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Mexico Vacation Reservations & Travel Information For
Puerto Vallarta |
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Overview |
Puerto Vallarta
(literally, "Port Vallarta")
is a city in the state of
Jalisco, México. It is
located at 20°40′N 105°16′W.
Some English language
speakers call the city P.V.
for short, due to the
difficulty some have in
pronouncing the double "L"
in "Vallarta." (Vallarta is
pronounced "vah-YAR-tah.")
The city fronts the Bahía de
Banderas on the Pacific
Ocean. The city is important
primarily as a tourist
destination. Shipping
traffic consists of cruise
ships which arrive almost
daily, and occasional visits
by U.S. Navy frigates. The
Mexican Navy maintains a
base at the port, as well as
a well-known naval hospital
in the city center. In 2003
Puerto Vallarta reported an
estimated population of
165,800 and about 5 million
overnight stays by tourists.
It is also a popular spring
break hotspot. |
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General Facts & Information |
Unlike Cancún (another
leading Mexican tourist
destination), Puerto
Vallarta was a traditional
village before gaining
worldwide recognition as a
travel destination.
The village was originally
founded on December 12,
1851, by Don Guadalupe
Sánchez Torres, who named it
"Las Peñas de Santa María de
Guadalupe" ("the rocks of
Saint Mary of Guadalupe").
The name was eventually
truncated to "Puerto Las
Peñas" ("Port Las Peñas")
which literally translates
as "Port the Rocks." The
original reason for the port
was to enable the
transshipment of silver from
nearby mines.
In 1918, the village was
elevated to municipality
status and renamed after
former state governor
Ignacio L. Vallarta. In
1963, it became famous
worldwide after director
John Huston decided to make
a movie version of Tennessee
Williams's play The Night of
the Iguana in what was then
a quiet fishing village.
During the filming, the
paparazzi had a field day
covering Elizabeth Taylor's
scandalous affair with
Richard Burton, as well as
the constant tension between
Huston and the film's four
stars. The subsequent
publicity helped to attract
foreign investors in the
1970s, which resulted in the
massive expansion of Puerto
Vallarta to its current
size.
Today, there is a statue of
Huston in the park on La
Isla Rio Cuale in the center
of the city. A nearby plaque
dedicated on the 25th
anniversary of the film's
release honors Huston's
contribution to the city's
fame.
Puerto Vallarta's outer
Jungle areas, is also the
location where the movie
Predator (starring
California governor and
former actor Arnold
Schwarzenegger) was filmed. |
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