Puerto Vallarta Sculptures & Statues, complete guide

In Search of Reason – Sergio Bustamante, Puerto Vallarta Malecon

Puerto Vallarta offers great weather, beaches, food, kind locals and many things to do, plus there’s also a lot of culture & art, which spills out onto the streets as well.

If you visit the downtown area, especially the Malecon, you’ll immediately notice there are lots of statues and sculptures along the way, it’s much more fun to know a bit more about them, you’ll enjoy them more and hopefully, it’ll make your stroll all the more entertaining.

Even though there are many statues and sculptures on the Malecon, they are not the only ones in town, you’ll find them all around town and others even further away, like the Marina Vallarta or Los Mangos Library, some of the local artists even have their works in Mismaloya or San Sebastian del Oeste, other towns in Mexico or even the rest of the world.

Ándale Bernardo by Jim Demetro (2014)

Angel of Hope and Messenger of Peace by Héctor Montes (2007)

Crown of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, by Rafael Parra C., José E. Ramírez G. & Carlos Terres (2009)

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton by Jim Demetro (2016)

Eriza-Dos by “Blu” Maritza Vasquez (2007)

Francisco Medina Ascencio by Rubén Orozco Loza (2013)

Ignacio L. Vallarta by Miguel Miramontes Carmona (1964)

In Search of Reason by Sergio Bustamante (2000)

John Huston by Carlos Ramírez (1988)

Lazaro Cardenas, Parque L. Cárdenas, Romantic Zone

Lluvia by Jovian (2020)

Lorena Ochoa by Octavio Gonzalez Gutiérrez (2012)

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla by J. Esteban Ramírez G. (1988)

Nature as a Mother by Adrián Reynoso (1997)

Nostalgia by Ramiz Barquet (1984)

Origin and Destination by Pedro Tello (2011)

Saint Francis of Assisi by Augusto Bozzano

San Pascual Bailón by Ramiz Barquet (2008)

Salud/”Cheers!” by Jim Demetro (2023)

Spiral Shark by Ramiz Barquet (1996)

The Arches by Martin Distancia (2002)

The Boy on the Seahorse by Rafael Zamarripa (1976)

The Boy on the Seahorse (the original one) by Rafael Zamarripa (1968)

The Fisherman by Ramiz Barquet (1996)

The Fishermen by Jim Demetro (2018)

The Friendship Fountain by James Bottoms and Octavio González Gutiérrez (1987)

The Golfer and the Dolphins by Octavio González Gutiérrez

The Good Fortune Unicorn by Aníbal Riebeling (2011)

The Millennia by Mathis Lidice (2001)

The Minstrel’s Corner by Ramiz Barquet (1999)

The Orcas by Octavio González Gutiérrez

The Rotunda of the Sea by Alejandro Colunga (1996)

The Subtle Stone-eater by Jonás Gutiérrez (2006)

The Washer Woman by Jim Demetro (2008)

The Whale and her calf (Vallarta Whale) by Octavio González Gutiérrez (2001)

Triton and Siren by Carlos Espino (1990)

Un niño, Un Libro, Un Futuro (A Boy, A Book, A Future) by Ramiz Barquet (2000)

Vallarta Dancers by Jim Demetro (2006)

Victoria del Bicentenario by Adrian Reynoso (2010)

Ever since 1968, when the city commissioned a sculpture from Rafael Zamarripa, the town added more and more beautiful creations of different artists to the Puerto Vallarta boardwalk and other places around the city.

Rafael Zamarripa was only 18 years old when he sculpted the “Boy on the Seahorse” sculpture that ended up on Los Muertos Beach at Las Pilitas, a big storm washed the original sculpture away in the 1970s, so a new one was requested, a bit bigger, to put on the Puerto Vallarta Malecon (so it wouldn’t wash away so easily), where it was placed in 1976. The original was found again so it was left there on the beach too, something that creates a bit of confusion.

Over the years the Puerto Vallarta malecón has added more and more sculptures, becoming an open-air art gallery promenade.

There are so many things to do in Puerto Vallarta, enjoying the culture and arts is one of the easiest pleasures you will find in the city. If you are wondering what to do in PV, you’ll never run out of options and ideas, that’s for sure!

Author: M. A. Gallardo