for sale or rent of houses, apartments and lots abound. Even though the offers are attractive, authorities and experts ask to be cautious, because the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) Acapulco section has already warned that 90% of auction announcements are fraud.
“You will find a lot for sale and at a good price, but destroyed,” says another worker, who points out the case of the Marena apartments, in the Playa Diamante subdivision.
Marena, an apartment tower that stands out among the others for its peculiar curved shape and because Otis left it in ruins, has an uncertain future; its reconstruction may take two years, according to the workers who are on site.
The value of each apartment is 40 million pesos and can accommodate up to 20 people; If the owners decide to no longer invest in repairing them, they will most likely be auctioned off.
Nostalgia and strokes of luck
Ana, a visitor from the State of Mexico, knows that only by consuming will the economy rise again. This time they bring her some tests for her cousin’s wedding. However, it is not the only thing, there is a nostalgia, “who didn’t start the party and end it in Acapulco?”, he asks the question with joy.
It’s Saturday, it’s 1 in the afternoon, the coastal beach looks calmer than on Friday. In addition to Ana, 37 years old, and her family, a truck with tourists is arriving, coincidentally also from the State of Mexico; Yes, a stroke of luck, because their destination was the beaches of Veracruz. Locals pray for more lucky breaks for Acapulco.
The deepest desire of the port’s inhabitants is for more tourists to arrive during the December days. The always saving time of miracles, of Christmas and New Year, that for that day, surely more than one inhabitant will ask among their resolutions for the return of Acapulco of its light, its aroma, its brightness, its sun and its tourists, and with it the revival of its economy.
Meanwhile, the “men at work” signs will continue to be present, the Army trucks to move the debris and machinery… and that strange appearance that still dusts the endearing Acapulco.
