(Acapulco) Trees uprooted, roofs destroyed, rooms smashed: the hotel and home of American actor Johnny Weissmüller, aka Tarzan, did not escape the hurricane of maximum force 5 which devastated Acapulco in western Mexico.
At the top of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the fuchsia-colored building was the refuge of the jet-set and the last address of the “King of the Jungle” until his death in 1984 at the age of 79, in the famous seaside resort.
The love story between Weissmüller and Acapulco began in 1948 during the filming of Tarzan and the Sirensthe last in the series.
For the purposes of the film, the shirtless actor, ex-Olympic swimming champion, threw himself into the sea from the top of the “Quebrada”, the famous rock of Acapulco, a natural diving board 45 m above of the sea.
PHOTO ARCHIVES THE PRESS
Johnny Weissmüller
Along with other Hollywood fortunes, including John Wayne, Weissmüller bought the “Flamingos” hotel. The two actors converted it into a party place for the stars of the time, sheltered from the paparazzi: Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner, Orson Welles, Errol Flynn…
As he grew older, Weissmüller had a house built away from the hotel, where he retired in the last years of his life.
On October 25, the hurricane Otis took away the hotel symbol of the golden age of Acapulco, like the rest of the port, with a toll of 46 dead and 58 missing.
“The swimming pool, which we were renovating, is destroyed,” laments Víctor Manuel Hernández, the current administrative head of Los Flamingos, to AFP. “The hurricane destroyed the trees, broke the windows, trashed the inside of the rooms.”
“As for the “Tarzan house”, it is completely destroyed,” adds the administrator, referring to the place Weissmüller occupied away from the hotel.
The imprint of the jet set
In total, 274,000 homes and 600 hotels were affected by the hurricane Otis which hit the city of 780,000 inhabitants whose economy is mainly focused on tourism.
Will the hurricane mark the definitive end of Acapulco? At the time of its splendor in the 50s and 60s of the previous century, “the pearl of the Pacific” was an annex of Hollywood. Elizabeth Taylor was married there for the third time. A simple senator, the future president John F. Kennedy spent his honeymoon there with Jacqueline Lee Bouvier.
At the height of its fame, Mexico’s fashionable spot inspired dozens of films like “Fun in Acapulco” starring Elvis Presley, who never set foot in Mexico (the film was shot in California).
Sunsets on the beach also inspired musician-singer-poet Agustín Lara, the man from Veracruz forever in love with the star of the golden age of Mexican cinema María Félix.
Starting in the 2000s, Acapulco was caught in violence linked to drug trafficking, which reduced the flow of tourists.
For the moment only 10 of the 40 employees of the Flamingos hotel have been able to return to their workstations, due to the still complicated transport conditions in the city.
“The situation is sad. But you have to be positive,” sighs the hotel manager. The government has promised a $3.5 billion support plan to help Acapulco recover from its ruins.