Uprooted trees, destroyed roofs, destroyed rooms: The hotel and home of the American actor Johnny Weissmüller, alias Tarzan, could not escape the Category 5 hurricane that devastated Acapulco in the west from Mexico.
Perched on 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 at the famous beach resort.
The love story between Weissmüller and Acapulco began in 1948 during the filming of “Tarzan and the Sirens,” the final part of the series.
For the film, the shirtless actor and former Olympic swimming champion plunged into the sea from the summit of the Quebrada, the famous rock of Acapulco, a natural diving board 45 meters above sea level.
Together with other Hollywood greats, including John Wayne, Weissmüller bought the “Flamingos” hotel. The two actors transformed it into a party place for the stars of the time, far from the paparazzi: Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner, Orson Welles, Errol Flynn…
As he grew older, Weissmüller had a house built away from the hotel, into which he retreated in the final years of his life.
On October 25, Hurricane Otis swept away the hotel, the symbol of Acapulco’s golden age, and the rest of the port, leaving 46 dead and 58 missing.
“The swimming pool that we renovated is destroyed,” lamented Victor Manuel Hernández, the current administrative manager of Los Flamingos, to AFP. “The hurricane destroyed the trees, shattered the windows and devastated the interior of the rooms.”
“As for the ‘Tarzan House’, it is completely destroyed,” adds the manager, referring to the space that Weissmüller lived away from the hotel.
The imprint of the jet set
A total of 274,000 homes and 600 hotels were affected by Hurricane Otis, which hit the city of 780,000 whose economy is based primarily on tourism.
Will the hurricane mean the final end of Acapulco? During its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, “the Pearl of the Pacific” was an outbuilding of Hollywood. Elizabeth Taylor married there for the third time. Future President John F. Kennedy, a junior senator, spent his honeymoon there with Jacqueline Lee Bouvier.
At the height of its fame, Mexico’s fashion resort 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 the musician, singer and poet Agustín Lara, the man from Veracruz who was forever in love with the star of the golden age of Mexican cinema, María Félix.
Beginning in the 2000s, Acapulco experienced violence related to drug trafficking, reducing the flow of tourists.
Due to the still complicated transport conditions in the city, only 10 of the 40 employees of the Flamingos Hotel have been able to return to work for the time being.
“The situation is sad. But you have to think positively,” sighs the hotel manager. The government has promised a $3.5 billion relief plan to help Acapulco recover from its ruins.