Rosarito

Rosarito is a city in the state of Baja California, Mexico. The official name is Playas de Rosarito. It is located approximately 35 minutes south of the US/Mexico border crossing in Tijuana. It is a popular spring break destination for college students and young people in general from the United States. It boasts miles of beaches, hotels and dance clubs. Nearby at Popotla are the Fox Studios where many scenes from the movie Titanic were filmed. Some of the sets from the movie are now part of a museum located there.

History

In centuries past, the California peninsula was inhabited by tribes of natives, notably the Pai Pai, Cochimi, Kiliwa, Cucupa and Kumiai. The Kumiai settled in the Rosarito Beach area, naming it Uacatucay, (which translates to "the big house") and traces of their everyday life such as arrowheads, stone kitchen utensils, mortar, have been discovered. These artifacts provide a rich source of information regarding their lifestyles and the first stage in Rosarito's evolution. Today, the modern day Kumiai are reduced to a population of ninety three, in the area of San José de la Zorra just 30 kilometers east of La Misión Village.

The second stage in Rosarito's evolution, referred to as the "Misional", began with the arrival of the Spaniards in 1533, who began the establishment of missions throughout the peninsula and the evangelization of the native Kumiais.

In 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from Mexico in a political-religious decision. The Franciscans were asked to take over the administration of the missions. In 1772, a concordat (agreement) was signed between the King of Spain – with the support of the Viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) and the Pope – and the leaders of the Dominican and Franciscan monks resulting in the division of California in 1773, using the local mountain range that meet the sea at Calafia. The Palou Frontier was establish as the dividing line between Nueva (new) or Alta (upper) California and Antigua (old) of Baja (lower) California.

The Franciscans took control of Alta California and everything north of the Palou Frontier (including the state of California, USA) was their domain. Alternately the Dominicans controlled everything south of the frontier in Baja California. Fifteen years later, en 1788, the De Sales Frontier was establish and the boundary between the two Californias was relocated to the site of the Rosarito Creek.

The third stage in Rosarito's history began with the establishment of the big ranches. The property of El Rosarito Ranch, granted to Don José Manuel Machado on 1825, stands out as the first in the area. Subsequently his son, Don Joaquín Machado, applied for title to the land to President Porfirio Díaz. On May 14, 1885, Machado received his title and registered it in Ensenada, then the capital city of the state of Baja California. May 14 is now recognized and celebrated as Rosarito's Foundation Day by the Historical Society of Rosarito.

The fourth stage of Rosarito's history was centered around tourism. It began with the establishment of a place by the name of Rene's in 1925 and the Rosarito Beach Hotel in 1926. Rosarito was visited by tourist since 1874 (San Diego Union), attracted by hunting (dear, quail and rabbit) and fishing (lobster, abulone).

The Ejida and fifth stage in Rosarito's history began with the inception of Ejidos, common land for farming, when, on August 17, 1930, General Lázaro Cárdenas, then President of Mexico, issued a resolution granting 46.71 square kilometres (over 10,000 acres) of land to a community of local farmers known as Ejido Mazatlán.

Urbanization in 1950 marked the sixth stage in Rosarito's development with the planning and construction of streets and city blocks. As land sales soared, coupled with the construction of small restaurants, some shops and two hotels, the city began to take shape.

In the 1960s, Rosarito entered the commercial/industrial era with the constructions of a huge thermoelectric power plant and the later installations of Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company.

This seventh stage in Rosarito's evolution was marked with further construction and the development of shopping centers and more restaurants and shops were established along the main street. This street has been renovated and enlarge to encompass four lanes and a lighted meridian strip and, in 1989, was officially designated Boulevard Benito Juárez.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Rosarito's growth was moderate but constant. The mid-1980s, however, was marked with the strong development of tourist related businesses of obviously considerable investment. Available hotel rooms in Rosarito were up from 350 to 700 pesos.

In the early 1990s appreciable economic growth was been achieved by the construction and competition of numerous hotels, condominiums and shopping centers.

On December 1, 1995, Rosarito was converted from a suburb of Tijuana, to an independent city. The territory surrounding the city became the fifth municipality of the State of Baja California, this being the eight stage of the history of Rosarito. Rosarito has two suburbs, Plan Libertador, just north of town, and Ejido Primo Tapia, south of town. With these two suburbs, Rosarito encompasses nearly 40 miles of coastline and the population has grown from 28,000 to more than 100,000 residents, according to 1992 census figures.