New Public Art in Puerto Vallarta Celebrates Cinema, Memory. . . and Doggies!

The unveiling of four new themed murals in Puerto Vallarta is another step in the city's cultural evolution. These murals were inaugurated as part of the activities leading up to the 67th Ariel Awards.

The cultural agenda surrounding the top national film awards included the unveiling of the mural entitled The Night of the Iguana and the commissioning of three other works of art. The murals were created in different public spaces in Puerto Vallarta and were inspired by films shot in the destination.

Below, we tell you more about these four new pieces of street art that honor Puerto Vallarta's movie history and make it more popular as a premier movie destination.

Puerto Vallarta is the Star of the Show

The Night of the Iguana (1964), the John Huston film that made Puerto Vallarta famous as an iconic international film set, is the subject of the most visible of the four new murals created for the 67th Ariel Awards.

Jalisco's Secretary of Tourism, Michelle Fridman, unveiled the work on the morning of Saturday, September 20, in the presence of special guests and Mexican film figures such as Ximena Sariñana, Aarón Díaz, and Michelle Rodríguez.

The Night of the Iguana

• The Location: Galerie des Artistes (250 Leona Vicario St., Centro)
• The Artists: Sharo García, Luis Lepe, Atahin Romero
• The Concept: It's hard to imagine a film that could be said to have been born in the middle of the jungle, with feet in the sand, the wind rustling the palm trees, and the sun beating down on a forgotten corner of the world. And yet, this is the way this painting came to be, influenced by the famous 1964 film directed by John Huston and shot on the renowned beach of Mismaloya, a natural gem of Puerto Vallarta. The artwork depicts the cozy casitas on the shoreline, the wilderness that surrounds them, the iguanas that observe, the tropical blossoms that flourish unrestrainedly, the palm trees that oscillate in the breeze, the cliffs cloaked in vibrant green, and that deep azure ocean where all came to existence and was imbued with enchantment.
• The Inspiration: The Night of the Iguana, directed by John Huston. Cast: Ava Gardner, Richard Burton, Sue Lyon, Deborah Kerr. United States, 1964 | Drama.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

• The Location: Puerto Vallarta Malecón Boardwalk (Paseo Díaz Ordaz corner of Allende St., Centro)
• The Artist: Alondra Muca
• The Concept: The mural draws inspiration from the film Beverly Hills Chihuahua, reinterpreting its visual and symbolic elements from a local perspective that celebrates the identity, transformation, and spirit of Puerto Vallarta. This family comedy is about more than just talking dogs; it's a metaphor for identity, roots, and the power of personal transformation. Beverly Hills Chihuahua demonstrated that universally relatable narratives can also be articulated in Spanish or imbued with a Mexican accent.
• The Inspiration: Beverly Hills Chihuahua, directed by Raja Gosnell. Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Drew Barrymore, Andy García, George Lopez, Cheech Marin. United States, 2008 | Comedy.

Un sueño de amor

• The Location: Lázaro Cárdenas Park
• The Artist: Javier Alfredo Cruzado Uribe
• The Concept: The mural employs a collage-style rotoscoping technique, a method that was commonly used during the film's production era. The film Un sueño de amor is full of iconic images, including one that shows José José and Verónica Castro, Mexican music idols, on the beaches of Puerto Vallarta. The mural's color scheme evokes the golden sands and blue skies of this unique beach destination.
• The Inspiration: Un sueño de amor, directed by Rubén Galindo. Cast: José José, Verónica Castro, Sasha Montenegro, Marco Antonio Campos "Viruta", Beatriz Aguirre. México, 1971 | Drama, Romance.

Vallartzilla

• The Location: Lázaro Cárdenas Park (Carranza St. corner of Pino Suárez St.)
• The Artist: Kahuil Vega
• The Concept: The mural portrays a monumental sea creature, reinterpreted as a fusion of an oriental dragon and a pre-Hispanic serpent. It emerges from the ocean in front of the Los Arcos de Mismaloya Marine Park, with luminous energy and geometric symbols that evoke the force of nature and the cultural richness of Mexico. The design is an original reinterpretation that draws inspiration from the universe of Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters, featuring a Puerto Vallarta kaiju (a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters.)
• The Inspiration: Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters, directed by Michael Dougherty. Cast: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Sally Hawkins, Bradley Whitford. United States, 2019 | Action, Adventure.

Where Are the New Murals Located?

The mural depicting The Night of the Iguana was installed on the facade of the Galerie des Artistes, located in the heart of the Art District in downtown Puerto Vallarta.

The other paintings have been distributed at strategic points throughout the city, such as the Malecón and the Romantic Zone, to connect an urban art tour around high-traffic areas.

If you are interested in street art, Puerto Vallarta's offerings include art circuits and guided tours of urban muralism, with coverage of more than 150 interventions in different neighborhoods of the city. The addition of murals to the tour provides a new narrative that intertwines cinema and landscape.

Who Are the Participating Artists?

The four new murals were commissioned for the 67th Ariel Awards in Puerto Vallarta. The artistic creations were brought to life by independent artists and local art collectives, including ROMPE, with the objective of imprinting an urban legacy intertwined with cinema and connecting it with cultural tourism in Puerto Vallarta.

Learn more about the participating artists below:

Alondra Muca

• Instagram: @alondramuca
• About: An artist from Puerto Vallarta who graduated from the University of Guadalajara. Her professional career has been marked by her work in disciplines such as painting and sculpture. The Day of the Dead Festival in Puerto Vallarta featured a monumental catrina, for which she was appointed as the artistic coordinator. In 2022, the artwork earned a Guinness World Record for "The Tallest Calavera Catrina in the World.”

Atahin Romero

• Instagram: @atahin.art
• About: Hailing from Puerto Vallarta, this self-taught artist discovered his passion for art during childhood, exploring various artistic disciplines, including drawing, painting, and sculpture. He currently focuses on portraits, 3D art, and murals, which can be found in different public spaces in Banderas Bay. "Corazón huichol" (Huichol Heart), his ephemeral chalk pastel work, was awarded at the XVII Madonnari Festival in Puerto Vallarta.

Kahuil Vega

• Instagram: @kahuil_vega
• About: A multidisciplinary artist and holistic therapist with 20 years of experience. He studied Visual Arts with a focus on Painting at the University of Guadalajara.

Luis Lepe

• Instagram: @luis_lepe_
• About: He earned his degree in Visual Arts for Plastic Expression from the Centro Universitario de la Costa (CUCosta) campus of the University of Guadalajara. His nascent professional career has flourished in disciplines such as painting, engraving, and decorative arts, with a particular focus on Mexican folklore. He is the grandnephew of the renowned Puerto Vallarta-born naif painter Manuel Lepe Macedo (1936-1984).

Sharo García

• Instagram: @artsharo
• About: An interior designer and multidisciplinary artist who focuses on digital illustration and muralism. She is a graduate of the Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA). She is the head of the ROMPE collective and is involved in cultural management, arts education, research, mural creation, and tourism promotion in the Puerto Vallarta area.

The four new murals unveiled as part of the 67th Ariel Awards in Puerto Vallarta transform this destination into a living canvas.

These paintings vividly portray Puerto Vallarta's cinematic history with creativity and color, becoming meeting points for the conscious traveler between cinema, local culture, and artistic expression.