History of Puerto Vallarta

When the celebrated film director John Huston first arrived in Puerto Vallarta in 1963 it was "a fishing village of some 2000 souls. There was one road to the outside world, and it was impassable during the rainy season." The region was in such a deep slumber that his aircraft needed several dummy attempts at landing to 'shoo' the cattle from the runway.

He brought with him a film crew, a script of T ennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana and his two of Hollywood 's biggest names, Richard Burton and Ava Gardner. Burton 's marriage was already under the tabloid spotlight, so when Elizabeth Taylor flew to Mexico to further their affair the paparazzi followed en-masse. Overnight Puerto Vallarta was on the tourist map.

Banderas Bay had in fact been on Spanish Naval maps since the 1500's. The natural harbour was used as a staging post for Spanish galleons attempting to colonise Southern California, and as a safe haven from pirates. Towards the end of the century the first settlements, including a shipyard, were built on today's Mismaloya beach.

Until the film history didn't have much use for Puerto Vallarta. By the 19 th century the small port acted as a link in the supply chain serving the silver mines at Cuale and San Sebastian. The settlement was punchily titled Las Peñas de Santa Maria de Guadeloupe, which was shortened to Las Peñas in 1885 - the year it was officially opened to maritime traffic. Three years later half of Las Peñas was razed in a fire. Local history has it that, had most of not been watching a cockfight, the blaze might not have taken hold.

After the victory for Emiliano Zapata and Francisco 'Pancho' Villa in the Mexican revolution a new constitution was drawn up. One of the architects of this new constitution was Don Ignacio Vallarta, the Governor of Jalisco. The following year(1918) Las Peñas became the municipality of Puerto Vallarta.

Once more the area prepared to sleep, but the Montgomery Fruit Company in neighbouring Ixtapa had other ideas. A labour shortage meant job opportunities and a flow of capital back to Puerto Vallarta. The town began to flourish and with it word spread of the region's natural beauty. More intrepid tourists began to arrive, but no one could predict the impact that the arrival of a handful of Hollywood stars and gossip columnists would have. Today Banderas Bay receives 2.5 million tourists annually.