Geekstalt
Night of the Iguana
Before 1964 Puerto Vallarta was a quiet fishing town. Then the film production for Night of the Iguana arrived looking for a shooting locale. The film was not only a huge Hollywood production, it's main male star had brought his soon-to-be wife with him. That would be Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
Their romance was an international press magnet followed in all the major magazines and newspapers. So when Night of the iguana arrived in Puerto Vallarta, the press also descended on the town. The international press coverage put Puerto Vallarta front and centre on the international stage, turning it overnight into "the place" to go. Years later (I'm not sure when) a grateful Puerto Vallarta built this sign at the filming location of Night of the Iguana as a monument to the film.
And apparently after a rocky start (Burton apparently told director John Houston that Elizabeth Taylor's accommodations weren't acceptable, leading to Houston handing her the keys to his own home), many of the film's cast and crew fell in love with Puerto Vallarta right back. John Houston continued to visit and live in Mexico in general for the rest of his life. Burton and Taylor purchased permanent homes across from each other in the town centre, even connecting them with a bridge based on The Bridge of Sighs in Venice so that neither had to walk across the street to see the other. Burton's home eventually became known as the "Dog House" as that was where he would go to when Taylor kicked him out of their shared home during one of their famous arguments. The bridge between them became known locally as El Puente de Reconciliación, or the "Bridge for Making Up".
For years the Burton and Taylor came to visit Puerto Vallarta. They brought their children down and partly raised them there. They became involved in local business and even "adopted" the nephew of their neighbour (he's now an internationally known photographer, actually) who had lost his mother. They became his god parents and took him around the world with them.
The houses they lived in are gone now, but the bridge still remains. It's a local spot most tour guides will point out to tourists with a touch of pride. And the sign remains too, a little abused by age and the passage of time, but still marking the place where it all began.
Night of the Iguana
Before 1964 Puerto Vallarta was a quiet fishing town. Then the film production for Night of the Iguana arrived looking for a shooting locale. The film was not only a huge Hollywood production, it's main male star had brought his soon-to-be wife with him. That would be Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
Their romance was an international press magnet followed in all the major magazines and newspapers. So when Night of the iguana arrived in Puerto Vallarta, the press also descended on the town. The international press coverage put Puerto Vallarta front and centre on the international stage, turning it overnight into "the place" to go. Years later (I'm not sure when) a grateful Puerto Vallarta built this sign at the filming location of Night of the Iguana as a monument to the film.
And apparently after a rocky start (Burton apparently told director John Houston that Elizabeth Taylor's accommodations weren't acceptable, leading to Houston handing her the keys to his own home), many of the film's cast and crew fell in love with Puerto Vallarta right back. John Houston continued to visit and live in Mexico in general for the rest of his life. Burton and Taylor purchased permanent homes across from each other in the town centre, even connecting them with a bridge based on The Bridge of Sighs in Venice so that neither had to walk across the street to see the other. Burton's home eventually became known as the "Dog House" as that was where he would go to when Taylor kicked him out of their shared home during one of their famous arguments. The bridge between them became known locally as El Puente de Reconciliación, or the "Bridge for Making Up".
For years the Burton and Taylor came to visit Puerto Vallarta. They brought their children down and partly raised them there. They became involved in local business and even "adopted" the nephew of their neighbour (he's now an internationally known photographer, actually) who had lost his mother. They became his god parents and took him around the world with them.
The houses they lived in are gone now, but the bridge still remains. It's a local spot most tour guides will point out to tourists with a touch of pride. And the sign remains too, a little abused by age and the passage of time, but still marking the place where it all began.