Gratuitous PV Trivia Zona Romantica Street Names by Tim Byrne

Author: Tim Byrne
Have you ever been curious about the names of the streets in Old Town Puerto Vallarta?
After a bit of research one discovers the explanations of the various street names in the Zona Romantica of Puerto Vallarta. Many are named after governors of Jalisco; figures, some from the period of the 1910 revolution and the early days of the PRI/PRD party, or trees.

Amapas - The amapa is a tree with bright yellow flowers, the flower is the basis of a number of common embroidery patterns along the coast. If you Google amapa árbol you can find pictures, etc.

Pilitas – A pila is a baptismal font, and pilitas are the small holy water stoups at the entrances of catholic churches (pilitas de agua bendita).

Púlpito - Means "pulpit" in spanish. (Pulpito without the accent means little octopus).

Manuel Diéguez - Governor of Jalisco at about the time of the revolution and an ally of V. Carranza. There is more about V. Carranza below.

Olas Altas - You probably know this means "big waves" already. (Tall waves literally, but we don’t say that in English.)

Basilio Badillo - Governor of Jalisco for a time, but more importantly an intellectual and publicist for Obregón (Mexico’s president in the 20’s and responsible for stabilizing the country after the revolution). Badillo was part of the intellectual clique that set up the PRD party that would later become the PRI, Mexico’s dominant ruling party until Fox’s election in 2000.

Pino Suarez - Was F. Madero's vice president and was executed with Madero during a coup in 1913. There is more about Madero below.

Ignacio Vallarta - The Jalisco governor for whom the city itself is named. He also served on the Supreme court an in a number of roles in the foreign office during the Porfiriato (late 19th century dictatorship that lasted nearly 40 years until the revolution ended it).

Venustiano Carranza - One of Mexico's early post revolutionary presidents and an ally of Madero in the revolution. Madero was overthrown by a coup in 1913, and Carranza was the political leader of the resistance. He became president in 1915 and then was re-elected under the new constitution of 1917.

Insurgentes - The name applied to those who fought for independence from Spain.

Lázaro Cardenas - One of Mexico's most important presidents. He nationalized the oil industry in the 30's and carried out a great deal of land reform. He is also responsible for cementing the dominance of the PRI party.

Francisco Madero - Leader of the campaign to oust the dictator Porfirio Diaz. Madero called for the revolution in 1910, and he succeeded Diaz as president. As president he was slow to implement reforms and he was toppled and killed during a 1913 coup known as the /Decena Tragica /(tragic ten days) because of the large death toll in Mexico City over the ten days of the coup.

Aquiles Serdán - Supporter of Madero, killed with his family in the first days of the 1910 revolt. He is recognized as the first martyr of the revolution.

5 de Febrero - Anniversary date of the ratification of the 1917 constitution.

And then the uninspired trio of names for uninspired cross streets: Aguacate - avocado,
Jacarandas - a tree or shrub with violet flowers, and Naranjo - the orange tree.
It is suspected that prior to the 1950s most of the north-south streets were named for trees while most of the east-west streets were named for church related things. As the town was developed in the 50’s after the first road was put through into the town, the streets were renamed after local greats related to the revolution and the ruling party.
Next Month we will explore the communities south of Puerto Vallarta!