000085 Visit since
The most accurate data showing the first population
of Las Peñas is from 1851, when young Señor, Guadalupe Sanchéz,
and wife, Ambrosia Carrillo, from Cihuatlán, Jalisco, were among the first
settlers to build a cabin at the mouth of the Cuale River. After
a few years, Señor Sánchez started transporting salt from the Marías
Islands. The salt was carried in small boats that unloaded at Los Muertos Beach,
(Beach of the Dead), and was taken by mule to the area of Union of Cuale Mineral.
(Union of Cuale was a British company that owned a big extension of land in the
State of Jalisco). The mineral area was located between the towns of Talpa and
Mascota. When residents of these two towns heard of the beautiful sandy beaches,
they started moving little by little to the area, to start a new life. It had
good weather year round, fertile land and drinkable, abundant water. These were
essential factors for life. The surroundings were a virgin
jungle clustered with green vegetation, palm trees and abundant capomo plants
( a coffee-flavored plant with no caffeine contend). The first cowboys brought
their cattle to graze plentifully in this area, especially on the fruits of the
capomo plant. It was believed the capomo plants contained a vitamin which made
the cows produce better milk. They later went off the other lands and talked about
the beauty of the port. Señor Sánchez, one
of the first settlers, was a very intelligent man whose main concern was the education
of his people. He taught them to read and write. He kept a journal and took notes
of events happening in the community. He was thought
to be the first local historian and left behind several documents he had written.
Some other people disagree and say there was another first settler of Puerto Vallarta,
Señor, Cenobio Villaseñor, from Tecolotlán, but we could
not find more information about this person. All we know is that he was a tradesman
and had mules to transport goods to the Cuale Mineral area. As
we said before, there was no documentation left about him to prove his influence
in the development of the community other htan a map he made, which set the first
landmark of Las Peñas ( The Rocks) at that time. Señor
Guadalupe Sánchez died on the 13 of May 1924. We mourned the death of the
first settler of Las Peñas, who was deeply loved by the community. I
was able to collect a few names of the first families who in later years moved
to the area: Señor Félix Ponce, from Tecolotlán, moved to
Vallarta in 1886; Don Porfirio Munguía and Don Martín Andrade, also
from Tecolotlán, moved in later. Other families came from the mineral area
of San Sebastián like Don Mateo Garibaldi, Don Enrique Gómez, Don
Patricio Bernal, Don Gilberto González, and Don José Cortés.
From the town of Mascota, other families like Don Domingo Robles, Venturita Arreola,
Don Juan Ruelas, Rafael and Don Jesús Macedo; Don Cesáreo Ruíz
from Atenguillo; and Don Benjamín Villalvazo from Ayutla; as well as Don
Isabel Arreila from Llano Grande (Great Plain) and other families from neighboring
towns. Year 1913 In 1913,
Señor Don José López Portillo Rojas, State Governor of Jalisco,
in accordance with the Honorable State Congress, sent Señor, Don Leoncio
R. Blanco, to do a research study of the commissary of Las Peñas ( The
Rocks). Previously enacted State Congress decree number
210 had established the town of Las Peñas as a political and judicial entity
in October 31, 1886. Señor, Don Leoncio R. Blanco,
worked on a topographic detailed report of the mountain zoning surrounding Vallarta.
He discussed the difficult task of building a new road from Guadalajara to Puerto
Vallarta through the towns of Mascota, Talpa, and other neighboring towns. Although
Blanco finished his topographical study by the end of 1913, it took a long time
for the proposal to be approved by the State government. In 1914, the Mexican
revolution took over on the Porfirian government, and Governor Attorney López
Portillo and Rojas was replaced by General Manuel M. Diéguez. Señor
Blanco's topographic study was displayed at the City Hall around March or April
1919. Changing the subject of how Las Peñas, now
Puerto Vallarta, is related to Mexican History, I will continue by narrating only
what my eyes have witnessed. Catalina
Montes de Oca Aguilar
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Catalina Montes de Oca Aguilar Autobiography
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partial or total, in any medium is prohibited. Note:
Distinguished reader, if you know of any story, anecdote, biography or event,
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through this section, or if you know someone we should interview to get more information
on the history of Vallarta, please feel free to contact us at: editor@pvmirror.com To
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