When celebrated movie director John Huston hand-picked the isolated cove of Mismaloya as one of the locations for The Night of the Iguana, the film adaptation of the Tennessee Williams book by the same name, he inadvertantly changed the course of Puerto Vallarta's history.

The paparazzi followed the director to the Pacific locale for the filming of the movie, which featured two of Hollywood's top stars: Richard Burton and Ava Gardner. However, the paparazzi descended upon Puerto Vallarta in hoards once Elizabeth Taylor arrived in town to continue her adulterous romance with Burton. The affair was the ideal fodder for paparazzi, as both stars were married- and not to each other.

Richard Burton soon purchased a home in the Gringo Gulch neighborhood and went on to purchase the home across the street as a gift for Taylor. A pink bridge was built for easy access.

With the nostalgia for the golden age of Old Hollywood set to a backdrop of shimmering seas and golden sands, interest in Puerto Vallarta was piqued around the world. In the flick of a switch - or better yet, in the flash of a lightbulb - Puerto Vallarta became a world-famous tourist destination.