Lifestyles Article - Guillermo Wulff
By Joseph Kandoll

As remembered by long-time friend Jack Cawood

Some men are born to greatness and some build their own star on which to hitch their name. Guillermo Wulff, February 5 1920 - November 7, 2002, stood tall among his contemporaries. Arriving in Puerto Vallarta in 1957, he was captivated by the charm of the still small town. The story goes that he arrived by air, indeed on the first flight into the airport. In his 40-odd years as a resident, he left footprints along the coast that were not built on sand but on the solid rock of the coastline.

Recently, Jack Cawood, who arrived in 1958, spoke about his good friend. “Guillermo was always the life of the party but he was always working on schemes. He had the ideas, while others did the work on his projects. We actually never worked together in development but years ago started a skin-diving business, the only project we did together. Everybody liked him; he was just a great promoter.

“It was his idea to get Puerto Vallarta on the map. We had a friend in common, Cy Bartlett, a movie producer, who came down to visit. Through connections to John Huston, the director, Guillermo promised them anything they wanted to get them down here. They agreed to establish schools, and the set would be made into a hotel afterward.”

Guillermo Wulff obtained a 90-year lease on land in what became Gringo Gulch and Mismaloya. He began building a number of homes in Gringo Gulch after his first one, for Americans, was so successful. His use of natural materials, adobe with brick and natural wood from the area, became his trademark.

It was his idea to put together the project for the filming of “Night of the Iguana” in Mismaloya. “Guillermo put it all together. There were no roads out to Mismaloya, but he got burros out there on boats, even hay for them. He wouldn’t say ‘no’ to anything. The stars had to go out by boat, each one separately; that’s the way it was then. He catered everything, brought out giant trucks by boat, there was no other way out there.”

For the first time, during and after the filming Puerto Vallarta began to receive visitors from the world of Hollywood, including what would be known later as the “jet set.” In addition to the stars, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, Sue Lyon and Richard Burton, Tennessee Williams, author of “Night of the Iguana,” came frequently. Elizabeth Taylor, already a megastar, began to visit Burton, even bringing her children. It was after these trips that the two decided to purchase Casa Kimberly, which became a social meeting place of sorts for the international crowd.

“The movie ‘Night of the Iguana’ did put Vallarta on the map, but not in the way he thought. Guillermo paid for it all. They were supposed to pay him back. He was broke afterwards. But he had a good time.”

“Some say that he built this town. He was the first one to build out here in the Marina, here at Puesta del Sol. People said he was crazy. He had so many projects, all along the coast. But that’s the way he was. His ideas were ahead of everybody else.”

Even La Palapa, the restaurant owned by the Pérez family, was designed and constructed by Wulff in a very authentic and natural setting on the beach. Next door was the Wulff family’s El Dorado, one of the traditional restaurant and bar hangouts.

In his last days, Guillermo Wulff lived with his daughter, Ana, and her family. Cheo González, his son-in-law, says he got to know his father-in-law better in these last months. “Even at the end, he was working on some scheme.” Luis, proprietor of El Dorado, talked to his father, Guillermo, by telephone the night before he died. In this last conversation, father told son how excited he was about his new plan for some land they own in Tijuana. He had another idea, and this one was going to work.

Guillermo Wulff, giant among men, will be remembered by his family, friends, clients and the community as a man who was generous in spirit and heart. After the great oak falls in the forest, the very trees are quiet in memory of their comrade. He will be kept alive in our memories and in our stories. Guillermo will be the one laughing the loudest.