Puerto Vallarta

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Puerto Vallarta
[[ Puerto Vallarta \|250px]]
Official Name	Puerto Vallarta
Country - State: - Municipality	Mexico Jalisco Puerto Vallarta
Population (2005)	183 728 hab
Altitude	msl
Coordinates - Latitude: - Longitude:	20º 40' N 105º 16' W
Foundation - Foundation:
Major	Gustavo González Villaseñor
Political party	TimeZone = UTC -6
Time zone:	{{{TimeZone}}}
Demonym	Vallartense
Postal code
Area code
Website: www.puertovallarta.gob.mx

Puerto Vallarta (which would translate into English as "Port Vallarta") is a city in the Mexican state of Jalisco. 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", (IPA pronunciation: [puɛrto væ'jɑrtə]).

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.

1 History
2 Airport
3 Gallery
4 External links

[edit] History

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.

Puerto Vallarta

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. [1]

[edit] Airport

Puerto Vallarta is also the site of Lic. Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport with connections to Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, San Francisco, Dallas, London and Manchester, among other locations, on American Airlines, America West Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, Frontier Airlines,Mexicana and First Choice Airways among others.

[edit] Gallery

Sunset on Los Muertos beach in Zona Romantica	'Our Lady of Guadalupe' church, with some flowers from El Nido in the foreground.	Aerial view of marina, cruise ship docks and downtown Puerto Vallarta	Puerto Vallarta at night
A different angle of Our Lady of Guadalupe church