vallarta first started On December 12, 1851, Don Guadalupe Sánchez Torres, his wife Ambrosia Carrillo, and a group of settlers founded Las Peñas de Santa María de Guadalupe—the birthplace of modern Puerto Vallarta. Drawn by abundant fisheries and natural riches, Sánchez Torres and companions like Cenobio Joya, Apolonio de Robles, and Cleofas Peña established a community based on fishing, farming, and salt production. The town grew and was renamed Puerto Vallarta on May 31, 1918, in honor of Jalisco lawyer Ignacio L. Vallarta.
