Why Is The Whale A Symbol For Puerto Vallarta?

When you enter Puerto Vallarta, in the Marina the first thing you see is the largest sculpture of the municipality, a Humpback Whale. But, if you walk around the city you will be able to see and appreciate many whales as a symbol of the most important tourist center in Mexico.

The autochthonous groups that preserve the oldest sacred customs of Puerto Vallarta have been in charge of keeping alive the beliefs that are reflected in the facts of each phenomenon that occurs.

Every year they prepare to welcome the Whales with dances, representations and songs accompanied by Mexican percussions.

And in the same way, at the end of the period of the Whales' visit, the dancers say goodbye to the Whales to begin a new cycle without them.

That is why these marine mammals have become the most important symbol for tourism.

This is because for many centuries the whales have periodically visited the Bay and every year you can appreciate their presence, from mid-autumn to late winter.

As temperatures drop in the Arctic waters, the whales make a round trip of 15,000 kilometers to the coast of Mexico, in search of warmer waters, with more abundant krill and small fish to feed on.

To complete this journey, the different types of whales have to swim both day and night, averaging 120 kilometers per day.

During this time, many whales also mate and give birth, and in the safe and protected waters for whales in Puerto Vallarta they can raise their families.

That is why, even in the Plazas and Shopping Malls we can find a whale sculpture adorning the space and charging it with the sacred symbolism of this tourist land.

Puerto Vallarta is honored to have such distinguished visitors as the Humpback Whales and that they are also the driving force of great artists of Vallarta's sculpture.