English 
Spanish 
Due to family circumstances, this port welcomed many of us at the best time. The nostalgia for my childhood in Puerto Vallarta increases when I witness the profound transformation of the bay.
By Alfonso Banos
My parents tell me that we arrived in Puerto Vallarta in 1972. I remember little of that arrival but in my first memories the Plaza de Armas appears at night, with few people, illuminated by the lanterns of the Benitos restaurant, located on the corner of the street Morelos and Zaragoza. Perhaps "Benitos" comes to mind, that mythical place that hardly anyone remembers today, but which was the reason why we moved to Puerto Vallarta, where my father was the manager for more than fifteen years.
By then, the urban extension of the port barely exceeded 500 hectares when today it exceeds 6 thousand. Then we were about 36 thousand inhabitants, when now we are ten times that number.
salty leg life
Living in this bay was a paradise for a restless child eager to experience nature displayed in the sea, jungle and trees. I spent my first school years in the Emiliano Zapata kindergarten, learning the art of living with classmates, many of them born in Vallarta and whose families were of pata-salada ancestry and ancestry.
Under the shade of a mango tree, we played and ran with the joy that only comes with innocence. After school hours, we went to eat at the apartment on Calle Juárez; whose owner was the journalist Rafael de la Cruz.
The measured rhythm of Vallarta life it allowed my father to be at lunch, spend time with us and still have time to enjoy a nap for half an hour. After doing our homework, we would go out with our friends from the block to play in the street, or swim across the Cuale River to carry out one of our favorite activities: fishing at the Los Muertos pier.
Our fishing equipment was the most basic: just a chlorine boat with line, hooks and some weight and bait to attract unsuspecting fish. We spent many happy afternoons there, marveling at the landscape of each sunset, refreshed by the gentle blow of the wind and under the shade of those imposing palm trees that still stand tall on Playa de Los Muertos.
Public spaces of old Vallarta
Another playground was the Malecón de la Marina, which unfolds between the Aquiles Serdán park and the mouth of the Cuale river. There were endemic trees, flowers and children's games. A park like the ones from before that was at the foot of the sea.
At that time there were no significant constructions and most of the properties were undeveloped. Perhaps for this reason, we put together an improvised toy car racing track, or to use with skateboards, Devil's skates and any object that moved at a speed faster than the race, running and scraping our knees on the cobblestone streets. .
Our parents and those of our friends knew that nothing could happen to us and that the daily life of the people of Vallarta was carried out in trust and solidarity. Although they were aware of us, there was a lot of freedom and we were granted many privileges to live outdoors.
A childhood without TV
One of the factors that allowed us to develop a strong contact with the natural environment was that the television signal did not reach the town, so our afternoons were for games and open doors.
While our cousins in Mexico City or Guadalajara grew up with the television watching Uncle Gamboín, or Uncle Carmelo and the cartoons on channel 5, we climbed the trees to lower fruits, we slid down the Cuale River in cameras inflated tires or we played soccer in the street.
This nostalgia for hehe bay increases when I witness the profound transformation that has come to Puerto Vallarta. The growth of tourism took us by surprise and brought with that many positive things, such as the improvement in educational and employment options. SHowever, simultaneouslynew challenges and problems bequeathed what to attend to, howl increase in inequality, violence and poverty.
I hope that the magic that is contained in the different towns of Banderas Bay continues to be enjoyed by residents and visitors. As I did as a child and now as an adult. We still have many riches that give us meaning as a community and that we can keep to continue enjoying the paradise that unfolds on the coast of the most beautiful bay in the world.
