BY SANDRA BERRY
Fifty members of the social and networking organization, Los Cabos Tomatoes, celebrated Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, with a luncheon at Panazia Cocina Mexiatica. The Asian Mexican fusion restaurant offers a daily luncheon of a variety of “all you can eat” tasting dishes from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for only 300 pesos. Some favorites are crab wontons, barbeque ribs, Pad Thai and Mongolian beef. The restaurant is located on Paseo de la Gaviota in Cabo San Lucas and is part of the group of restaurants with Mi Casa and Il Forno.
Julie Anderson, Director of Venues, moderated the brief meeting, introducing several first-time guests, several of whom had read the article in the Gringo Gazette about the group’s 30th anniversary and inquired about membership. They were Claire Campanaro from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area of Texas, Julie Bodillo, who is building a home in the Pedregal, Paty Witt from Washington state now living in La Paz, Maria Medina, Iryna Glushchenko from Ukraine, and Yadira Lisbel Morales, a funeral counselor with Rivera Funerals (624-105-1333). The funeral home has been offering funeral services in Baja California for nearly twenty years. It is located on Morelos and Reforma in Cabo San Lucas and in San Jose del Cabo at Santos Degollado and Zaragoza. “The death of a loved one is an overwhelming emotional and psychological experience,” she said, “making decisions during this stressful period very difficult.”
The company, a member of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), offers immediate assistance 24/7, contact with the corresponding consulate, legal paperwork, transportation, and cremation.
In celebration of Earth Day, Julie explained what Earth Day means.
“It’s more than clean air, clean water and scenic beauty. It presents the question of how to maintain the quality of life for mankind. The goal of every living being right now is mutual respect for all human beings and all living creatures to live in a world without air pollution, visual pollution, breathe clean air, and view the beauty of the earth. We are living in a critical moment in history where we still have a chance to protect our environment, to clean up our act, even in some small way. Recycling is one way that we can all contribute to the quality of on-going life so that our children and children’s children will be able to enjoy the beauty of our land, oceans, lakes, streams, nature, public parks, and forests by not filling up landfills with plastics.”
She then introduced Marilyn Plank, affectionately known in her neighborhood as the Trash Lady as a result of her gathering together recyclables from her neighbors and taking them to the “Yo Reciclo” (I Recycle) drop-offs. In Cabo San Lucas, on the second Thursday of every month from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the drop-off is the empty lot at the corner of Morelos and Camino al Faro, where there is usually a carnival with lots of mechanical rides. There is also a collection on the first and third Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. called Explora near the Tezal Farmer’s Market. The drop-off in San Jose del Cabo is on the first Thursday of every month, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Copa Mexico 70 Street. She emphasized that items should be clean, dry, and separated.
Los Cabos Tomatoes was formed in 1991 and currently has 600 on its membership roster. During the pandemic, the group has been meeting monthly for Dutch lunches at various restaurants. For information, contact loscabostomatoes@gmail.com.
