Bahía de Banderas

Bahía de Banderas is both a bay and a municipality in the Mexican state of Nayarit.

The bay, site of the tourist destination Puerto Vallarta, is bounded on the north by Punta Mita and on the south by Cape Corrientes. It straddles the states of Jalisco and Nayarit and is the largest natural bay in Mexico and the second largest in North American - surpassed only by Canada’s Hudson Bay. See [1].

The municipality had a population of 59,808 (2000) in a total area of 773.3 km². The municipal seat is Valle de Banderas with a population of 5,528 (2000).

Origin of the name

It is said that upon the arrival of the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Cortés de San Buenaventura, the native peoples received him affectionately, carrying coloured banners made of feathers.

The Spanish gave the name “Valle de Banderas” to the place known as Tintoc, ancient capital of a small fiefdom of the Cuyuteco indias, who belonged to the larger kingdom of Xalisco. Soon the region became known as Bahía de Banderas, the name that would be adopted when it was declared a municipality in December 1989.

Geography

Location

The municipality is located in the following extreme geographic coordinates: 21° 03’ to 20° 54’, latitude north and 104° 58’ to 105° 32’, longitude west. In the north it borders the municipality of Compostela, in the east with the state of Jalisco, in the south with the Pacific Ocean and the state of Jalisco, and in the west with the Pacific Ocean. See maps at [2], [3], [4]

Territorial extension

Bahía de Banderas has a territorial extension of 773.3 km², which makes up 2.8% of the surface of the state. Included are the 2.5 km² of Las Marietas islands, which places the municipality in thirteenth place in ranking of area in the state.

Population centres

The municipal seat is Valle de Banderas, which had 5,528 inhabitants in 2000 (5,053 inhabitants in 1995). Other towns are: San Juan de Abajo with 8,159 inhabitants, Bucerías with 5,711, San José del Valle with 5,188, San Vicente with 3,543 and Jarretaderas with 3,426. These population centres hold 66% of the total population, with another 124 small settlements having the rest of the population.

Orography

More than 70% of the territory is hilly land, bordering on the Sierra Madre del Sur; the rest is coastal plane, rolling hills and small valleys on the plateau. The main elevations are: Sierra de Vallejo, with an elevation of 1420 mts, the hills of Las Canoas (740 mts), El Cora (720 mts), La Bandera (600 mts), Carboneras (150 mts) and El Caloso (500 mts). The municipal seat of Valle de Banderas has an elevation of 60 metres above sea level.

Hydrography

There are several small rivers: La Cucaracha, La Palapa, Galván, Las Truchas, Las Mesas, El Indio, La Peñita, Hustitán, La Quebrada, Charco Hondo, Calabazas, Las Ánimas, Carricitos, Bucerías and Ameca, which is the most important. There is also the lake of El Quelele.

Climate

The climate is hot subhumid, with rains falling in the summer from June to September. The average annual rainfall is 1,159.2 mm. The average annual temperature varies between 23.1 °C and 27.8 °C. Ninety percent of the days are sunny.

Main ecosystems

The main flora in the coastal zone is made up of palm trees, amates, and mangroves; in the middle and higher forest there are huanacaxtle, capomales, primavera, cedar and amapa; and in the highest parts there are oak, palo blanco, holm oak, and pine. The fauna is varied, but there are some species in danger of extinction, like the deer, wild pig, puma or American lion, cayman and guacamaya. Mention should be made of the hump-backed whale, which appears periodically in the bay.

Natural resources

With a coastline of 68 kilometers, Bahía de Banderas has attractive beaches and landscapes that have spurred development in the touristic sector. The long valley and abundance of water allow for extensive cattle raising. The mountains constitute an important ecological reserve.

Use of the soil

Due to the rich soils, Bahía de Banderas has an outstanding economic potential for cattle raising and tourism. 21% of the land is used for agriculture, 12% for cattle, 42% for a mixture of forest and cattle raising and 25% for other uses.

Demographic profile

Ethnic groups

The percentage of indigenous population is Great. The majority are Indigenous people, some have lost their ability to speak a native language. Those who still speak their language speak: Nahuatl, Wirrarika, Cora, Pore'pecha, Zapotec, Mixtec, etc.

Demographic evolution

Created in 1989, the municipality only has data from the censuses of 1990 and 1995, according to which there was a population of 39,831 and 47,077 inhabitants respectively, which shows an annual population growth rate of 3.0%, greater than the 1.51% of the state of Nayarit. The growth rate can be attributed to the touristic development of the region. The number of inhabitants made up 5.2% of the total state population.

Religion

93% of the population declared themselves to be Catholic in 1995, around 4% were Evangelical Protestant, and 3.2% had no religion.

Social infrastructure

Education

The educational infrastructure is made up of 112 schools (1995) of the following levels: 38 pre-school, 47 primary, 19 lower secondary, 5 middle-level technical, 3 secondary, 3 professional schools, and one tertiary level (Instituto Tecnológico del Mar). There is also a support unit for special education and 4 public libraries. The illiteracy rate is 8.3% among the population 15 years or older.

Health

The health infrastructure has 19 medical units (1995), of which 18 are external treatment and one a general hospital.

Dwellings

In 1995 there were 10,551 dwellings with an average of 5 inhabitants per dwelling. These had the following characteristics: 23% were rented or lent; 68% had a cement or hard floor; 15% had a wooden or tile floor; 83% had walls of brick, stone, or cement; 33% had ceilings of tin, metallic or asbestos tiles; and 31% had a floor of concrete or brick.

91.1% of the dwelling had piped-in water, 95.9% electricity, and 88.2% drainage. Moreover, there are 8 systems of sewage treatment and 16 of drainage and sewers.

Public services

The urban areas have the following public services: treated water, sewage treatment, street lighting, garbage collection, slaughter houses, markets, parks, gardens, sports fields, cemeteries, and public safety.

Roads

The road system has a length of 103.3 km. Of these, 78% were paved, and 22% were graveled. There are two aerodromes, one in Valle de Banderas and the other in Aguamilpa; the international airport of Puerto Vallarta is located on the boundary of the municipality.

Possession of consumer goods

Number of dwellings in 2000: 14,137
Number of dwellings with a radio: 11,588
Number of dwellings with a videocassette: 4,565
Number of dwellings with a blender: 11,822
Number of dwellings with a television: 12,689
Number of dwellings with a refrigerator: 11,202
Number of dwellings with a washing machine: 8,697
Number of dwellings with a telephone: 3,698
Number of dwellings with an automobile or truck: 3,736
Number of dwellings with a computer: 506

All statistics are from the 2000 census provided by the National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Data Processing (INEGI)

Economic activity

Agriculture

The cultivated surface was 132.55 square kilometres (1995), which made up 3.8% of the state total. The main crops are corn (maize), bean, sorghum, tobacco, rice, watermelon, and mango. Exotic fruits like papaya, litchi, and guanábana are also grown. Most of the planted area is irrigated (77.5%) and only 22.5% is seasonal.

Fishing

The fishing industry was responsible for 794.1 tons caught in 1995. The fishermen were organized in five cooperatives.

Industry

The main enterprises of this sector are concentrated in manufacturing and construction, the latter of great importance due to the tourist industry. In 1995 there were 8 packing houses for mango, 2 for papaya, and 2 for exotic vegetables.

Tourism

Bahía de Banderas is the most important site of touristic development in the state, with 55.5% of the touristic infrastructure installed here. In 1995 there were 58 hotels, 75% of which were five star, offering 3,336 rooms. Most of the visitors to Nayarit come here, 93% of whom are foreigners.

Services

The economically active population of the municipality makes up 46.8% of the population 12 years and older. The main sectors of occupation are tertiary (commerce, tourism, and services) with 44.7%; primary (agriculture, fishing, hunting) 31%; and secondary (mining, manufacturing, construction) 16.9%.

Cultural and tourist attractions

Festivals, dances, and traditions

The festival of Bahía de Banderas in celebrated in February. It is a sports and cultural festival. A great number of boats set out into the bay to observe the humpback whales and motivate the local inhabitants to promote their preservation. The arrival of the humpback whales begins in November and they stay in the bay until April. There is also a fishing tournament of marlin during the month of July.

Typical food

The typical dishes of the region are: the “soporrondongo”, which consists of a small fried tamale made of corn mash, which the locals eat during the corn season; "pregnant" fish and/or shrimp, grilled over charcoal on a spit; lobster prepared in different styles; and mussel prepared in the shell.

Tourist centres

The main attractions are: the beaches of Nuevo Vallarta, Punta de Mita, Bucerías, Destiladeras, Flamingos Nayarita, Corral del Risco, Cruz de Haunacaxtle, Jarretaderas and El Anclote. One should also visit the Islas Marietas, and see the touristic development of Nuevo Vallarta, a project begun by the federal government over 10 years ago, and consists of a 1,150 acre site with 2.9 miles of beachfront.