Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - "If mermaids existed, I would have liked to have been one myself," confides Guadalajara sculptor Maritza Vazquez, whose life's passion is translating fascinating sea creatures into forms that bring joy on tierra firma, their flowing meditative quality inducing a sense that all is right with the world.

"What would our lives be without the fairy tales, the magic and the fantasy? To find true happiness in life one must maintain their curiosity, their ingenuity, and the capacity to be astonished like children."

"As a young girl, I swam in the open ocean near Tecoman (south of Vallarta) every chance I could. But learning to scuba dive at 17 was a giant revelation, to suddenly see and even be able to reach out and touch fantastical fish, sponges, corals ... things I had never even dreamed of! A kaleidoscope of colors and forms so diverse and abundant that one lifetime is not nearly enough to experience it all."

The ocean is this artist's medium. "When I am near it, I feel complete." And many of us are drawn to Puerto Vallarta for that very reason.

She always signs her marine-themed pieces Maritza Vazquez Blu - her reasoning delightfully whimsical. "When people talk to one another they go, 'blah, blah, blah.' Well, 'blu, blu, blu' is a conversation between fish, more or less the sound air bubbles make."

Born in 1963, Maritza began her life's vocation early on, using simple crayons, mud, and then plaster. Today, she works primarily in steel and bronze, giving them patinas unique to her.

Chosen by the renowned Sotheby's auction house to participate in a Latin American Art Collection last November, one of her corals fetched over $20,000 USD. She has exhibited at the prestigious Horno 3 Museum in Monterrey, and contributed monumental public art to Vallarta - her Sea Urchins installed in front of the ocean, across from Vitea Bistro on our popular Malecón.

This Friday, January 27, Galeria Contempo warmly invites you to meet Maritza at an opening cocktail reception of her most recent works to be held from 6 to 10 pm. Located on PV's fabulous South Side at Basilio Badillo #252, it should be no surprise to learn that the gallery is a mere two blocks up from the ocean Maritza Vazquez pays tribute to so beautifully.