Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - In late May, Mayor Salvador Gonzales Resendiz met with business owners in the city's historic downtown area to give them a progress report on the work being undertaken on the Malecón, as he does every Monday.

But on this particular day, he introduced a new promotional campaign, El Centro Tiene Vida (Downtown is Alive). This campaign is meant to inform Vallarta residents and visitors that stores, bars and restaurants in the downtown area are still open with normal business hours, and waiting for visitors.

The El Centro Tiene Vida campaign will continue for the next two months both in the streets and through the media. Along with radio spots, banners have been installed throughout the main avenues of the city and promotional materials have been provided to the local hotels to hand out to their guests.

The Mayor also spoke of the ongoing work on the Los Muertos Beach pier, saying that this too is adding commercial strength to the center of the city by making it "more attractive to tourism."

Of the Malecón, Gonzales said, "The reconstruction is going well; we're making progress much more quickly than we had anticipated. The Malecón itself had to be removed in its entirety, because the humidity from the rivers that run through it had been eroding it gradually, and only a part of it had been maintained."

"We have the support of the State and Federal governments, as well as the expertise of engineers, architects, designers and other professionals to guide us. Puerto Vallarta must be competitive internationally, and the Malecón is the heart of the city that has historically given it its magic. In respecting this magic, we know what we’re doing. And let us not forget that Vallarta is an international competitor, and that our economy is 100% reliant on tourism," he added.