MND Local Puerto Vallarta: Helping out after hurricanes, planning for Día de Muertos

By the time you read this, Puerto Vallarta will be recovering from its third consecutive hurricane in the last few weeks. First came Polo, then Rachel, and now Simón — a Category 3 storm currently making its way up the Pacific coast. Luckily, the storms’ eyes stayed offshore, sparing the city the worst impacts. Still, our malecón and beachside resorts have taken a beating from intense tidal surges and waves; many neighborhoods have flooded, and we haven’t been able to safely enjoy the beach since Sept. 23, when the first red flags were raised.

Needless to say, many residents — myself included — are feeling a bit of a hurricane hangover these days and are thinking less about going out on the town and more about helping our communities recover.

So instead of entertainment listings, this week’s events roundup highlights a few volunteer opportunities and organizations that provide disaster relief and organize cleanup efforts after major storms and throughout the year. Whether you live in Puerto Vallarta permanently, seasonally, or just vacation here from time to time, there are ways you can help residents recover through these groups.

We’ve also thrown in what we know so far about Día de Muertos happenings. Even though we’ve been thrashed around by storms lately, this is still Mexico, so the celebrations will go on come hurricanes or high water.

Disaster relief, cleanup and community support organizations

Vallarta Cares

Vallarta Cares is a local charity that mobilizes food, water, hygiene and medical supply distribution to communities affected by natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods and other emergencies. The organization also operates a year-round soup kitchen that serves hundreds of meals daily, provides weekly medical services, including free dental services, and organizes medical brigades throughout the year.

Vallarta Cares was also recently awarded first place in the interior of Jalisco category for the 2026 Premio a la Generosidad Jalisco. You can inquire about volunteer opportunities and make a donation through its website.

MND Local Puerto Vallarta: From Robbie Williams to trash fishing

Limpia Tu Mar

Limpia Tu Mar organizes trash cleanups along Vallarta’s beaches, rivers and at sea. Since its inception in 2017, the group’s cleanup brigades have removed more than 900 kilograms (1,984 pounds) of plastic, 125 kilograms (275 pounds) of styrofoam, 350 kilograms (771 pounds) of glass and 5,000 kilograms (11,023 pounds) of general garbage from the sea. Each week, volunteers set sail on boats from Puerto Vallarta to remove floating trash from the ocean.

Limpia Tu Mar also hosts one of Mexico’s largest environmental awareness events, the annual International Trash Fishing Tournament. This year’s tournament is coming up Oct. 18, and registration is still open if you want to participate or help sponsor the event. With all the recent storms washing tons of trash and debris into the bay, we could use all the help we can get to clean it up.

Local collection centers and cleanup brigades

If you are in Puerto Vallarta during hurricane season (June through November), local collection centers (centros de acopio) are often set up at community centers, fire stations and churches on short notice to organize relief efforts. Joining local community and business groups on social media is one of the fastest ways to find pop-up volunteering needs immediately following a storm.

One such brigade I join regularly is the Banderas Bay Project, started by local real estate agent Luis Salazar, which organizes monthly trash pickups around Boca de Tomatlán, one of the harder-hit areas from the recent storms.

Planning for Día de Muertos

Día de Muertos — Mexico’s annual celebration honoring departed souls — is around the corner, and that means Puerto Vallarta will again be pulling out all the stops.

This year, the city is participating in the statewide Festival de Las Almas (Festival of the Souls), featuring more than 350 free events across 11 municipalities in Jalisco from Oct. 24 through Nov. 2.

In Vallarta, the city is planning 28 free events and experiences Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 along the historic center, Los Arcos, Muelle de Los Muertos, Isla del Cuale, and, of course, the Malecón, which will again feature a monumental Catrina. The giant beauty has adorned the Malecón for the past several years, each time designed by a different Mexican artist. According to the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board, this year she will be adorned with waves, whales, manta rays and bougainvillea.

If you do plan on heading downtown for the festivities, I recommend going early before the crowds get too big. Last year, we waited until after dark to go see the Catrina and were stuck in traffic for more than an hour trying to drive from the Marina to the Malecón.

Concierto de Día de Muertos

The Vallarta Symphony Orchestra will perform with the choirs of Puerto Vallarta and the University of Brasília for special Día de Muertos concerts on Oct. 30 at the Iglesia Reina de la Paz in Marina Vallarta at 9 p.m., and on Oct. 31 at the Haramara Auditorium at Universidad Tecnológica de Bahía de Banderas in Nayarit at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased from IAMPV.

Debbie Slobe is a writer and communications strategist based in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. She blogs at Mexpatmama.com and is a senior program director at Resource Media. Find her on Instagram and Facebook.