Discover Lo de Marcos, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico (Promovision)

Amigos de Lo de Marcos is a registered Mexican non-profit association formed by concerned residents, local and foreign, to represent the needs of the community of Lo de Marcos.

Amigos exists to serve, advocate for, and be true "friends" to the people of Lo de Marcos.

We are a non-political association and do not participate in political campaigns, endorse candidates, promote legislation, nor advocate or endorse any political party.

Amigos is non-sectarian and does not endorse any particular religion.

Committees have been formed to initiate and maintain a number of community improvement projects including:

• Garbage and Recycle - David Graff - graffdavid@hotmail.com
• Community Outreach & Fundraising - Jacque Graff - jacque23graff@yahoo.com
• Animal Protection and Control - Marge Hummel - rhummel@shaw.ca
• Drainage Committee - Roy McLean
• Central Salud/Health Clinic - Neil Fatin
• Senior Center - Mitch Schilling - mitchschilling@yahoo.com
• Schools - Dave Martinez - dmartinez9990@yahoo.com
• Sports - Tyler Henshaw

Please join us! Meetings are the 2nd Tuesday each month.

Committee Members:
• Must be a Member of Amigos de Lo De Marcos
• Must be a resident of Lo de Marcos for 5 months or more for Permanent Committees
• May be resident of Lo de Marcos for less than 5 months for Temporary Committees
• Recommended that a Member be on only one committee, but no more than two
• 2- 3 Days per month per Committee
• Select Chairperson for Committee

Committee Chairperson:
• Organize Committee Meetings
• Run Committee Meetings
• Report Committee recommendations in General Meeting

Committee Standards:
• 2 -5 Members per Committee
• Meet at least once between General Meetings
• Produce Committee recommendations for General Meetings

General Meeting:
• 5 - 10 Minute report from each Committee
• OK to report "Nothing"
• Vote on any recommendations
• Officers to get approval from the Delegado and the President of the Citizen Action Committee on any actions to be taken by Amigos

To become a Member of Amigos de Lo de Marcos, send an email to membership@amigosdelodemarcos.org.

The benefits of becoming a member include voting on issues in the General Meetings, becoming a Committee Member and becoming an Officer of Amigos de Lo de Marcos.

If you would like to suggest a project, would like to add an item to the next agenda, or just want to say "Hello", we would like to hear from you! Send your email to info@amigosdelodemarcos.org.

Also, if you have any photos of events that we can share on the website or newsletter updates, please send them to us.

We need help with English to Spanish translations for the website. If you are fluent in both languages and have the time to help, please contact us.

Contributions of money, time, and/or caring graciously accepted.

In 1918 when Don Apolonio Palomera and his three sons, Liborio, Pedro and Ramon, arrived at the area that formed a small part of  the vast holdings of the Camarena family from Guadalajara, he could never have envisioned the changes that would occur over the next half-century.

The Camarena Hacienda, operated by Santiago Camarena, a nephew of its owner Dona Maria Camarena, brought in workers from the coast of Jalisco to harvest palm oil coconuts. In the 1920's, Lo de Marcos saw the establishment of the families Palomera, Cruz and Parra, who would become important to the future development of the town. The abundant fish, clams, oysters, shrimp and lobster in the sea and river near the settlement formed an important part of the inhabitants' diet and the hunting of aligators augmented the meager incomes earned from the Hacienda.

During the presidency of Lazaro Cárdenas (1934-40), major land reforms were enacted and many of the large hacienda holdings - that of the Camarena family included - were broken up and converted into ejidos, communal agricultural lands.  The ejido administered the land and only its members could live on, work or profit from this communally-owned land.

Lo de Marcos, as well as nearly all the coast of Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima, remained relatively unpopulated and unknown for the next 30 years: there were no or few roads, no electricity or public water supply.

But there was a major change in tourism in the entire zone, benchmarked by the 1964 movie "Night of the Iguana" (Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr).  Puerto Vallarta suddenly became the "in" place, attracting tourists from all over the world to Bahia de Banderas.

From the mid-60's on, a major economic shift occurred as residents began to rely less on agriculture and more on tourism.   Much of the property belonging to President Luis Echevarría (1970-76) and the ejidos was sold and developed; roads were built and small towns like Sayulita and Rincon de Guaybitos sprang up and grew quickly as both the national and international tourist industry boomed.

Lo de Marcos, which had a population of a few hundred people and only two streets, began to grow.

For many months in the early 1970's, a continuous stream of dump trucks, caterpillar tractors and earth movers could be seen in Lo de Marcos: the swamp was filled, electricity was made available and a public water tank built.  A few bungalows, trailer parks and restaurants began to appear; schools were built. By 1986, the population of Lo de Marcos stood at 1,238 inhabitants and 290 children were attending public schools.

In spite of growth (the population now approaches 3,000 and some 800 students study in its primary and secondary schools) and proximity to the tourist areas, Lo de Marcos has maintained much of the character in evidence three-quarters of a century ago. Palm oil coconuts are no longer harvested and the caimanes have disappeared from the environs, but the unspoiled natural beauty of its beaches and jungle remains unchanged.