John Huston's Puerto Vallarta
By Eric Hiss

"This is Mismaloya, garden spot of the west coast. You will be grateful to me until your dying days for bringing you here. In all of Mexico, there is nothing equal to this." That's how T. Lawrence Shannon, Richard Burton's character in the 1963 production of The Night of the Iguana, described the allure of this very special enclave on Banderas Bay. But Mr. Shannon wasn't the only person seduced by this idyllic place where the Mismaloya River meets the sea, backed by lush jungle and the rugged Sierra Madre Mountains.

John Huston, the film's famous director, had been so captivated by Puerto Vallarta on an earlier visit, that he persuaded his studio bosses to bankroll the production of the film here. At the time, "Vallarta" was a simple fishing village with one road, no international airport and erratic electricity. But Burton, co-star Ava Gardner and the rest of the cast and their entourage—including Elizabeth Taylor, who was in the midst of a sizzling affair with Burton—were equally taken by the town's magic. So were the paparazzi, who had flocked here to capture the Burton-Taylor tryst, but found themselves increasingly turning their cameras on the lush scenery and inviting beaches as well.

The film was shot primarily at secluded Mismaloya, where the legacy of Huston and the film live on at La Jolla de Mismaloya Resort, which features the La Noche de la Iguana Set Restaurant in a restored portion of the set. Further down the bay, Huston found his own piece of paradise at Las Caletas.

It was on this isolated beach, only accessible by sea, that Huston spent much of the last 20 years of his life in the perfect artist's retreat. As Huston himself said, "Now that I'm of a certain age, I'm following a piece of old Irish advice in going to live by the sea: 'It stops old wounds from hurting. It revives the spirit. It quickens the passions of mind and body, yet lends tranquility to the soul.'" Today, visitors can experience Las Caletas for themselves with daytrips offered by Vallarta Adventures, www.vallarta-adventures.com.

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