Listen closely, my comrades, I’m going to tell you a story that will chill your blood and make your hair stand on end every time you want to venture into the deep and infinite ocean.
On the coasts of Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay, an ancient legend has intrigued fishermen and residents of this region, who claim to have seen a mysterious creature nicknamed “El Gentil”, a hybrid being of man and fish that has been the object of fear and fascination for generations.
There is a place between the borders of Jalisco and Nayarit, about 10 minutes from Puerto Vallarta International Airport, where the Ameca River empties into the sea.
This estuary is called Boca de Tomates, a place known for its restaurants serving fresh fish and a wide variety of seafood. Fishermen go there to cast their nets or hooks to catch mullet, grunts, and other species of the region.
Fishermen say that at night, when they went to collect the traps for crabs in the estuary, they heard strange sounds, not precisely from the crocodiles that inhabit the area.
Another of its peculiar features are huge footprints similar to those of a duck. Some fishermen have seen it in the distance lurking among the canoes. When they approached, thinking it was an oar thief, it turned out to be a two-meter creature that would dive into the sea or the estuary. They called it “El Gentil”.
Sightings of “El Gentil” in Puerto Vallarta
One of the stories of “El Gentil” originates in Boca de Tomates in 1950. The victim was Pancho Jiménez, a man who firmly believed in the stories told by his fellow fishermen about this enigmatic creature, as it is known that since 1930 the creature became popular among the inhabitants of Manzanillo, Colima.
It was said that people fished in the rivers instead of the sea, because a sea beast stalked them at night, causing disappearances of both fishermen and people who wandered the beaches.
According to Sabino Rhon and Tiburcio Leyva, friends of Jiménez, during a morning of fishing on the beaches of Jarretaderas and Boca de Tomates, they had an unexpected encounter with “El Gentil”. In their attempt to catch it, Sabino wounded the creature with a machete blow to the chest, causing it to flee desperately.
Other locals also claimed to have seen the enigmatic being, describing its green, scaly skin and its height of almost two meters.
The most impactful sighting occurred when Pancho Jiménez found “El Gentil” sitting on the rocks in front of the Cross of Huanacaxtle. To Pancho’s surprise, the creature still had the machete that Sabino had embedded in it years ago.
Although Pancho was presumed dead, his wife and children were informed of the situation. Days after his disappearance, Jiménez’s granddaughter began to dream of him, where he told her he was fine:
“I don’t know where I fell, or if I can return. I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m happy. I enjoy scaring people in a world of lights and reflections where, like me, everything is made of crystal”.
A month after his disappearance and after a funeral mass was held in absentia, the lifeless body of Pancho Jiménez was found on the beach.
Sightings of “El Gentil” Indicate It May Still Be in Puerto Vallarta
The myth of “El Gentil” has spread over the years, with alleged fleeting appearances in various locations such as Quimixto, Bucerías, Mismaloya, and Punta de Mita.
The testimonies of fishermen from the town of Bucerías have fueled the intrigue surrounding this creature, as they say it comes out at night to take away the drunkards who fall asleep on the beach.
Even in the 1990s, some fishermen sighted the creature again at Boca de Tomates. This being matched the description of “El Gentil”, assuring that it emerged from the mangroves and to everyone’s astonishment, it walked along the beach carrying a dead animal. Upon noticing the presence of the fishermen, it fled to the sea.
In 2005, a security officer from the Marina of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle reported that while on duty, he found strange footprints, similar to duck footprints, except they were enormous. On one of his rounds, he caught a glimpse of a strange creature that once again matched the characteristics of “El Gentil”.
Although scientific explanations try to refute the existence of “El Gentil”, the legend persists in the imagination of the inhabitants of the Puerto Vallarta region.
Uncertainty and fear continue to surround the enigmatic being, keeping alive one of the most captivating legends of the region.
Is it just a myth or does this mysterious creature really terrorize the coasts? It’s up to you to believe or not believe, comrades.
