Puerto Vallarta Nightlife

Music: Movers and Shakers: We cannot possibly do justice to the increasingly vast and varied live music scene here in Puerto Vallarta in a single installment. Like waves on the sand, every year seems to come and go, leaving behind new and memorable performances by talented performers from all walks of life.

International Restaurants: In Search of Exotics: Today, Puerto Vallarta’s international restaurant scene can satisfy even the most sophisticated bon vivant. Of course, chances are that if you are visiting Mexico for the first time, you will want to experience authentic Mexican cuisine with its broad variety of flavors first and foremost.

Tequila!: Considered North America's first indigenous distilled spirit, tequila production originated in the 16th century near the town of Tequila, Jalisco. It is made from agave, a plant considered sacred by the Aztec, who used it to produce octly, a fermented beverage now known as pulque.

Mexican Pyrotechnics: From Gunpowder to the Marigalante: Spend enough evenings around downtown Puerto Vallarta and you'll find you no longer need a watch, especially around 9 pm, when the daily Marigalante pirate ship fireworks light up the night sky. Here in Mexico we need practically no excuse to set off fireworks.

Kahlua: Few can resist being seduced by this popular liqueur made from Mexican coffee, and many include it in their list of gifts to bring back home.

The Viva Girls: A Dash of Class and a Lot of Marketing Savvy: Surprises happen in Vallarta when you least expect them, like when having dinner at a nice restaurant, say. And suddenly, four gorgeous women in capes glide in, appearing before you smiling broadly ...

Best Place for Free Mariachi Music: Tequila’s Cafe: By day, Tequila’s Café on the Malecon offers a panoramic view of Banderas Bay, complete with the spectacle of humpback whales cavorting in the crystalline waters during the winter months. By night, patrons can enjoy some of the best mariachi music around, ideally while dining on the restaurant’s romantic wraparound balcony perched one story above the street action, just opposite the seahorse sculpture.

Best Looking Female Impersonator: Ida Slapter: We met because of a tin-foil tiara. I was wearing it while celebrating something or other at the Red Cabbage five years ago, when in sauntered Shane Clabaugh with his entourage. As beautiful as any woman, eyes startlingly blue and the longest legs I’d ever seen, he took my breath away.

Best New Dance Craze: Tango: Whether you speak English, Spanish, Swahili or all three is irrelevant when it comes to learning tango, the hot, sensuous dance that originated in 19th-century Buenos Aires and has taken PV by storm since tango instructors Barbara and Al Garvey moved to town two years ago.

Best Musical Makeover: Los Bambinos: From travelling troubadours to overnight sensation, one of Puerto Vallarta's favorite musical groups, goes through a makeover. Check out one of their songs! (Audio)

Best Nightclub: Carlos O’brian’s: Having just celebrated 34 years in Puerto Vallarta, Carlos O’Brian’s, of the Anderson’s chain of restaurants, is without a doubt the best nightclub in town.

Five Musical Moods: When it comes to live music in Puerto Vallarta, there is something for just about every live-music lover to enjoy. Here are five musical options you won’t want to miss.

Fashionable New Wine Bars: Stylishly enhancing the options Puerto Vallarta offers, a fresh new trio of atmospheric wine bars is shaping the way people approach dining out and getting together with friends.

Jefferson Starship Rocks Vallarta: 10/11/05: The Marriott Casa Magna was the place to be October 8 and 9 when Jefferson Starship sparked lots of great memories during two concerts