Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, August 16, 2026 – Puerto Vallarta has placed August 15 on the municipal calendar as the annual “Día de los Faros de Puerto Vallarta,” formally recognizing the two black-and-white navigation markers that began operation 94 years ago in Centro.
The designation covers the beacon beside the Malecón at Morelos and Galeana and the higher marker on Matamoros Street near Mina in El Cerro. Councilor Luis Jesús Escoto Martínez introduced the measure. The April 16 council record shows the proposal entering municipal review, and the council approved it shortly before the anniversary. The approved language connects the date with the historical, cultural and tourism value of the structures and their protection.
Commonly described as twin lighthouses, the structures are more accurately a single navigation system. The city’s official historical chronology identifies them as range lights and dates their inauguration to August 15, 1932. A federal maritime handbook explains that balizas de enfilación mark a course line ships can follow safely when entering or leaving a port.
Seen from the water, a helmsman could align the waterfront beacon with the higher inland beacon. When one appeared directly above the other, the vessel was holding the intended approach. The two markers stand 193 meters apart. Alternating black and white bands made them visible by day, while a dioptric lantern and acetylene equipment provided the signal at night.
Their installation belongs to a brief but important period in the city’s maritime development. Puerto Vallarta had been declared a puerto de altura on January 1, 1931, according to the municipal chronology. The range lights entered service the next year. Maritime operations later shifted to El Salado, and the official tourism history says the Matamoros marker remained in use until 1978.
The Matamoros structure was restored and reopened as a public lookout in 2006. Its later role helps explain why the new designation also addresses conservation. In 2024, work around the site included rehabilitation, lighting and a mural honoring Elizabeth Taylor beside the lighthouse.
No city-run public program accompanied the first observance Saturday. Neither the Vallarta Institute of Culture nor the Municipal Tourism Department scheduled a commemoration, although Escoto’s proposal contemplated activities at the Matamoros site.
The new calendar designation points to two distinct places in Centro. The Malecón beacon stands at Morelos and Galeana. The Matamoros lookout sits uphill near Mina, with a staircase and a view across downtown and Banderas Bay. The next annual observance falls on August 15, 2027.
