A Tribute to Gerald
By Ken Morrison AKA Barbie O. - Feb. 1st, 2023
Gay Guide Vallarta's Spring Edition 2023 ggv 23.1.
1989. Life in Vallarta was easy. Laid back beach town where every road led to a party. Puerto Vallarta was already the party beach for western Mexico. Folks from Guadalajara would ride down through the Valley of Tequila, fill their wagon with blue agave liquor, and come camp on the beach to party for a week- or two.
Tourist town, it was used to strangers and otherwise-objectionable behaviour. A little oasis where difference was not only accepted but celebrated. And the pay cheque was intricately linked to that celebration. Night of the Iguana, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and John Huston had brought a bit of Hollywood glamour and gayness. Still, in the subcurrent of hidden hedonism, Gerald Walsh’s Gay Beach Cruise was the first openly gay-run business: Booze Cruise - party across the bay. Always a good time: a tad of craziness with a pinch of sensual provocation - even for the accepting wing of Catholic-conservative Jalisco. I remember how we would swim or ponga to shore – always a new beach to discover – and buy old plastic coke bottles from a beach vender – Raicia - the moonshine of the mountains above us – a hillside cousin of Tequila - with a kick. A shot on the beach was followed by swipe of the tongue over the lime and salt you had sprinkled on the thigh or abdomen of the cutest guy there – often Gerald´s current date. Disarmingly charming, Gerald’s top lip would curl up when he smiled. His party boat, like his life and like his infamous pasta salad, was an undying adventure. Tall and lanky, he oozed Irish charisma. He lived the perpetual rhythm of summer: spring to fall in west-end Vancouver and winter in Puerto Vallarta. Gone too soon in 1995. A lovely, loving being. And early pioneer and trail blazer of gay Vallarta.
No photos are available.