The crown that adorns the Church of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the heart of Puerto Vallarta has come to be the symbol of Puerto Vallarta. Its lacey ironwork design can be seen from the hills and from the sea and appears in almost every advertisement for the town. The ringing of the bells in the tower below the crown can be heard throughout the city at dawn and dusk.
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Design of the Crown
The crown was designed by sculptor Jose Esteban Ramirez, and molded in clay by Emilio Campos. The cross, the sphere and the iron filigree of the crown (5 meters,16.5 feet in diameter) are the work of Esteban Avalos.
It is a replica of the crown worn by Empress Carlota, the wife of Maximilian of Hapsburg. (Maximilian was installed by the French after they occupied Mexico City in 1864. He reigned as Emperor of Mexico until he was deposed and shot by the forces of Benito Juarez in 1887. )
History of Construction
Although construction on the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe was started as early as 1903, it was demolished and begun again. The main building was completed in the 1940s. The smaller side towers were finished in the 1950s. The bells were placed in the bell tower in 1926; but the crown of Guadalupe wasn’t put in place until 1963.
In 1995, a moderately severe earthquake took Puerto Vallarta by surprise (the last one had occurred 60 years previously) damaging some buildings and flinging the beloved crown of Guadalupe to the ground. While souvenir hunters collected pieces of the broken crown, the local community began collecting funds to restore the cherished landmark. Aided by some international businesses, they replaced the old crown with a temporary fiberglass replica in 1996.
The new crown is said to be earthquake-proof, but may never be put to the test, as earthquakes strong enough to do damage are rare in this beach town. In any case, there are plans to replace this new crown with another, possibly of aluminum or fiberglass, when the funds can be raised. The original crown was made of iron and cement, and weighed 400 kilos (882 pounds).
