Puerto Vallarta History

Indigenous Peoples of Puerto Vallarta

Archaeological evidence indicates that the Puerto Vallarta area had seen continuous human habitation, starting from at least 580 BCE. It is also believed that the inhabitants of the Puerto Vallarta area, along with the people of the current states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Michoacan, belonged to the Aztlan culture.

Spanish Discovery

Spanish Conquistador Francisco Cortez de Buenaventura, the nephew of Hernan Cortez, led an expedition that arrived on the Jalisco-Nayarit coast in 1524. In a lush green valley that spilled down into the sea, he encountered an opposing army, numbering 20,000 men, whose bows were decorated with colorful cotton banners. He named the valley the Valle de las Banderas, or Valley of the Banners. The bay behind the valley later became known as Banderas Bay.

In 1541, Spanish Conquistador Don Pedro de Alvarado landed in Banderas Bay near the "Los Arcos" rocks, christening them "Las Penas." Until the 20th century, the village of Puerto Vallarta was known as Puerto de Las Penas.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the main harbor in the area was at Las Blas, in Nayarit. The beaches of Banderas Bay served as a smuggling point, allowing the smugglers to avoid the customs duties assessed at Las Blas. According to the logs of passing galleons, Banderas Bay, also known as Bahia de los Jorobados, or Humpback Bay, was often visited by whaling ships and fishing boats. For several hundred years, Las Penas remained a small fishing village at the foot of the Rio Cuale.

Puerto Vallarta in the 19th Century

In the 18th century, the largest towns in the region were Mascota, San Sebastian and Talpa de Allende. Mascota, the second largest town in Jalisco after Guadalajara, was an agricultural center, provisioning the gold and silver miners in San Sebastian and Talpa.

Because the village of Las Penas was closer to the mining activities than San Blas, Las Penas became a beach landing port serving the Sierra Madre mining towns. In 1851, the first settlement was established. In the early years, Las Penas was used as the coastal depot for the hauling of salt to the mining towns; salt was used in the silver-refining process.

In 1859, the government sold a vast tract of land to the Camarena brothers of Guadalajara, who then founded the Union en Cuale mining company. In the 1860s, Las Penas grew into a self-sustaining town due to the activities of the mining company. By 1885, Las Penas counted 800 residents, and its port was opened to national maritime traffic.

In 1888, a fire destroyed more than half of the village's homes.

Puerto Vallarta in the 20th Century

In 1918, the village was elevated to municipality status, and renamed Puerto Vallarta in honor of state governor Don Ignacio L. Vallarta, one of the men who helped draft the new constitution.

During the early years of the 20th century, most of the city was owned by the Union en Cuale mining company, which by this time had been sold to the American Alfred Geist. In 1921, four years after the new nationalist constitution of 1917 was ratified, the local Agrarian Commission expropriated 23,000 acres from the Union en Cuale company, creating an ejido, or farming cooperative, to be administered by the government. Ejido land is controlled by individuals, who are given licenses to use it, but the land could not be sold, subdivided or leased.

As the mining operations in the Sierra Madre mountains began to wane, Puerto Vallarta became an important resettlement area for the miners.

The Montgomery Fruit Company established a 26,000 hectare banana plantation in the area around Ixtapa in 1925. For 10 years, the plantation provided many job opportunities for the locals. The firm was closed in 1935 due to the enforcement of land ownership laws, thus ending the intensive agricultural phase of Puerto Vallarta.

The first airplane service arrived in Puerto Vallarta in 1932. Electrical service was begun at the same time, and in 1939 the city's first water and sewer system was installed. A proper road was constructed from Compastela, in Nayarit, to Puerto Vallarta in 1942.

The 1950s saw tourism boom in Puerto Vallarta. During that era, Gringo Gulco began to develop as an expatriate community. By 1958, 24-hour electrical service was inaugurated.

In 1962, a new airport was built, and Mexicana began to offer service between Los Angeles and Puerto Vallarta, with a stop in Mazatlán.

Puerto Vallarta from the 1960s to the Present

Four occurrences in the 1960s changed the face of Puerto Vallarta, allowing the city to grow into the tourist Mecca of today.

First, the government resolved the property disputes surrounding the land expropriated from the Union en Cuale mining company. The ejido status of the land had stifled development. The land within the city limits was appropriated by the Vallarta Land Trust, which was charged with selling the land and using the revenues to develop the city's infrastructure.

Second, the spectacle surrounding the filming of the Night of the Iguana put Puerto Vallarta firmly on the tourist map. At the time, Richard Burton had a well-publicized extramarital affair with Elizabeth Taylor, while director John Huston mixed it up with his stars Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, Sue Lyon and Richard Burton.

Third, the government made large investments in infrastructure, including roads, airports and utilities. These investments brought in domestic tourists from Guadalajara and other Mexican towns, as well as foreign tourists.

Fourth, the government elevated the town from a municipality to the status of a city. This move helped focus the minds of government officials and investors, both of whom wanted to develop the city into an international resort destination.

After 1973, Puerto Vallarta saw a rapid rise in the number of high-end luxury hotels and resorts being built in the area. This development changed the economic order in the area, as agriculture waned and tourism became the economic driver for the city. With the devaluation of the peso in 1982, Puerto Vallarta became a big draw for international tourists seeking an inexpensive yet luxurious vacation.

Between 1980 and 1990, the population grew from 57,000 to 112,000 residents.

But by the 1990s, the Mexican resorts of Cancun and Ixtapa began to draw vacationers away from Puerto Vallarta, and the city hit a slump.

Today's Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta remains one of Mexico's most popular resorts. With over 2 million visitors coming to the city each year--including almost 1 million cruise ship passengers--Puerto Vallarta maintains a sense of charm. The city is simultaneously sophisticated and laid-back, modern and very Mexican.