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The arrival of light, the construction of roads and the arrival of the first airline marked the tourist vocation of this destination.
Lthe first night of Puerto Vallarta illuminated by electric light
November 11, 1930 was the first night in Puerto Vallarta illuminated by electric light. Before this date, the streets of the port were lit with lanterns oil-fed hung from corners and lighting in homes was possible thanks to bait candles, oil lamps and hookahs (small tin containers with a wick of cotton yarn). The event of that night was marvelous for the 2,676 inhabitants, when the first electric power generating plant was put into operation, brought to the Port at the initiative of Messrs. Sebastián Arreola and J. Buenaventura Santana. The service he provided was from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Before it was suspended, it was warned with two or three blackouts, so as not to take people by surprise.
The first communication routes in the Bay of Banderas
ANDn November 1944, Candelario Miramontes, Governor of the neighboring state of Nayarit, and Mr. Salvador Gutiérrez Contreras, Municipal President of Compostela, officially inaugurated the dirt road gap that would unite Compostela-Puerto Vallarta. An event of great relevance, because thanks to the opening of the incipient communication route, the connection by land with Tepic, Guadalajara and other important population centers, through motor vehicles. Before this opening, Puerto Vallarta was isolated by land throughout the year. the only means of communication existing before the breach, They were air and sea.
The flight that gave way to tourism development in the Bahía de Banderas region
On November 11, 1954, the Mexican Aviation Company began operations in this port, establishing the Guadalajara-Puerto Vallarta route, with stops in the mountain cities of Talpa de Allende and Mascota. It used the old airport of "La Vena de Santa María" with DC-3 aircraft equipment at the beginning and DC-4 later.
Being affiliated with Pan American Air lines, these campaigns reached the international market. In 1962 the new airport and Mexicana de Aviación were completed. opened the Puerto Vallarta-Mazatlán-Los Angeles route. In 1966, the Mexican Company of Aviation landed the Jet for the first time in Puerto Vallarta. Since its establishment here, it has been an important factor in the promotion, growth and development of this tourist destination.
With information from the city chronicler Juan Manuel Gómez Encarnación.
Photos courtesy Vallarta Give Your Opinion
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Beautiful article! Thanks to the Vallarta Historian
Vallarta in our lives, my father, Engineer Xavier Núñez Ramírez, built the aerial port, we lived there in the 50s and 60s of the last century and I have fond memories. I believe that the only hotel was El Rosita with a stony beach and Loya was only reached in boat