By John Amodeo***Actor-singer and comedienne Amy Armstrong was formerly an entertainment director at a venue in Puerto Vallarta, a job she loved until it ceased to be fun. So the award-winning cabaret entertainer stepped away from arts administration to concentrate on just performing. And despite a bad business 
situation and a cancer diagnosis, Armstrong remained undaunted, returning to the cabaret stage stronger than ever. She has a longstanding residency at Nacho Daddy, performing Wednesdays and Saturdays from November – March. The entertainment media has often described her as having “the voice of an angel, the mouth of a sailor.”
John Amadeo, for NiteLife Exchange (NLE), interviews Amy Armstrong (AA):
NLE: How long have you been performing regularly in Vallarta?
AA: I started coming in 1997 for a few weeks each winter. But about eight years ago I started doing a season. Because of a cancer diagnosis five years ago, I now live eight months of the year in Vallarta, because I get better, more affordable health care here. If my symptoms come back when I’m in Mexico, within 3 days, I get cat scans, a diagnosis and treatment. So the #1 reason I’m in Vallarta is for my health, and 2nd because I love performing here.
There
is something magical about Mexico. There are major ley lines in Vallarta. I believe in energy because you get it when you are on stage. There is good energy here for performers, for people who need healing. This place helps me.
NLE: You were once helping to manage a cabaret venue in Vallarta. How did being on the administrative side differ from being a performer?
AA: It was wonderful to be an entertainment director because I got to bring other entertainers to see Vallarta. I put everybody first, and then my performing took a back seat. I loved it, but it was a lot more work, and I didn’t get to perform as much.
NLE: You’ve made a nice home for yourself at Nacho Daddy’s. What got you back performing?
AA: What got me back was Tammy Prust, co-owner of Nacho Daddy. She kept calling me, and nicely, I kept declining. But she was relentless, and in a nice way, she kept asking what it would take for me to perform again in Vallarta. So, I sent her three to five conditions I figured she wouldn’t go for, and then I’ll be done with Mexico forever. She called me back and said, “So, what month do you want to come?” She accepted everything and I said “Oh, shit,” but I couldn’t believe she would give me what I needed after being hurt so bad by that previous organization. She said, “There is no reason you shouldn’t be in Vallarta. You belong here,” 
and I thought that was so nice.
When you find an owner that believes in you and treats you like a person, you go there. I’m grateful to be here. It’s my eighth season at Nacho Daddy. And when I got cancer, Tammy and her husband helped me through that, and I wouldn’t have gotten that same treatment from past places I’ve worked. She had a vision, and she wanted to do more types of entertainment than just bands, and I’m happy to have been a pioneer for that. Now at Nacho Daddy you can see a variety of performers. We’ve brought it up a notch with entertainers. In December, we held a Nacho Daddy Family Christmas, where all the performers that have performed here come together for a holiday show. We have great camaraderie with one another.
NLE: Describe your approach to entertaining.
AA: Entertainers have a moral imperative to cheer up our audiences because they need that now. I don’t talk about politics and religion in my show because I want people to forget their troubles. That’s what I want, and in my shows, people love that. Somebody brought their 16-year-old to my show, and I wondered if my dirty jokes would be a problem, and they and their parents told me they loved the jokes. They also loved the old school music (from the ‘80s) I sang. So, now I’m an old lady.
NLE: Are Eugenia Prieto and Al “Mimi” Ramirez part of your show?
AA: Yes. Eugenia plays violin and Mimi plays guitar. I don’t use tracks. I use real musicians and local artists. Eugenia and Mimi are local, and I’ve been playing with them for eight years. There are so many great artists here. I wasn’t born here but I’m grateful that I can be a part of it.
NLE: What songs do you do with them in your show?
AA: I do “Take On Me” by A-ha, and I do it as a pretty ballad. I love to do mashups with ‘80s music. “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley and “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League and a Pat Benatar medley. People might do ‘80s, but no one does Pat Benatar. It brings a lot of my generation of people, ages 40-80, and half gay/half straight. I get older straight couples coming to my shows. I still have a large gay crowd, but music brings everybody together. I don’t care about your sexuality, politics or religion; I just care if you like my music. Even if I tell gay-related jokes, what I tell the straight people is this will be very educational for you. Then I can introduce a topic that might otherwise make them uncomfortable.
NLE: Do you get repeat customers coming in at Nacho Daddy?
AA: I do. And it’s fun to hear people say I’ve seen you for 20 years, and that is such an awesome complement. One regular of mine says, “I love that you change things up,” but I also still do “Midnight Train to Georgia,” and the “Cat Song,” which will haunt me until the day I die.
NLE: What has been your proudest moment in Vallarta?
AA: Last year I won the Puerto Vallarta Performer of the Year Award. I’ve never won awards in Chicago. But I was making a good living as a singer, so I told myself “Who cares?” But I was blown away when I got this because I don’t live here. And I was really moved.
If you;re going to be in Puerto Vallarta, Amy Armstrong performs Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM at Nacho Daddy, 287 Basilio Badillo, Puerto Vallarta. For reservations and tickets, click here.
