Puerto Vallarta History
Since the 1500's, the beaches of Puerto Vallarta have welcomed "tourists".
Unlike other vacation
destinations in Mexico (and elsewhere) Puerto Vallarta was not a planned
resort town. Puerto Vallarta has
always been here.
Back in the 1500's the Bay was named the "Bahia de Banderas" (Bay of
Flags) by a Spanish sea
adventurer who's arrival was greeted by thousands of natives waving
feathered flags.
In 1850, Guadalupe Sanchez Torres, a salt-shipper from inland
Jalisco, decided to move his family to live
here. He named the small fishing village "Las Penas de Santa Maria
de Guadalupe" because the day that
he arrived (December 12) marked the day of the traditional celebration
and procession honoring the Virgin
of Guadalupe, which continues to be a tradition today.
By 1900, Las Penas had grown to nearly 2000 residents, and in 1918,
it became a municipality and was
named "Puerto Vallarta" after Ignacio L.Vallarta, the former Governor
of the State of Jalisco.
As late as the 1960's , Puerto Vallarta was still a small fishing village
of under 10,000 residents. However,
when John Huston decided to choose Mismaloya Beach (just south of Puerto
Vallarta) as the site for the
filming of the movie, "The Night of the Iguana", it didn't take long
for things to change.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton had houses built in town . Reporters
wrote articles about the quaint
little Mexican fishing village. Soon after, hotels and restaurants
began to spring up everywhere. And now,
some 30 years later, Puerto Vallarta has grown to its current population
of about 300,000 people.
Unlike Acapulco, the fathers of the city are keeping in mind the mistakes
made there, so as to not repeat
them here. This includes strict beach construction limits
so as to not block the views entirely. In general,
Vallarta has a long way to go before it hits its peak.
For enquiries and information, E-mail us 
condotorres@yahoo.com
(52) 3-299-0394