Art, Culture and the Vallarta Way

Ask the gallery owner or the roadside painter working on the boardwalk, or even the young man making intricate sand sculptures by the shore, and they maight tell you Puerto Vallarta inspires creativity. Maybe it's the salty air of the Pacific Ocean or the history of the city, but its prolific arts scene is a testament to a rich chronicle of art and innovation that has kept the city on a creative streak for decades.

Puerto Vallarta's architecture alone, especially in its historic center, is as proud a legacy as any. For starters, there's the Teatro Saucedo, which opened its doors in 1922 and still reminds visitors of the golden era of Europe's belle epoque. The theater once housed a casino and performance area that doubled as a ballroom. Then there is the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose spectacular crown towers over many city rooftops. Due to the time it took to put together, several styles were used in its architecture and interiors. The Stations of the Cross inside are the work of sculptor Jesús Ramírez, while Jalisco native Ignacio Ramírez painted the image of the Holy Mother found at the center of the altar.

Fernando Romero's Vallarta Style, which saw its beginnings in the early 1960s, included stone walls, pitched roofs covered in red tiles and wrought-iron grids, and is still evident throughout much of the city. Romero's homes include the sttill-standing, Caracol, Casa del la O, and John Huston's Las Caletas house. (The use of the dome as an architectural element would arrive a few years later with Guillermo Wulff.)

Sculpture is one of Puerto Vallarta's most visible genres, as evidenced along its boardwalk. Beginning in 1966 with Rafael Zamarripa's The Seahorse (now the symbol of the city), this type of artwork has continued to adorn this stretch of shoreline, stoic against the ocean. Other permanent fixtures include Sergio Bustamante's In Search of Reason, C. Espino's Neptune and the Nereid, Ramiz Barquet's La Nostalgia and Alejandro Colunga's The Rotunda on the Sea. There is also the Friendship Fountain, a gift from the city of Santa Barbara in California.

The arts scene here is in constant motion, with art spaces welcoming works from around the world but especially from around Mexico. In fact, the first gallery opened in Puerto Vallarta in 1971 and they have not stopped coming yet.

But those cobblestone streets lead to another type of cultural walk—an Art Walk, to be precise. Locals and visitors alike come together on alternate Wednesdays from October through April to enjoy a visit to dozens of galleries that stay open after hours to showcase their genres and artists. It's a free event that allows you to pop in and out of art galleries as you please (often having the oportunity to meet the artists being showcased), spend time with others who share your interests and get to know what's happening in this thriving arts scene.

One of Vallarta's most famous sons is, like John Huston, also responsible for helping put the city on the world map. The Manuel Lepe Museum pays homage to the Puerto Vallarta artist who created Vallarta Naïf art, which is characterized by the use of stron color, pattern and simplicity, often with busy landscapes of daily life and flat imagery. Manuel Lepe is, to date, the only Mexican artist registered in the French Directory of Naïf Art.

Read more about this famous artist in Manuel Lepe and Vallarta Art.