The Malecon Arches, Downtown Puerto Vallarta

Los Arcos (The Arches), an important Puerto Vallarta landmark, are on the oceanfront Aquiles Serdan esplanade (by the Los Arcos Amphitheater, AKA Aquiles Serdan Theater) on the Malecon.

Do not confuse “The Arches” in Downtown PV with “The Arches Natural Marine Park” (Los Arcos de Mismaloya) which is a series of small islands south of Puerto Vallarta, that in the past were called “Las Peñas” and gave the village its name. You can read about these in a separate article.

The Arches of Puerto Vallarta are four large decorative stone arches that were brought to Puerto Vallarta from a colonial hacienda close to Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. They have over time become almost as iconic and recognizable as the Seahorse statue or the Crown on the Guadalupe Parish, the other main landmarks in town.

It’s a very popular section of the Malecon, the Malecon Arches (Los Arcos del Malecón), on the southern end of the original boardwalk, are the backdrop for the open-air theater located there.

In the afternoon hundreds of kids and families enjoy free shows, musical and altruistic festivals, clowns, and even folkloric dance displays (for example the Xiutla Dance troupe) that take place here on this seaside plaza (don’t forget to give them a tip). It’s also popular with official government and political events.

The Arches, right across from Puerto Vallarta’s main square, have been used in most of PV’s promotional touristic material over the years, so it was a terrible loss when they were dragged away into the sea by the strong Kenna Hurricane storm surge on October 2002. Even though the hurricane didn’t hit the city directly, it sent 5-meter waves crashing onto the Malecon.

A replica was placed there by artist and sculptor Martín Distancia and his assistants, Manuel Palos, and Martín Yépez in December of that same year, 2002. The position of the arches has changed a little bit due to the modifications and renovations suffered by the Malecon in 2011, if you compare old photos with the new ones, you’ll notice the modification.

Written by puertovallarta.net