As part of my son’s graduation celebration, my in-laws flew the family down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We spent a week in a tropical paradise, enjoying the beauty and the friendly people.
While it was hot — obviously part of being tropical — I can see why people enjoy the city so much today. The city’s crescent-shaped bay created long sandy beaches that are appealing today as well for the Spanish who first colonized it. But what really put Puerto Vallarta on the map was a good old-fashioned Hollywood sex scandal.
Photo credit: Jacob Finck 2025
In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés had set up his Pacific Coast headquarters at Acapulco, Mexico, but needed a northern location to help protect the silver trade route to the Philippine Islands. With a 25-mile coastline to use as a harbor, Puerto Vallarta seemed to be the perfect bay.
I heard a couple different stories about how the bay got its name. One legend is that when the Spanish came ashore, they were confronted by the local indigenous tribe, but before they were attacked, a Spanish priest called upon God for help.
Suddenly, one of the Spanish flags began to glow, terrifying the locals who fled, allowing the Spanish to claim the bay.
Today it’s named the Bahía of Banderas or, in English, the Bay of Flags. However, a tour guide said the natives who confronted the Spanish had feathers on their spears, and that is where the name originates. In reality, it has been said that the natives probably recognized the Spanish flags from an earlier, shipwrecked expedition that had killed most of its crew. The flags had probably washed ashore along with the bodies.
There is not much known of the area for the next 300 years, but in the 1850s, the town of Puerto Las Peñas had been established on the shore as a shipping hub for local banana plantations. The next change came in 1918 when the town’s name was changed to Puerto Vallarta in honor of its former governor, Ignacio Vallarta.
The real change happened in 1964 when Hollywood came to the sleepy little Mexican coastal town. What little was known about the town made it perfect for Oscar-winning film director John Huston’s newest project. Huston, a legend for having directed movies like “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” “The Asphalt Jungle,” “The African Queen,” “Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison” and “The Misfits,” was taking on his next project, “The Night of the Iguana,” a play of the same name written by Tennessee Williams. The movie follows a defrocked priest-turned-tour guide who, while stranded at a rundown Mexican hotel with a group of troubled women, confronts his inner demons and seeks redemption through his interactions with an empathetic artist and her elderly poet grandfather.
The movie had an all-star cast including Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr, but most importantly, the lead was Richard Burton, a mega star for having done films like “The Robe” and “The Longest Day,” but most importantly ,“Cleopatra.” During the filming of “Cleopatra,” Burton met and fell in love with costar Elizabeth Taylor. The problem with the budding romance was that they were both married, Burton to actress Sibyl Williams; Taylor to singer and actor Eddie Fisher (father of Carrie Fisher, aka Princess Leah).
As “Cleopatra” finished shooting and the affair became public, Burton went to Puerto Vallarta to begin filming “Night of the Iguana.” Huston liked filming on location as a way to get actors away from their comfort zones and the overzealous press. When it was learned that Taylor followed Burton to location — and it was rumored that Taylor did not trust Gardner — the press followed. The only thing more tempting to the Hollywood press than a power couple was a sex scandal. When the two are combined, it’s like a perfect storm brewing.
In the process of covering the affair, the press also showed off the miles of pristine beaches, beautiful mountain landscapes, and colonial architecture. The free publicity was enough to intrigue Americans, and it did not hurt that Huston bought the home they stayed in, Casa Kimberly, and gave it to Taylor for her 32nd birthday present. After that, Taylor, Burton, and their families and friends spent a lot of time in the city, adding to its allure.
Today, the city of Puerto Vallarta has more than 220,000 people and is Mexico’s second most popular tourist destination after Cancun. After spending a week lounging by its pools and beachfronts, I can see why. Yet the one warning I must give is that a love story might have put the city on the map, but “Predator” was also filmed here, so be careful before exploring the jungle.
James Finck is a professor of American history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He may be reached at HistoricallySpeaking1776@gmail.com.
