Alcoholics Anonymous commemorates 90 years of mutual support with public meetings in Puerto Vallarta, sharing recovery stories and expanding its reach across the Nayarit 2 Bahía de Banderas Vallarta region.
On June 10, 2025, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) celebrated its 90th anniversary since William Griffith Wilson and Robert Holbrook “Doctor Bob” Smith founded the fellowship in Akron, Ohio, in 1935. Under the motto “1935–2025 90 Years Saving Lives,” Puerto Vallarta’s Group 5 de Diciembre held informational assemblies in public plazas to raise awareness of the Twelve-Step program and bring recovery resources directly to the local community.
José de Jesús Estrada Limón, coordinator of AA’s Professional Community Cooperation Committee in Puerto Vallarta, explained that each service area adapts the anniversary celebration to its own territory. In the “Nayarit 2 Bahía de Banderas Vallarta” service district there are about 90 groups serving some 850 members, with meetings stretching from La Peñita de Jaltemba down to Tomatlán and Talpa. Events included open-air meetings in the El Pitillal and Lázaro Cárdenas plazas, educational forums in schools, and features on local media outlets.
“The support of the media has been crucial,” Estrada Limón said, recalling how Bill W, AA’s cofounder, valued partnerships with professionals and communication centers to spread the message. “Each group marks this milestone in its own way… in Puerto Vallarta there will be several public meetings, for example in the El Pitillal and Lázaro Cárdenas plazas, as well as school forums on alcoholism.”
Eighty-nine-year-old Don José de Jesús, who has been in the program for 38 years, shared his testimony of transformation through the Twelve Steps. “I started drinking late in life, around age forty; I joined AA at 51 and have now been sober for 38 years. I’ve truly lived happily!” he said, emphasizing that the program not only helps members quit drinking but also to build a balanced, purposeful life.
Estrada Limón also stressed that AA neither judges nor prohibits alcohol production or consumption by those without an addiction. “We’re a fellowship to help one another once the problem of alcoholism is present, and our doors are open to anyone in need,” he noted. Through this 90th-anniversary celebration, Alcoholics Anonymous reaffirms its commitment to community support and visible pathways to recovery throughout the region.
