Puerto Vallarta Chronicler

Recently, we were lucky enough to meet with Professor Juan Manuel Gomez Encarnacion, a historian, writer, teacher, and Puerto Vallarta native.  Born in Ixtapa (about thirty minutes outside of Vallarta), he grew up surrounded by the area’s oral traditions as he listened to his father’s stories.  Prof. Gomez worked as a primary and high school teacher for thirty years before retiring in 1999 to pursue writing full-time.

Stories, fables, and historic non-fiction are among Prof. Gomez’s published works.  His book Tres Municipios en la Bahia de Banderas (Three Counties in Banderas Bay) focuses on the region’s history, as well as the geography and natural resources that continue to shape its culture, tourism, and real estate.  He considers it his duty to share, to preserve, and to inspire, and so far he’s been very successful – in 2006, he received the distinction of “Chronicler of the City” from the mayor of PV.

Murmullos del Paraiso (Whispers from Paradise), Prof. Gomez’s collection of local fables, is an entertaining source of oral traditions and local legends. He’s given PV Pulse permission to translate two of the fables – "Vulture Crash Landing" and "Flying Rutilio." We’ve done our best to capture the essence of his colorful writing.

Prof. Gomez would like to invite our readers to dig below the surface while in Puerto Vallarta, and to delve into the culture – it’s a magical place, full of interesting characters and myths.