Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Mismaloya Beach, best known as the place where "Night of the Iguana" was filmed in l963, has just become the sixth certified beach in Puerto Vallarta, making it the city with the most certified beaches in Mexico.

Last Friday, interim mayor Javier Pelayo Mendez received the recognition and blue flag that certifies Mismaloya as a clean and safe beach from Luis Alarcón Hernández Núñez, a Mexican Institute of Standardization and Certification representative.

Blue Flag certification requires keeping the public beach clean, constantly improving the water quality, increasing safety, ensuring proper signage is in place, and making the beach more attractive for tourists.

A team of beach business owners, vendors, tourism service providers and Barceló Hotel staff members worked for nearly two years to jointly achieve the specifications required by the institute to grant this recognition. In addition, Ecology Department personnel conducted tours two or three times a week to identify areas of opportunity, and to monitor the water's quality; for this, samples were taken and sent to be examined every 15 days.

During Friday's recognition ceremony, Javier Pelayo was found to be a 'regular guy' who prefers anecdotes to speeches. Instead of following protocol he was practically jumping for joy at the thrill of being part of this historical development that puts Mismaloya on the leading edge of the growth of tourism in Puerto Vallarta.

He stressed that the certification of Mismaloya Beach was made possible by everyone's efforts, but especially those of the community that lives in the area.

Pelayo recalled his participation as an assistant in the filming of the movie "Night of the Iguana," starring Richard Burton and Ava Gardner, a film that would ultimately put Puerto Vallarta on the international tourism map. He worked as a beach vendor in his youth, so he knows the beach, business owners, and neighbors, and he thanked each family and the hotel Barceló for their efforts in keeping Mismaloya Beach clean.

For his part, Luis Alarcón Hernández Núñez, speaking on behalf of the Mexican Institute of Standardization and Certification, said the certificate awarded to Mismaloya is under the rule that "establishes the requirements and specifications of sustainability and quality of beaches;" i.e. it is a beach with all of the required services, safety, sustainability, and water quality.

He invited everyone to continue working to maintain the beach's quality and sustainability, which will not only benefit the community and the people who come to enjoy Mismaloya, but will also increase tourism.

Rodolfo Pacheco, the president of the Puerto Vallarta and Bay of Banderas Hotel Association and director of the Hotel Barceló, said that the hotel community stands behind the municipality's initiative to get more beaches certified for the benefit of the destination.

Mismaloya joins five other certified beaches in Puerto Vallarta. These are: Holi, Camarones, Amapas-Conchas Chinas, Palmares and Garza Blanca.