DOWNTOWN PUERTO VALLARTA HOSTORIC FACTS

On February 19th, 1929, according to what Doña Catalina Montes de Oca de Contreras, first historian of the City of Puerto Vallarta wrote and published, the parish priest José Ramírez from the Diocese of Tepic, came to take charge of the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to celebrate religious services for the faithful. His arrival formally marks the end of the ban of Catholic religious practices in the region, which had begun the 1st. of August of 1926.

In this respect, this fragment of text is taken from her beautiful book PUERTO VALLARTA EN MIS RECUERDOS: … “During these times, as we were in the middle of the “Revolución Cristera”, religious practices had been banned, and for this reason, masses were celebrated secretly and with much caution at the house where don Jacinto Macedo and his wife Manuela Ponce, maternal grandparents of the now famous painter Manuel Lepe…

When worship resumed, father Gabriel Rocha, named by the Vicar of Valle de Banderas, provisionally took charge of the parish; soon after that, father Domingo García took charge also for a short period of time. It wasn’t until February 19th, 1929, that the Diocese of Tepic, Nayarit, sent a new parish priest, father José Ramírez. The entire town welcomed him with joy as they were anxious to have a priest’s care. From the moment he arrived, he worked with much determination, dedicating all of his effort and good will towards continuing the construction of the church which father Ayala had begun”.

February 8th, 1955, was the inauguration of “El Patio” restaurant-bar, which together with “Los Jardines” gathering place, located in front of the main Plaza, were the precursors of nightlife in the then emerging tourist destination. According to Doña Catalina Montes de Oca:

The restaurant-bar “El Patio” appeared after “Los Jardines”. It was inaugurated by its owners, the Mexican Ángel Gutiérrez and a Canadian man known as “Conme”. The opening took place on February 8th, 1955. One can say that these two centers mark the beginning of nightlife in the port. The restaurant was decorated in a very peculiar Mexican style. They transformed a big old house located on the malecón into a pleasant place. They surrounded the patio with tropical plants. The walls of the bar had leopard skins and deer heads, as Ángel, its owner, was very fond of hunting. They were the first to have the idea of hiring a Mariachi band every night. The overflowing euphoria of the tourists lent the otherwise tranquil port a note of joy”.

In February, 1971, the “Regata Marina del Rey-Puerto Vallarta” was started. This regatta, which begins from the port of Marina del Rey, in California, United States, to Puerto Vallarta, has many participants and is a tourist and economic event of great importance for this destination. It is has been held every two years since 1971 on odd years. In 2015, the twenty third edition of this event took place.

February 14th, 1976 marks the day that the “Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social” (Mexican Social Security Health Institute) opened its doors in Puerto Vallarta, when the General Hospital of Zone 42, on Avenida Francisco Medina Ascencio was inaugurated. The medical and administrative services of this important Mexican institution arrived right on time for its date with the history of this place, during the demographic and economic growth that this city experienced, thanks to the tourist boom of the 70’s.

Finally, on February 20th, 1983, Puerto Vallarta is visited by Queen Elizabeth of England. The Queen had previously visited México in 1975, when she was hosted by President Luis Echeverría Álvarez. During her visit from February 17th to the 22nd, 1983,  “to establish ties of cooperation and friendship”, she travelled from Acapulco to La Paz, Baja California. The Queen was hosted by President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado; Governor Flavio Romero de Velasco of Jalisco and Mayor, architect, Jorge Leobardo Lepe García.

The Gómez brothers of Ixtapa, in their book, “Eco de Caracoles”, quote the following anecdote in the words of Juan José Loredo León:

… At that time, architect Jorge Lepe, the Mayor, was to hand the keys to the city to Elizabeth as Queen and as a woman. According to protocol, the queen was to receive the keys in a seated position. At the moment he was to hand the keys to her, the architect said “stand up, stand up” to the Queen.- He then told me “tell her to stand up”- So I, in English, asked the Queen to stand up. In the end, she got up and Lepe was finally able to hand her the much-touted keys. Elizabeth took them and commented “how lovely, they must have come from an architect to be so beautiful”. Soon after, all the newspapers in the world spread the news that in a small Mexican town a Mayor had gotten Queen Elizabeth to stand up in order to receive the keys to the city. But the Queen was happy, full of joy. It was my role, by the way, to translate for Mayor Lepe. The Queen was delighted with Puerto Vallarta. It was truly an extraordinary visit.