Puerto Nuevo started out as a fish camp on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  As word got around that there were a lot of lobsters to catch in the nearby ocean, more and more people came to fish and serve lobsters to the ever-growing number of visitors, including many Americans.  One of the early residents built a small stand in the vicinity of where the arches stand today, and next to it was a small billboard that advertised the Newport  brand cigarettes. The Americans named the town after the billboard; Newport is translated into Spanish as Puerto Nuevo. That's how the village received it's name.

You will never see so many restaurants that specialize in lobster as you'll see in Puerto Nuevo.  Every street is lined with hotels, restaurants and souvenir stands.  Lobster is what put Puerto Nuevo on the map and lobster is what keeps the town going.