Puerto Vallarta is getting ready to hold the fifth edition of the Ceviche and Aguacahile Festival, where in just seven hours the event is expected to exceed the 350 kilos of seafood sold last year.

This year, five additional restaurants are added for this event that will take place next Sunday, January 28 from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at park Lázaro Cárdenas, a few meters from Playa Los Muertos.

The most basic ingredients of land and sea are combined, fishermen learned that after cleaning the fish they had several options to cook it; however, at some point they tried to put it in lemon juice with the surprise of finding the cooked and marinated meat.

Thus came the encounter between fish and lemon, which over time would give rise to two of the best known dishes of the cuisine of the Pacific Ocean: ceviche and a Mexican variant with chili and onion: aguachile.

The organizer of the event, Edgar Cisneros, explained that ceviche is a dish consisting of fish or seafood marinated in citrus dressings, mainly lemon, lime or sour orange, is one of the delights most sought by tourists who visit the beach.

He stated that it is usual in Mexico that the preparation includes chiles, onion, cilantro, tomato and avocado, although there is a version of Vallarta that substitutes these last two ingredients for carrots and cucumbers.

He stressed that the aguachile followed a similar procedure but in this, as the name implies, generous portions of chopped chile are added, mainly serrano and abundant onion slices, as well as grain salt and some pepper, which produce an explosion of flavor.

He commented that ceviche and aguachile are very traditional dishes in the region, prepared homemade by families from all walks of life and by chefs in restaurants of all kinds, in a sample of the versatility of these products.

In this fifth edition will be the participation of 10 local restaurants, two craft breweries (Molusko of Puerto Vallarta and Magical Town Nebula of San Sebastian del Oeste), and artisanal ice cream with Bargelatto.

To liven up the day the presentation of the folkloric ballet “Tradiciones” directed by Alexis Jimón is presented, a Polynesian dance with the girls of the school “Lani Ale Kau Iluna”.

Edgar Cisneros said that each year it seeks to persuade more restaurants but above all to be an inclusive event and this year it will be a festival with cause since it will take all the children of the Santa Esperanza Children’s Shelter.

“Thanks to the donation of meat by each of the participating establishments, children can enjoy these traditional dishes, as well as music and activities that are prepared for the general public,” he said.

This is how Puerto Vallarta, the most Mexican port, continues to consolidate itself as Mexico’s gastronomic destination and offers visitors activities and festivals throughout the year.