The Golden Gates of Puerto Vallarta
Find out about the rare ship that sank in Los Arcos
Mexico's most vibrant facets is its rich culture, which brims with unique traditions and beliefs. This includes the fascinating Mexico myths, fables and legends that surround local sites. The legends of Mexico are undoubtedly surprising stories, from the incredible feats to the great icons we know today. However, other stories have transcended time due to their historical importance, and that combine fantasy, the surreal, and reality.
"This story is about a rare ship that sank in Los Arcos, a natural reserve in the bay, it is said that it was rare because it had golden doors. Divers tried to dive to save those valuable doors but they did not succeed due to the one who, they say, was the guardian of the boat: a giant fish with big eyes.They say that some divers returned scared, since the boat was about 150 meters deep, others, they say, simply did not return.
The historian Carlos Munguía recounted an interpretation of this legend in one of his books: “The forced passage of the merchant route (from San Francisco, California, to Panama) through the Bay of Banderas, brought, in addition to merchandise, stories from other lands. that the Spanish spread among the local inhabitants. One of those stories was that of the Golden Gate, which the Spanish named in 1769 “La Puerta Dorada”. Possibly the ship that sank had this name, and when the gossip reached the coast (the "Golden Gates" sank) with all the imaginary of the town, they soon created a legend that remains alive even more than three hundred years later."
Find out more about legens and myths of Jalisco here.
