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Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas: Niche of great artists

Our city has been the main stage in the national and international pictorial scene. Just take a look at the history of Vallarta. Today we remember those who have inspired this paradise of the Mexican Pacific.

In 1952, the first exhibition of plastic arts in our city was held at the inauguration of the Hotel Paraíso, located in the heart of old Vallarta. Its exponents were: Joaquín Rodríguez Pedroza, Ramón Barragán and Esteban Ramírez Guareño.

Joaquín Rodríguez Pedroza, was a painter based in the port and originally from Ciudad Guzmán Jalisco. A master watercolorist who specialized in urban landscape.

Ramón Barragán, a native of Vallarta, was a self-taught painter who also leaned towards urban and costumbrist themes of our community.

Esteban Ramírez Guareño, sculptor originally from Tlaquepaque Jalisco. He was the author of the crown of the church of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and several sculptures in our town. A short time later, in the mid-50's, the painter Daniel Lechón arrived from Mexico City. The latter produced an excellent work with Vallarta themes such as: the washerwomen of the Cuale River, the Pata Saladas fishermen, and the corn and bean carriers of the large merchant ships of those years.

In this same decade, Ed Star, a painter of American origin, lived in our city. He produced a large amount of pictorial work in a figurative style. He liked to work on themes related to the local urban landscape, using contrasts with great colors.

Vallarta Classic Painters

Almost at the end of the 50s, Manuel Lepe entered the scene. Self-taught painter and native of the port with his Naif style. It captivated locals and foreigners with a magic and color that has transcended to this day and that has characterized Puerto Vallarta throughout the world.

At the beginning of the 1960s, Manuel Martínez, a painter from Cuquío Jalisco, emerged. The artist was an inhabitant of the port. His abstract figurative style was liked for its vibrant colors. Manuel Martínez is the creator of the Puerto Vallarta shield.

In the mid-1960s, Javier Niño, a self-taught painter and native of Vallarta, entered the artistic scene. His style of Magical Realism marveled over the years. He is the author of several murals in Vallarta, Santa Barbara California and Chicago Illinois.

When foreign artists make Vallarta their home

In 1970, Puerto Vallarta received the artist Martha Gilbert, a painter of North American origin who made her debut in local art. His realistic style covered indigenous Mexican themes, showing off his excellent way of drawing and giving color to his work. In 2019, the Puerto Vallarta City Council presented him with an award for his outstanding pictorial work in our city.

Marta Gilbert and Javier Niño

Also at the beginning of the 1970s, the watercolor painter of German origin, Evelyne Boren, actively participated in the local pictorial movement with her traditional themes of Vallarta life.

It was also in the 70's that Daniel Inchaurregui, a painter from Zacatecas, arrived in this city. He participated in a notable way with themes of the washerwomen of the Cuale river and urban landscapes of the port in impressionist style and spatula technique.

In this same decade, José Marca, originally from Mexico City and living in Vallarta, began in pictorial art. He was noted for tackling a highly colorful and controversial expressionist style.

salty leg for adoption

One more person who fell in love with Puerto Vallarta in that decade was the painter, and to whom I can express fraternal gratitude for his friendship, the photographer and columnist Roberto Bermejo. Originally from the Federal District, who found in Puerto Vallarta the perfect pretext to give free rein to his colorful imagination.

Roberto Bermejo Boardwalk

Rubén Cham writer, art critic and member of the organizing committee of the Madonnari Festival in Puerto Vallarta, wrote about Roberto Bermejo: “The author exalts the natural virtues of Vallarta and its people, through idyllic scenes that recount captivating passages from paradise. In this sense, the result of his good office contains a touch of homage and gratitude to the city where he has lived a good part of his life”.

In 2015, the government of Puerto Vallarta gave him the "Manuel Lepe Macedo" award for the contribution of his work.

Contemporary artists in the Bay of Banderas

In the contemporary scene we can mention artists who have taken Banderas Bay as inspiration. Among some renowned painters we can mention: Raquel Avalos, Meg Munro, Angeline Kiba, Cathy Vonrohr, Anita de Hoyo, Fernando Sánchez, Ada Colorina, Federico León de La Vega, Ireri Topete, Javier Niño, Marcela Bernal, Marisa Zepeda, Edward Alejandre, Rogelio Díaz, Jaime Jiménez, Cinthia Corona, José Marca, Edgar Martínez, Jesús de Avila, Marta Gilbert, Ana Romo, Evelyne Boren, Roberto Bermejo, Manuel Martínez, Davis Birks, among others.

Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit have become the niche for great artists. Many of them were enshrined in this place for decades. We thank the Vallarte collective that has provided us with extremely important data on the history of art in our bay. The ideal setting to capture in a brushstroke what is closest to paradise.

Claudio Fabian Guevara

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