Stay informed with a roundup of key developments in Puerto Vallarta, including weekend water and traffic disruptions, the launch of Pride Week with demonstrations and the first Diversity Council, a major apartment fire, a mild offshore earthquake, and airport travel updates.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Residents and visitors alike are beginning their week with a series of important updates from around the city, covering service interruptions, civic demonstrations, emergency incidents, and travel news.
Over the weekend, municipal crews carried out critical maintenance work that left neighborhoods across the Centro, Zona Romántica, and the hotel district without running water from Saturday into Sunday; authorities urged residents to store extra water and businesses to adjust their service hours accordingly. Simultaneously, planned road closures were implemented on Saturday for infrastructure repairs and event preparations, prompting motorists to seek alternate routes around the Malecón and downtown core to avoid delays.
Saturday also saw the official kickoff of Vallarta Pride Week: on the afternoon of May 17, LGBTQ+ activists took to the streets and Malecon in a peaceful demonstration, chanting slogans against homophobia and drawing support from local onlookers. That same day, city officials raised the rainbow flag at City Hall and installed Puerto Vallarta’s first-ever Cabildo de la Diversidad (Diversity Council), a milestone in the city’s ongoing commitment to inclusion and equality.
Early Sunday morning brought a more urgent situation when a fire broke out in a fourth-floor apartment at the 2000C building in Colonia Aurora. Four people were injured—two suffered second- and third-degree burns—while dozens of neighbors were evacuated as firefighters and paramedics battled the blaze and administered aid; investigators suspect an electrical short but the official cause remains under review.
The overnight hours of May 19 were also marked by a mild natural event: at 00:22 h, the National Seismological Service recorded a magnitude 4.1 earthquake centered some 295 km southwest of Puerto Vallarta, at a shallow depth of 10 km. The tremor was felt in coastal districts but resulted in no reported damage or injuries.
In travel and economic news, Puerto Vallarta International Airport reported handling 2.7 million passengers from January through April 2025, buoyed by a 15 percent surge in domestic travel even as international arrivals dipped slightly under new U.S. policy measures. Airport director Cryshtian Amador Lizardi also announced that the New Terminal Building project has reached 45 percent completion—on track to boost operational capacity by 130 percent when it opens in late 2026
