photo courtesy NYDailyNews.com
The city of Puerto Vallarta will be more festive than usual this week as it celebrates 42 years as a city and 92 years as a municipality. The May Cultural Festival is an annual event bringing nightly concerts, singing, dancing, art exhibits, fireworks and parades, a fantastic time to visit this Pacific coast paradise! The heart of the city will be filled with color, joyous sounds and of course, the tantalizing aromas of a Mexican feast!
For many years Puerto Vallarta was a quiet fishing and pearl-diving village called “Las Peñas¨. As early as the mid 19th century it became a place for people from surrounding villages to take a relaxing vacation. In 1918, the village was renamed after the former governor, Ignacio Vallarta and was given the status of municipality. The first airplane service began in 1932 and by the 1950’s Puerto Vallarta had begun attracting Americans, mostly artists seeking retreat on the shores of Banderas Bay. Puerto Vallarta changed forever after director John Huston brought production of his 1963 movie “Night of the Iguana” to a nearby small town. With the publicity of the film (and the scandalous behaviour of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor), Puerto Vallarta became both famous and infamous and the tide of tourists began to increase. In 1968 Puerto Vallarta was elevated to “city” status and the state and federal government contributed to the development of the region as an international resort destination. Today Puerto Vallarta is one of the most popular vacation spots in the world, treating millions of visitors each year to a taste of its Mexican charm.
Here’s a look at the cultural events being celebrated this week in Puerto Vallarta:
May 25th 8:00 pm- The Arcos de Malecon come alive with the sounds of mariachi with local favourites “Los Tios” performing the traditional music made famous in the region
May 27th 8:00 pm- The restaurant “La Leche” hosts an evening with sommelier Agustin Rodriguez and chef Nacho Cadena with wine tastings and a lecture entitled “Food and Wine, a Beautiful Tradition” (Spanish only)
May 28 8:00 pm- The Arcos de Malecon is again the site of a fabulous musical presentation with famed local jazz ensemble “Proyecto Tacos”, a popular band which fuses pre-Hispanic influences with jazz and DJ music
May 29 8:00 pm- The Xiutla Municipal Folkloric ballet presents a Gala Performance at the Arcos de Malecon
May 31 6:00 pm- The big fiesta! The whole city will be out to celebrate the anniversary at City Hall, with awards presentations, musical performances and a fireworks display. This is the party of the year!
Dolphin Discovery would like to extend a very happy birthday, happy anniversary, felicidades to the city of Puerto Vallarta. We are thrilled to be a part of the community and we wish Puerto Vallarta, its citizens and visitors a safe and joyous celebration!
**with thanks to BanderasNews for event information