Portrayed as paradise in the movie “The Night of the Iguana,” Puerto Vallarta today is suffering growing pains. Along the winding highway that skirts Banderas Bay, billboards reminiscent of U.S. commercial strips sprout from the jungle. In the city, taco stands and street vendors crowd the narrow streets and beaches, while piles of garbage collect on corners and in clandestine dump sites. In stark contrast to the graceful flocks of pelicans that glide over the tropical bay, noisy, contaminating buses roar through cobblestone streets increasingly clogged with traffic. “The fact that tourists who walk and want to cross the streets must risk their lives is hostility,” laments Héctor Pérez, owner of Tequila’s Cafe in downtown Puerto Vallarta. Pérez voices an opinion held by a growing... [Log in to read more]