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HITCHING A RIDE on Elizabeth Taylor’s perfumed blouse and Richard Burton’s snazzy scarf, the fabled iguana swept into this sleepy little seaside village. In 1963, The Night of the Iguana Hollywood movie production team arrived. And a new Mexico travel destination was in the making, laced with the movie’s sizzling passion, torrid romance and fascinating intrigue.
The village, a flyspeck on the map—where the local barber sang off-key and sold skinny chickens on the side—suddenly became an iconic destination. The seeds of travel lore were planted. Daily, news flashed across the world filled with juicy and exotic gossip about the biggest stars of the day. Burton, married at the time, brought along his lover and drinking companion Elizabeth Taylor, not in the cast and married to singer Eddie Fisher. Madly in love, Liz patiently awaited Richard aboard a luxury yacht anchored in the bay.
Flamboyant playwright Tennessee Williams, author of the play on which the movie was based, brought along his male lover. As did actress Sue Lyon. Gorgeous Ava Gardner sizzled with a local beach boy who parted his hair in just the right place, and had a strut that made even the barber miss a snip or two.
For many, Puerto Vallarta, the iguana and the steamy nights, as seen through Burton and Taylor, became the essence of passion gone wild, south-of-the-border style. The little beach town on the Mexican Riviera, tucked away on the western side of Jalisco state, 290 miles south of Mazatlán, with its cobbled streets and artsy malecon that skirts the gorgeous bay, also touched Burton and Taylor. They purchased two adjoining houses, connected by a pink bridge, and lived and vacationed in PV for years. After receiving their separate divorces there, they were married—the first time—in the downtown Virgin of Guadalupe Church, dressed in Mexican finery.
Old-time residents vividly remember the fiery lovers—sharing a passion so furious they burned each other out—and have erected sculptures of them and fabled director John Huston, who spent the rest of his life in nearby Las Caletas. Mismaloya, the site of the movie (8 miles south of downtown), was a quiet fishing village at the time but remains a major tourist attraction. As do Burton and Taylor’s homes, which they donated to the city. Visitors eagerly tour Casa Kimberly, located off Zaragoza Street and the south side of the church, and relive a little PV iguana history touched by Hollywood scandal.
IF YESTERYEAR’S BURTON AND TAYLOR could revisit Puerto Vallarta, they wouldn’t be disappointed. PV, with its red-tile roofs, romantic hillside retreats and flashy five-star properties, remains among Mexico’s hottest destinations. A major art center and fine-dining city, PV is a gift for the senses.
Entrenched at the base of the lush Sierra Madre Mountains, Puerto Vallarta stands alongside the edge of the 625-square-mile Banderas Bay, one of Mexico’s deepest, largest and most attractive bodies of water. Playful porpoise, humpback whales and tuna abound. On warm days, large manta rays lie 6 inches beneath the surface of the water, sunning themselves like royalty.
The captivating, high-energy town curls along a lush coastline dotted with spectacular ocean-view hotels and resorts, as well as stunning villa and condo properties complete with pool, maid and chef. The River Cuale, which flows from the volcanic Sierras into the bay, divides the town into two distinct sections: the old town, with its proud Virgin of Guadalupe Church, the main plaza, shops, hotels and central marketplace; and the expanding PV, which grew first to the south with hotels and condos, then spread its wings north across a rambling bridge to Nayarit state along miles of sandy beaches, and a picture-perfect palm-lined coast developers couldn’t resist.
Yet Puerto Vallarta retains the character of Mexico—spiced with sipping tequila and mariachi passion. A pack train of aloof burros clomps through town, stopping traffic, while the streets are alive with lovers, shoppers and visitors. Street theater is also thriving. Live weekend musical performances are held in the central Plaza de Armas, or Zócalo, and at the open-air Los Arcos Theater.
Along the shores of the Cuale, women still pound their laundry on rocks before spreading it out to dry in the sun, following a tradition in place for hundreds of years. It keeps life in perspective. It’s also a tradition to hold old-fashioned beach pachangas, complete with fresh fish on a stick—only now the beer is icy cold, the music tropical, and the ladies with roving eyes who gather from throughout the world are beach-life gorgeous and in search of the elusive and intangible iguana.
Stylish and chi-chi boutiques, designer shops, folk-art stores and colorful galleries, such as Galeria Pacifico and Jan Lavender’s Galeria Uno, which opened with the help of Huston, are the essence of the PV art scene. Colorful Gary Thompson, the owner of Galeria Pacifico, heads a two-hour walking tour to studios and residences of locally based artists, offering boundless insights into the town and the people who live there.
Restaurant/bars such as Boca Bento, Trio and Café des Artistes (run by chef Thierry Blouet, who offers acclaimed cooking classes) entice guests with Happy Hour libations and creative cuisine. Le Bistro, overlooking the river, is beyond cool, while the River Café is great for breakfast. All are tucked in, tile-to-tile, around the city. Shimmering Banderas Bay provides fresh seafood for a crowd that demands the best.
La Palapa, opened in 1958 on bustling Los Muertos Beach, is the spicy lunch date for classic Mexican plates, and offers the best people-watching this side of Ocean Beach. The view is a never-ending parade of beach vendors and scantily clothed humanity baking in the sun under a hint of tequila.
Couples stroll along the malecon at dusk, when lights begin to twinkle along the meandering coastline and the city is transformed into an exciting montage of evening diversions. Scattered along the walkway, which spans the entire length of the downtown waterfront, are original sculptures created by local artists. People returning from market, laden with garden-fresh fruits and vegetables, pause at the sidewalk cafés or street-side vendors.
The iguana popped up again in December 2003, when Richard Burton’s spectacular Hacienda San Angel reopened. Tucked away just above the Cathedral and City Hall, San Angel was a Valentine’s gift from Burton to wife Susan Hunt and was christened Casa Bur-Sus. The nine-suite hacienda, now owned by vivacious Barbara Chatterton, is filled with priceless 18-century antiques and is a showcase of authentic Mexican ambience and elegance. Even with the city beckoning below, it’s difficult to leave the splendor and warmth of Burton’s former hideaway.
VINTAGE PV can tug at your heart. But as if a magic wand passed over Vallarta, it has grown into a small, vital city (population 350,000). The builders’ cranes and jackhammers are working overtime north of town, creating a Nuevo Vallarta in sharp contrast to the cobblestones of Old Vallarta.
Vallarta’s big business first moved north to the new Marina Vallarta along with many of the in-town shops that cater to cruise-ship passengers. In place at Marina Vallarta is a tennis club, a golf course with lazy alligators all named Poncho, hotels, a shopping center and a ritzy yacht club, built where an old mango swamp and coconut plantation once existed.
A wide promenade circles the 400-slip marina and stretches past sidewalk cafés, shops and boutiques reminiscent of the Italian Riviera. The harbor sports a variety of small crafts, flying flags from throughout the world, and offers crewed yacht holidays, term charters or day cruises for visitors with limited time and an ocean itch.
Nearby is family-owned and family-friendly Villa del Palmar Beach Resort & Spa, with three pools and a five-star kids’ club. All rooms have a fully equipped kitchenette or full-size kitchen, a budget-saver for those traveling with kids who have 24-hour hunger pangs.
Beyond, in Nuevo Vallarta, hotels and resorts line the beaches of Banderas Bay. The all-inclusive, 161-suite Grand Velas, designed to delight the eye with a visual seduction of relaxed refinement, has the largest spa on the west coast of Mexico—with 20 treatment rooms and a large fitness center.
Before departing Puerto Vallarta, walk by the bronze statue of John Huston sitting in his director’s chair in the main square on Rio Cuale, reminiscing about The Night of the Iguana. Veteran PV travelers believe it brings good luck—and that it ensures a return visit in search of the iguana passion. Huston would like that.
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