Though the return to classes will be virtual this year due to the health contingency of COVID-19, the annual distribution of backpacks filled with school supplies, uniforms, and shoes to Puerto Vallarta preschool, primary and secondary school students begins today.
This year's Fiestas Patrias, set to be held in September, have been canceled throughout the State of Jalisco. According to Puerto Vallarta Mayor, Arturo Dávalos, the SSJ recommended suspending Mexico's Independence Day celebrations in order to prevent a major coronavirus outbreak.
The Riviera Nayarit is renewing its tourist offer with the transformation of the 117-room Grand Matlali Hills Resort & Spa, which by 2021 will become the All-Inclusive Delta by Marriott, the first Marriott International hotel with this branding anywhere in the world.
The Municipal Government and Institute of Culture continue working to preserve the sculptural heritage of Puerto Vallarta. Over the last 12 months, some of the city's most recognized public art pieces have been restored, the most recent being the monument to Lázaro Cárdenas.
Puerto Vallarta has another notable piece of public art, but you won't see it unless you're driving. Local artist Elodia Jiménez has painted a colorful mural on the interior wall of the 'small' tunnel that leads from the Libramiento to the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood.
The Municipal Government is ready to reopen more Puerto Vallarta businesses & activities, including theaters, cultural venues, recreational parks and open-air spas on July 20, but the State Government will determine when these enterprises can resume operations.
One of the most iconic beaches in Puerto Vallarta, Playa de Los Muertos, topped this year's list of the World's Best Gay Beaches published by GayCities.com. This distinction is relevant, as Gay Cities is a reference site for LGBT tourism in North America.
The beaches of Nayarit remain closed, but COVID-19 hasn't interrupted the Riviera Nayarit's commitment to the protection and conservation of sea turtles. Egg collection, incubation and hatchling releases continue in turtle camps, which now have special health measures in place.
The Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee has come up with some creative ways to support PV's Volcanes Food Bank, which was was established in early March to help families in this impoverished community survive the pandemic, which devastated the area economically.
Police in the municipality of Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit were assigned to a different type of duty last Sunday, when curious crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of an elephant seal sunbathing on the beach in the small town of San Francisco, better known as 'San Pancho.'
