It was the movie, its famous director John Huston, the Hollywood stars Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr playing the main roles, and at the time scandalous real-life romance between the legends of the XX century Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton that overnight transformed Puerto Vallarta from a picturesque sleepy fishermen’s town, only known to locals and a few artists, intellectuals and adventurous travelers, into a popular Mexican destination and eventually into the world-famous tropical resort it is today.

It all started in Mismaloya. A typical fishing village with the name derived from a Náhuatl word Michmaloyan that means "place where you can catch fish with your hands" and a beach in a small bay framed by tropical rain forest-blanketed mountains became known as the setting for the movie "The Night of the Iguana". Everything changed for the little town in 1963, the world media arrived for the movie and the juiciest gossip of the moment - the passionate affair of Richard Burton and Elisabeth Taylor, both married with other people. Vallarta started to appear on the map, even more so when the stars and the director himself, chose to make the town their home and stay there for years.

Of course, there are many reasons why Puerto Vallarta is so popular today. But in the Top main reasons there will be always three names that changed the future and destiny of the town.