The Gay Divorcé Arrives & Sets Sights On Puerto Vallarta

This article is written by Spencer Nutting author of the soon to be released book Gay Divorce: Texas Style A tale of unrequited love involving Puerto Vallarta.

I first came to Puerto Vallarta some forty years ago winning a raffle for a 10 day stay in a 7 room condo. I invited my partner, now ex husband, two pairs of close friends, one of whom was a tech friend Marty, whom I had recently hired to set up a new Mac computer for my new graphic design firm.  I said the deal was “Pay your $100 round trip ticket and your food & drinks for free room & board for 10 days!”

Just before leaving on the trip, Marty came to work with tears in his eyes. “I just tested positive!” Those words were a death sentence in those days. I said, “Marty, forget that bullshit. We’re going to Puerto Vallarta!

Puerto Vallarta back then was a sleepy little beach resort town. We did not see any gay bars at the time because we so enjoyed the company of each other. “We were our own gay bar!” There was one particular hangout that did standout. I couldn’t remember the name of one festive bar and restaurant that quickly became our  hangout and the condo up the hill overlooking the ocean.

One particularly poignant evening, after too many margaritas and tequila shots, I found Marty on the floor in the bathroom stall of our favorite bar/restaurant crying his eyes out. “I’m gonna die! I’m gonna Die! I’M GONNA DIE!!!” He was a literal biohazard. I offered, with all the gumption I could muster, “Marty, no matter what, you will always be alive in Puerto Vallarta.”  Sadly, within a year, both Marty and his lover, Al Crook, were gone.

 

Al (left) and Marty

 

Al Crook’s funeral  program

Flash forward to September 2022: After four years in Vancouver, 20 too many years in Austin Texas and my gay divorce, I was ready for a new chapter: Puerto Vallarta! I booked a flight for a two week trip to find a place to return to for December and one day prior to departure, I finally located my future abode.

Left to Right Marty, Spencer, Ken, Stephen (Spencer’s Ex) and Craig (Ken’s husband) taken at Andales 1987 by Al Crook
The wedding

Arriving to Vallarta, the cab took me to my Airbnb located above Andale’s Restaurant on Olas Altas. I sat on the first floor at Andale’s waiting for the manager to bring the keys and check me in. I drank my first Corona since last visiting 40 years ago and looked around and really began to survey my surroundings. I was thunderstruck with deja vu! I suddenly realized this was the same place where I hung out each night with my amigos 40 years ago. I remembered I had an 8×10 black and white photo of the group, taken by a staff photographer, hanging in my walk-in closet, of our group sitting on the sweeping staircase. The setting was as memorable as the stage of a great play I could never forget. Even after all this time had passed, I could still feel Marty and Al’s presence. I had arrived!

 

 

The divorce

 

So here I am, finishing my biography Gay Divorce: Texas Style  set for a summer 2023 release. I also want to complete the other things I wanted to do: Launch the franchising of my Queerassic World merchandise line and “Let ‘Em Eat Cake, a gay rainbow wedding cake business featuring the talents of my pastry chef amigo, Roy Arcigna. Watch for us at our booth at the gay pride festival in May. Stay tuned of the book release and more surprises at http://www.gay-divorce-texas-style.com/

 

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