The city's iconic lizard enjoys a special place in local culture
Take a stroll through Puerto Vallarta and you’ll probably see an iguana perched on a tree branch, munching on a bougainvillea bush or sunning itself on a rock. And if not, you will certainly encounter numerous likenesses, as the town loves this big lizard.
In Puerto Vallarta, the iguana is used in company logos, molded into pottery, celebrated in fiestas, and incorporated into the names of restaurants, nightclubs, and cantinas. One of the city’s most prestigious neighborhoods is Isla Iguana, and on area beaches, sand sculptors recreate likenesses while entrepreneurial youngsters offer to loan their pet lizards for photo ops. It can even be said that the iguana brought Puerto Vallarta to the world stage when director John Huston came on location to stage the cinematic classic “The Night of the Iguana.”
Nature lovers may be fascinated to learn that iguanas actually sport a third eye hidden in the center of their forehead, which helps warn of threats from birds of prey, which are one of this animal’s few natural predators. History buffs may be less thrilled to learn that humans have long considered iguanas to be a tasty source of protein and leather. Fortunately, these personable lizards are now off the menu for most, and are prized primarily for their personality.
