Every school year, a group of M-A’s seniors travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for a spring break getaway. Amid heightened cartel violence in Mexico following the killing of El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, safety concerns are causing cancellations to the senior trip.
Students will arrive in Puerto Vallarta on April 5 and stay at the Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta until their departure on April 8. Currently, 49 seniors are planning to attend.
Though the trip is an annual tradition, it is not affiliated with M-A, so the school has no involvement in the logistics of the trip, and it is entirely parent-led.
“The group is just composed of families that have made their own personal decisions to go. So it’s on every family if they’re comfortable,” Jennifer Polly, a parent volunteer helping plan the trip, said. “I know the hotel has security, and I’ve talked to people who live in Puerto Vallarta who say that there is much more of a military and police presence right now. Just for extra safety.”
During the trip, students will not be permitted to leave the resort. However, this does not affect the trip activities, which are all located at the hotel.
“The trip is three nights, two full days, so I think those will be beach and pool days. And then, you know, it’s an all-inclusive resort, so kids and parents will get to go enjoy any of the restaurants and pools and different amenities within the resort,” Polly said. “We’re trying to get some beach games and things so that people, you know, have activities, but I think we’ll be outside within the resort.”
Senior Aarii Keswani opted out of the trip due to the gang violence, but now wishes she could rebook. “I have flight credit and the hotel was non-refundable, so it would kind of be a waste of money [to not go to Mexico], but I’m now in a position where I can’t do anything about it,” she said. “If I hadn’t booked [a different trip for over break], I’d probably rebook if my friends did, just because I think it’d be a fun experience. I mean, it’s like the senior trip that a lot of people look forward to throughout high school.”
Similarly, senior Zach Quintana opted out of the trip due to safety concerns. “My mom said there’s the cartels like shooting up the airport, and they were setting cars on fire, and the firefighters couldn’t go out and put the fires out because they’re going to get shot,” Quintana said. “It’s just this crazy, otherworldly violence that you never see around Menlo Park.”
Now that the violence has calmed down, Quintana hopes to rejoin the trip. “I don’t know if everyone’s going to rebook or not, but if they do, I would definitely just love to go,” he said. “I’ve hardly been out of the country ever. So I would just love to go and see a new place, and I heard the beach is really nice. It’ll be fun.”
As for senior Shayne Porter, the gang violence has not affected her decision to go to Mexico. “I feel like the fear around gang violence and stuff is not phasing me because I’ve always kind of known that there’s the cartel stuff going on in Mexico, and this is just another one of those situations,” she said.
Porter looks forward to bonding with her friends during the trip and experiencing Mexico with them. “I’m just excited to spend time with my friends and be in another country with people from school because I’ve never done that before. It’s just very exciting, and I love Mexico,” she said.
As the departure date approaches, seniors are split between excitement and concern as they plan for the long-awaited trip. While it’s a chance to make memories with friends, the decision to attend is ultimately up to each family.
