Puerto Arista
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Puerto Arista (Arista Port) is a small community and tourist attraction located on the north coast of Chiapas, Mexico in the municipality of Tonalá. While it originally was a port, its lack of harbor and suitability for large cargo ships eventually shifted the economy to tourism in the 20th century. It is popular with people from Chiapas as it is located close to the state capital of Tuxtla Gutiérrez as well as the regional city of Tonalá. It is the most visited beach in Chiapas and one of its most popular tourist destinations, despite its relative lack of sophisticated tourism infrastructure. Puerto Arista is home of one of the state's four marine turtle sanctuaries, design to help protect the various species which come here to lay their eggs.
The community of Puerto Arista is located in the municipality of Tonalá, twenty two km from the municipal seat and sixteen km off Federal Highway 200.[1][2] The area is part of the Istmo-Costa region of the state, itself part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.[3] This coast area is a strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean.[2] This area is mostly filled with small towns and ranches with extensive pasture for cattle, the main economic activity for this region.[4] Some of the nearby communities include Cabeza de Toro, which straddles the road linking Puerta Arista and Boca del Cielo, both on the La Joya Lagoon.[2][4]
The community of Puerto Arista itself straddles a main boulevard that runs parallel to the beach. This road has various names such as Boulevard Zapotal and Avenida Mariano Matamoros, but it is most commonly referred to as El Boulevard.[1] Most of the buildings along this boulevard, especially in the center of town, are business that cater to tourists, such as hotels, restaurants and small stores. The other important road is the Tonalá-Puerto Arista highway, which connects to El Boulevard in the center of town, at the lighthouse built in the 19th century.[2][5]
Public transportation is limited to buses that go to Tonalá and small vans and collective taxis to other locations.[1][5]
History
Originally called La Puerta, its existence is first recorded in 1813, when the Spanish council in Cádiz authorized the port to trade with Guatemala, other ports in New Spain and Peru.[2][6] In the 1860s, President Benito Juárez declared it a main port for coastal shipping. The port used to receive goods from Panama, Acapulco and as far as San Francisco. Chiapas products such as lime, dried fish, indigo and tropical hardwoods. As it lacks a bay, ships arriving to the area had to dock in open ocean, linked to the coast with a very long cable, with smaller boats to ferry cargo and passengers. In 1893, the federal government constructed a lighthouse to warn large cargo carriers from the area as its waters were not considered safe for such craft.[6] Since then, the area has lost its function as a port, with only shrimp boats stopping nearby. The economy has shifted to tourism as Chiapas' most visited beach.[2][6]
In 2010, a large wave hit the area hitting beachside restaurants, washing away dozens of establishments and boats. The wave also eroded more than a meter of beach width in areas.[7]
In the summer and November 2011, there were some problems with high levels of Enterococcus bacteria in the water.[8]
