The little country beach town of Barra de Navidad, Jalisco (pop. 5,000) whose name literally means "Bar of Christmas," has unexpectedly few saloons. In this case, "Bar" has nothing to do with alcohol; it refers to the sandbar upon wich the town is built. That lowly spirit of sand forms the southern perimeter of the blue Bay of Navidad, wich arcs to Barra de Navidad's twin town of San Patricio Melaque (pop. 10,000) a few miles to the west.

Barra and San Patricio Melaque, locally known as "Melaque" (may-LAH-kay), are twin, but distinct, towns. Barra has the cobbled, shady lanes and friendly country ambience; Melaque is the metropolis of the two, with most of the stores and services.

The sand bar is called “Navidad” because the Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, the first, and arguably the best, viceroy Mexico ever had, disembarked there on 25 December 1540. The occasion  was auspicious for two reasons. Besides being Christmas Day, Don Antonio had arrived to personally put down a bloody rebellion raging  trough  western  Mexico that threatened to burn New Spain off the map. Unfortunately for the tousands of indians who were torched , hung, or beheaded  durind the brutal campaign, Don Antonio’s prayers on that day were soon answered . The rebelion was smothered, and the lowly  sandbar was remembered as Barra de Navidad from that time forward.

A generation later, Barra de Navidad became the springboard  for King Phillip’s eforts to make the Pacific a Spanish lake. Shipyards built on the bar launched the vessels that carried the expedition of conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Father Andres de Urdaneta in search of God and gold in the Phillipines, Urdaneta came back a hero one year later in 1565, having discovered the northern circle route, whoose favorable easterly winds propelled a dozen subsequent generations of the fabled treasure-laded Manila Galleon home to Mexico.

By 1600, however, the Manilla Galleon was landing in Acapulco, with its more quicker land acces to the capital to transport their priceless Asian cargoes. Barra de navidad went to sleep and didn’t wake up for more than three centuries.

Now Barra de Navidad only slumbers occasionaly. The townsfolk welcome crouds of beach going Mexican families during national holidays, and steady procesion of North American and European budget vacationers during the winter.