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| Photo by Javier Perez |
In the final installment of this two-part article, city chronicler Prof. Juan Manuel Gómez Encarnación reveals more of the enchanting history of the Rio Cuale Island, taking us from the 1950s to the present day.
The Fifties. During the 1950s the island’s elevation was really low. It was inhabited by guamuchile trees as well as various types of bushes and plants. There was only one little house, near where the anthropology museum stands today. The family that lived there had donkeys and horses. Every year in dry season, they would make a rustic bridge out of logs and wooden boards so that they could cross the river opposite Calle Juárez by foot. However, each rainy season the bridge would be washed away by the first swell.
At this time, and for many years after, the plethora of women who came to the banks of the river to wash clothing under the shade of trestle branches was a common scene, or the sight of huge stones covered by white sheets and other items exposed to the sun’s rays to dry. Meanwhile, Vallarta’s children would bathed in the deeper patches of the river, such as those known as “La Bomba” or “El Gauyparín,” making a rumpus that competed with the sounds and splashes of the local birds.
To the far east of the island, which is now home to the Centro Cultural Cuale, was “Los Veneros” (the well), where everyone went for their supplies of drinking water. Opposite, on the northern bank was the water pump, which drove this precious liquid into a storage tank up towards the mountain so that it could be later distributed to the rest of the town, which was still quite small at this point.
There was a hanging bridge located a few meters up river where the city’s first stone bridge now joins Calle Insurgentes in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood to the center of Vallarta. This hanging bridge, made out of wooden boards and supported by steel cables and vertical planks was the main access route during rainy season for the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood. Along the northern bank of the river, where the market is today, towards the beach and sea, there was a vacant space, called “El Campito,” where young people and children would play sports such as baseball or soccer.
The center of Vallarta on the south side went as far as Calle Agustín Rodríguez, where there was a retention wall between the road and the river running from the hanging bridge to almost the mouth of the river. Here it met with another retention wall, called “El Maleconcito.” This wall continued from south to north along the seafront until the children’s park Aquiles Serdán, in front of the main plaza.
At the end of this decade, in 1959, the first stone bridge over the Rio Cuale was built, putting an end to the communication problems between the center and the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood during the rainy season.
The Sixties. The Rio Cuale Market was built, as well as a new retention wall between “El Campito” and the river. The center of Vallarta grew by three blocks. The western part of the island began to become populated with a few houses, which would eventually turn into a poor neighborhood, giving life and movement to the market. On the eastern part, where the Centro Cultural Cuale is situated today, two basketball courts were built in cement and a football pitch was created.
The Seventies. In 1971 Hurricane Lilly caused the Rio Cuale to swell and flood the neighborhood to the west of the island. In turn, the local authorities saw the need to evacuate this neighborhood, relocating them to the north of the city to form the Valentín Gómez Farías district, better known as “Palo Seco.”
During this decade the Fideicomiso Traslativo de Dominio Puerto Vallarta arrived to carry out work on the island. They built a bridge over the river to join Calle Morelos and Ignacio L. Vallarta. Channels were dredged from the river and the island was protected with a shield of rocks around the edges to the far east. The land was also filled, which raised the level of the island considerably. In the west, shops were built as well as the museum. On the eastern part they constructed the buildings for the art workshops. At the end, where the auditorium of the Centro Cultural Cuale can be found today, they erected a circular building with a high palapa roof. Expositions, concerts and workshops would take place there, and it was also the home of the music school. In the open brick square in front, there was a round fountain with stone sculptures of children.
In 1978 a number of workshops began: literature (with Jorge Souza), dance (with Tomás Arizmendi), theater (with Alberto Fabián) and painting (with Javier Niño). This cultural movement, which promoted creation and artistic practices amongst Vallarta’s local population, would continue until 1988 under the precursor and founder Lic. Jorge Souza Jauffred, first as Head of Social Communication for Fideicomiso Puerto Vallarta and later as head of the Department for Culture for City Hall, during the 1983-1985 administration. Many renowned artists contributed with their presence to this valued cultural movement throughout its development. Roberto Bermejo, José Marca, Daniel Icháurregui, Juan Pueblo, Dr. Ayotl, Katy Huet, amongst others formed “Grupo Vallarta.”
The Eighties. At first the Fideicomiso built commercial stalls with palapa roofs, which at that time were offered to small businesses for renewable periods of six months, in order to begin to create a mini commercial center. They were charged a nominal rent, in fact very little, because the Fideicomiso really just wanted to recuperate the investment they made on federal property. Those palapa stalls were destroyed in a fire caused by fireworks from the feast of Our Lady Guadalupe, one December 11 at the beginning of the 1980s. A rocket hit one of the palapas and the fire passed to the others in a chain reaction, until every one of them was destroyed. At this time, Vallarta didn’t have a fire brigade.
Following the fire, permanent buildings were authorized; however, the cost of these fell to each of the owners, or tenants. The Fideicomiso then transformed the island into a garden with forest; they even installed a sound system to provide atmospheric music using underground electric cables. On the western side of the island they put a children’s park and from then on it became known as the “Island of the Children.”
At the beginning of the 80s the first artisan stalls were opened on the island.
The Nineties. In 1996 the River Café restaurant was opened by Mrs. Evangelina Sánchez Dueñas. Before this, it was Don Luis Trejo’s El Duende restaurant and before that, Chily Willis owned by Javier Juárez.
Óscar restaurant opened in 1997, while around the same time in the eastern section, Café Bolero, owned by Ismael Moreno Jiménez and before that María Elena Ramírez, and Las Brazas restaurant were also opened.
The first stage of the Centro Cultural Cuale was built with equipment for various art workshops from local, state and federal funding
The First Decade of the Twenty-First Century. The second stage of the Centro Cultural Cuale was built in 2003. The auditorium was erected and the art workshops were furnished with equipment.
Prof. Juan Manuel Gómez Encarnación
With such a rich history to explore, why not take a stroll through the Rio Cuale Island starting from the Artisan Market, downtown. Step out of time and into tropical tranquility in the heart of the city.
The Fifties. During the 1950s the island’s elevation was really low. It was inhabited by guamuchile trees as well as various types of bushes and plants. There was only one little house, near where the anthropology museum stands today. The family that lived there had donkeys and horses. Every year in dry season, they would make a rustic bridge out of logs and wooden boards so that they could cross the river opposite Calle Juárez by foot. However, each rainy season the bridge would be washed away by the first swell.
At this time, and for many years after, the plethora of women who came to the banks of the river to wash clothing under the shade of trestle branches was a common scene, or the sight of huge stones covered by white sheets and other items exposed to the sun’s rays to dry. Meanwhile, Vallarta’s children would bathed in the deeper patches of the river, such as those known as “La Bomba” or “El Gauyparín,” making a rumpus that competed with the sounds and splashes of the local birds.
To the far east of the island, which is now home to the Centro Cultural Cuale, was “Los Veneros” (the well), where everyone went for their supplies of drinking water. Opposite, on the northern bank was the water pump, which drove this precious liquid into a storage tank up towards the mountain so that it could be later distributed to the rest of the town, which was still quite small at this point.
There was a hanging bridge located a few meters up river where the city’s first stone bridge now joins Calle Insurgentes in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood to the center of Vallarta. This hanging bridge, made out of wooden boards and supported by steel cables and vertical planks was the main access route during rainy season for the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood. Along the northern bank of the river, where the market is today, towards the beach and sea, there was a vacant space, called “El Campito,” where young people and children would play sports such as baseball or soccer.
The center of Vallarta on the south side went as far as Calle Agustín Rodríguez, where there was a retention wall between the road and the river running from the hanging bridge to almost the mouth of the river. Here it met with another retention wall, called “El Maleconcito.” This wall continued from south to north along the seafront until the children’s park Aquiles Serdán, in front of the main plaza.
At the end of this decade, in 1959, the first stone bridge over the Rio Cuale was built, putting an end to the communication problems between the center and the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood during the rainy season.
The Sixties. The Rio Cuale Market was built, as well as a new retention wall between “El Campito” and the river. The center of Vallarta grew by three blocks. The western part of the island began to become populated with a few houses, which would eventually turn into a poor neighborhood, giving life and movement to the market. On the eastern part, where the Centro Cultural Cuale is situated today, two basketball courts were built in cement and a football pitch was created.
The Seventies. In 1971 Hurricane Lilly caused the Rio Cuale to swell and flood the neighborhood to the west of the island. In turn, the local authorities saw the need to evacuate this neighborhood, relocating them to the north of the city to form the Valentín Gómez Farías district, better known as “Palo Seco.”
During this decade the Fideicomiso Traslativo de Dominio Puerto Vallarta arrived to carry out work on the island. They built a bridge over the river to join Calle Morelos and Ignacio L. Vallarta. Channels were dredged from the river and the island was protected with a shield of rocks around the edges to the far east. The land was also filled, which raised the level of the island considerably. In the west, shops were built as well as the museum. On the eastern part they constructed the buildings for the art workshops. At the end, where the auditorium of the Centro Cultural Cuale can be found today, they erected a circular building with a high palapa roof. Expositions, concerts and workshops would take place there, and it was also the home of the music school. In the open brick square in front, there was a round fountain with stone sculptures of children.
In 1978 a number of workshops began: literature (with Jorge Souza), dance (with Tomás Arizmendi), theater (with Alberto Fabián) and painting (with Javier Niño). This cultural movement, which promoted creation and artistic practices amongst Vallarta’s local population, would continue until 1988 under the precursor and founder Lic. Jorge Souza Jauffred, first as Head of Social Communication for Fideicomiso Puerto Vallarta and later as head of the Department for Culture for City Hall, during the 1983-1985 administration. Many renowned artists contributed with their presence to this valued cultural movement throughout its development. Roberto Bermejo, José Marca, Daniel Icháurregui, Juan Pueblo, Dr. Ayotl, Katy Huet, amongst others formed “Grupo Vallarta.”
The Eighties. At first the Fideicomiso built commercial stalls with palapa roofs, which at that time were offered to small businesses for renewable periods of six months, in order to begin to create a mini commercial center. They were charged a nominal rent, in fact very little, because the Fideicomiso really just wanted to recuperate the investment they made on federal property. Those palapa stalls were destroyed in a fire caused by fireworks from the feast of Our Lady Guadalupe, one December 11 at the beginning of the 1980s. A rocket hit one of the palapas and the fire passed to the others in a chain reaction, until every one of them was destroyed. At this time, Vallarta didn’t have a fire brigade.
Following the fire, permanent buildings were authorized; however, the cost of these fell to each of the owners, or tenants. The Fideicomiso then transformed the island into a garden with forest; they even installed a sound system to provide atmospheric music using underground electric cables. On the western side of the island they put a children’s park and from then on it became known as the “Island of the Children.”
At the beginning of the 80s the first artisan stalls were opened on the island.
The Nineties. In 1996 the River Café restaurant was opened by Mrs. Evangelina Sánchez Dueñas. Before this, it was Don Luis Trejo’s El Duende restaurant and before that, Chily Willis owned by Javier Juárez.
Óscar restaurant opened in 1997, while around the same time in the eastern section, Café Bolero, owned by Ismael Moreno Jiménez and before that María Elena Ramírez, and Las Brazas restaurant were also opened.
The first stage of the Centro Cultural Cuale was built with equipment for various art workshops from local, state and federal funding
The First Decade of the Twenty-First Century. The second stage of the Centro Cultural Cuale was built in 2003. The auditorium was erected and the art workshops were furnished with equipment.
Prof. Juan Manuel Gómez Encarnación
With such a rich history to explore, why not take a stroll through the Rio Cuale Island starting from the Artisan Market, downtown. Step out of time and into tropical tranquility in the heart of the city.
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