Photo by Dan Petersen © 2014
Getting to Know You
Entrepreneurs of Loreto
In the spring of 2005, my husband Dan and I first heard of Loreto from a glossy brochure that arrived unsolicited in the mail promoting the charming, socially responsible and environmentally sustainable village of Loreto Bay. It was just beginning to take shape in Baja along a sandy beach a few miles south of the historic town that had been designated the first capital of the Spanish Californias in 1697.
The flyer caught us at a propitious moment, the founders’ values coincided with ours, and our trip to Loreto that June for the “launch” clinched it. We especially liked the idea of joining fellow pioneers to create a whole new community while getting to know the deeply rooted one near-by, and we were excited about the chance to live in and learn the culture of this far-flung outpost of Mexico. So we swallowed hard and signed the papers for a chalked rectangle of sun-baked sand.
A decade and more later, after weathering substantial glitches, including the weather itself, we are living our dream. Every spring we stay in our Loreto Bay home. I love our neighbors and friends, who come from many walks of life and many scattered places—Calgary, Vancouver, mainland Mexico, Reno, Seattle, Philadelphia, LA… From our roof deck, I love watching the sun set beyond the rugged Sierra de la Giganta as a pelican wings his way homeward or a hooded oriole bathes in the courtyard fountain. And then I love taking a long pause to watch night fall—one star, then three, then seven, until whole constellations map the sky.
I love hiking the rugged canyons on a cloudy day and walking the beach with our dog early mornings, when the still bay mirrors the sky. I love the liquid syllables of Spanish surrounding me. I love the old town of Loreto—the motley stone walls of the gracefully aging mission, the blue-footed boobies dive-bombing schools of sardines in the crowded harbor, the cobbled paseo shaded by neatly groomed arches of laurel on a hot afternoon. And I love Loreto’s gentle pace of life, its markets, its seafood, its music, its margaritas, its tortillas, and its welcoming smiles.
The smiles are what led me to this project, “Getting To Know You--Entrepreneurs of Loreto.” As I shopped in a market or dined at a restaurant and chatted with the owners, I became curious about their lives. I wanted to know their stories and those of other local entrepreneurs, who had taken risks or saved money or bounced back from hardship to bring their dreams to life. So for the past several years, I have been interviewing some of them and writing their stories. In the process I have made some good friends, whom I enjoy and admire. I'd like to share their stories with you.
I hope, as you read them, you will visit their businesses and get to know them—or get to know them even better. And I would like to know what you learn about them and what ideas you have for me. Please share your thoughts in the COMMENTS section.
I began this project in the spring of 2014, and it's a challenge to keep up with the changes that have occurred over the years. Each entry is dated, and some contain information that is no longer current. I intend to keep bringing them up to date.
My deep gratitude goes to my husband Dan, who edited the stories and contributed most of the banner photos; to my writing partners and groups in Loreto Bay and in Claremont, California, who provided valuable critiques; to my friend Catherine Kerr, who helped design the website; and to these entrepreneurs of Loreto, who generously shared their lives with me.
Lissa Petersen
--------------------------------------------
Agnes Boutique and Las Flores Boutique and Spa Agnes and Sergio
When Sergio decided to ask Agnes to marry him, he spirited her off to a boutique hotel south of Cancún with a small, private beach—“the best beach in Mexico,” he claims. As night fell, he led her along a path sprinkled with rose petals and flickering in the soft glow of candles to a table with a bottle of champagne. There Sergio knelt in the perfect white sand to present her with the ring.
Artesanias del Sol home furnishings shop Gustavo and Angeles
Gustavo Flores Cardenas is an intriguing storyteller and something of a modern-day Odysseus. Like Homer’s hero, his bearing is noble; his mind, supple and creative; his demeanor, confident; his character, bold. He is tall, lean, upright in posture. He has journeyed as a stranger through foreign lands, mastered soul-testing challenges, and ultimately returned to Loreto—his home by the seashore, not far from the home of his youth.
El Gavilan Seeds and Spices Shop Gabriel
Gabriel offers you a taste of his prize spicy peanuts or the latest trail mix that he’s concocted. He shows you how to cook those mysterious little wagon-wheel-shaped pastas by plunking them in the microwave for several seconds until they puff up like popcorn. He dispenses household hints: freeze flour to kill the bugs that grow into weevils in the heat.
Herzon musician Herzon
When Herzon writes, the fingers on his right hand form the letters. When he plays the guitar, the fingers on his left expertly navigate the frets. And when he talks, those left-hand fingers shape expressive gestures, still pressing imaginary strings.
The Jacksons photo gallery, inn, real estate Jill and Rick
Serendipity. That’s how Loreto became the home of Jill and Rick Jackson. And it’s how their residence in Loreto, Las Cabañas, has become a communal home, jointly owned and managed with Jill’s parents and shared with their guests—renters seeking an intimate resort near the sea and the heart of the historic town.
Los Mandiles restaurant Gustavo and Maria Eugenia
Next to the covered patio of Los Mandiles, the restaurant extends into a small stucco room with warm, orange walls and cool tile floor. When he’s not waiting on diners, Gustavo is usually sitting at one of the blue plastic tables emblazoned with a Corona logo, reading. He reads everything—novels, histories, politics. Or writing. He writes poems, short stories, novels.
Mita Gourmet restaurant Juancarlos and Marta
Once you are seated at a table beneath the festive canopy of umbrellas on the tree-shaded patio of Mita Gourmet and the young server has brought you your margarita, a charismatic and authoritative older man steps up to take your order. He has a husky build, silver hair and a broad, sun-tanned face with alert eyes and a ready smile.
Orlando’s restaurant Orlando
At his restaurant during slow hours, Orlando sits at a table scanning the screen of his laptop. He keeps up with international news and business trends. His curiosity, his willingness to take risks, his resilience when things go wrong, and his growing confidence are features of his entrepreneurial spirit. “I was a little shy at first,” he says, “but I have become more open. I really like people, and I really like adventure.”
Pedro's Place (restaurant) and New Deli Pedro and Cristina
Pedro is not just charming and business-minded; he is also philosophical. And his life is full of irony. “Never have a passion for money,” he says. “If you have a passion for what you do, the money will come along. If not, okay. You still have your passion.” But, in spite of a few minor setbacks, he’s very good at making money.
Silver Desert jewelry and clothing shops Maria Teresa and Rossana
As a tourist exploring the historic heart of Loreto, you are apt to experience déjà vu. Walking beneath the laurel arches, you may be drawn to the tasteful silver jewelry and T-shirts at Silver Desert. Its logo of a festive sun by the entrance beams at you. As you continue past city hall and cross the town square, you will discover another Silver Desert with the same smiling sun greeting you.
Studio 908 art studio and gallery Lisa
Lisa’s heart is warm, her mind is curious, her imagination is ripe, her smile is irresistible. When you enter Studio 908, her workshop and gallery in Agua Viva, you feel welcomed into her home, which happens to be upstairs.
Vive Loreto tour guiding Maria and Rafael
Rafael considered returning to Mexico City and his former law firm, but Maria said no. “Our kids were so happy here,” she says. “And we’re very outdoorsy. We had the taste of the good life in Loreto, not the traffic and life there.” The memories still stung from the years that Rafael had worked in Mexico City, commuting more than four hours a day on a route that took ten minutes to drive at midnight.
Wine Cellar bar Will and Cynthia
They found each other at a bar in Los Angeles in 1995. He was Black; she was White. He came from the Southwest and “the opposite side of the tracks” in South Central LA; she came from the Northeast, an industrial Canadian city near Niagara Falls named St. Catherines.
El Zopilote restaurant, brewery and inn Norma and Kieran
For Norma and Kieran, more than their menu is international. Norma grew up in the capital of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Kieran, born in South Wales, is proud of his Irish citizenship. Their son, who plays soccer and guitar and practices Tai Kwan Do, has two names: Patrick and Patricio.
Entrepreneurs of Loreto
In the spring of 2005, my husband Dan and I first heard of Loreto from a glossy brochure that arrived unsolicited in the mail promoting the charming, socially responsible and environmentally sustainable village of Loreto Bay. It was just beginning to take shape in Baja along a sandy beach a few miles south of the historic town that had been designated the first capital of the Spanish Californias in 1697.
The flyer caught us at a propitious moment, the founders’ values coincided with ours, and our trip to Loreto that June for the “launch” clinched it. We especially liked the idea of joining fellow pioneers to create a whole new community while getting to know the deeply rooted one near-by, and we were excited about the chance to live in and learn the culture of this far-flung outpost of Mexico. So we swallowed hard and signed the papers for a chalked rectangle of sun-baked sand.
A decade and more later, after weathering substantial glitches, including the weather itself, we are living our dream. Every spring we stay in our Loreto Bay home. I love our neighbors and friends, who come from many walks of life and many scattered places—Calgary, Vancouver, mainland Mexico, Reno, Seattle, Philadelphia, LA… From our roof deck, I love watching the sun set beyond the rugged Sierra de la Giganta as a pelican wings his way homeward or a hooded oriole bathes in the courtyard fountain. And then I love taking a long pause to watch night fall—one star, then three, then seven, until whole constellations map the sky.
I love hiking the rugged canyons on a cloudy day and walking the beach with our dog early mornings, when the still bay mirrors the sky. I love the liquid syllables of Spanish surrounding me. I love the old town of Loreto—the motley stone walls of the gracefully aging mission, the blue-footed boobies dive-bombing schools of sardines in the crowded harbor, the cobbled paseo shaded by neatly groomed arches of laurel on a hot afternoon. And I love Loreto’s gentle pace of life, its markets, its seafood, its music, its margaritas, its tortillas, and its welcoming smiles.
The smiles are what led me to this project, “Getting To Know You--Entrepreneurs of Loreto.” As I shopped in a market or dined at a restaurant and chatted with the owners, I became curious about their lives. I wanted to know their stories and those of other local entrepreneurs, who had taken risks or saved money or bounced back from hardship to bring their dreams to life. So for the past several years, I have been interviewing some of them and writing their stories. In the process I have made some good friends, whom I enjoy and admire. I'd like to share their stories with you.
I hope, as you read them, you will visit their businesses and get to know them—or get to know them even better. And I would like to know what you learn about them and what ideas you have for me. Please share your thoughts in the COMMENTS section.
I began this project in the spring of 2014, and it's a challenge to keep up with the changes that have occurred over the years. Each entry is dated, and some contain information that is no longer current. I intend to keep bringing them up to date.
My deep gratitude goes to my husband Dan, who edited the stories and contributed most of the banner photos; to my writing partners and groups in Loreto Bay and in Claremont, California, who provided valuable critiques; to my friend Catherine Kerr, who helped design the website; and to these entrepreneurs of Loreto, who generously shared their lives with me.
Lissa Petersen
--------------------------------------------
Agnes Boutique and Las Flores Boutique and Spa Agnes and Sergio
When Sergio decided to ask Agnes to marry him, he spirited her off to a boutique hotel south of Cancún with a small, private beach—“the best beach in Mexico,” he claims. As night fell, he led her along a path sprinkled with rose petals and flickering in the soft glow of candles to a table with a bottle of champagne. There Sergio knelt in the perfect white sand to present her with the ring.
Artesanias del Sol home furnishings shop Gustavo and Angeles
Gustavo Flores Cardenas is an intriguing storyteller and something of a modern-day Odysseus. Like Homer’s hero, his bearing is noble; his mind, supple and creative; his demeanor, confident; his character, bold. He is tall, lean, upright in posture. He has journeyed as a stranger through foreign lands, mastered soul-testing challenges, and ultimately returned to Loreto—his home by the seashore, not far from the home of his youth.
El Gavilan Seeds and Spices Shop Gabriel
Gabriel offers you a taste of his prize spicy peanuts or the latest trail mix that he’s concocted. He shows you how to cook those mysterious little wagon-wheel-shaped pastas by plunking them in the microwave for several seconds until they puff up like popcorn. He dispenses household hints: freeze flour to kill the bugs that grow into weevils in the heat.
Herzon musician Herzon
When Herzon writes, the fingers on his right hand form the letters. When he plays the guitar, the fingers on his left expertly navigate the frets. And when he talks, those left-hand fingers shape expressive gestures, still pressing imaginary strings.
The Jacksons photo gallery, inn, real estate Jill and Rick
Serendipity. That’s how Loreto became the home of Jill and Rick Jackson. And it’s how their residence in Loreto, Las Cabañas, has become a communal home, jointly owned and managed with Jill’s parents and shared with their guests—renters seeking an intimate resort near the sea and the heart of the historic town.
Los Mandiles restaurant Gustavo and Maria Eugenia
Next to the covered patio of Los Mandiles, the restaurant extends into a small stucco room with warm, orange walls and cool tile floor. When he’s not waiting on diners, Gustavo is usually sitting at one of the blue plastic tables emblazoned with a Corona logo, reading. He reads everything—novels, histories, politics. Or writing. He writes poems, short stories, novels.
Mita Gourmet restaurant Juancarlos and Marta
Once you are seated at a table beneath the festive canopy of umbrellas on the tree-shaded patio of Mita Gourmet and the young server has brought you your margarita, a charismatic and authoritative older man steps up to take your order. He has a husky build, silver hair and a broad, sun-tanned face with alert eyes and a ready smile.
Orlando’s restaurant Orlando
At his restaurant during slow hours, Orlando sits at a table scanning the screen of his laptop. He keeps up with international news and business trends. His curiosity, his willingness to take risks, his resilience when things go wrong, and his growing confidence are features of his entrepreneurial spirit. “I was a little shy at first,” he says, “but I have become more open. I really like people, and I really like adventure.”
Pedro's Place (restaurant) and New Deli Pedro and Cristina
Pedro is not just charming and business-minded; he is also philosophical. And his life is full of irony. “Never have a passion for money,” he says. “If you have a passion for what you do, the money will come along. If not, okay. You still have your passion.” But, in spite of a few minor setbacks, he’s very good at making money.
Silver Desert jewelry and clothing shops Maria Teresa and Rossana
As a tourist exploring the historic heart of Loreto, you are apt to experience déjà vu. Walking beneath the laurel arches, you may be drawn to the tasteful silver jewelry and T-shirts at Silver Desert. Its logo of a festive sun by the entrance beams at you. As you continue past city hall and cross the town square, you will discover another Silver Desert with the same smiling sun greeting you.
Studio 908 art studio and gallery Lisa
Lisa’s heart is warm, her mind is curious, her imagination is ripe, her smile is irresistible. When you enter Studio 908, her workshop and gallery in Agua Viva, you feel welcomed into her home, which happens to be upstairs.
Vive Loreto tour guiding Maria and Rafael
Rafael considered returning to Mexico City and his former law firm, but Maria said no. “Our kids were so happy here,” she says. “And we’re very outdoorsy. We had the taste of the good life in Loreto, not the traffic and life there.” The memories still stung from the years that Rafael had worked in Mexico City, commuting more than four hours a day on a route that took ten minutes to drive at midnight.
Wine Cellar bar Will and Cynthia
They found each other at a bar in Los Angeles in 1995. He was Black; she was White. He came from the Southwest and “the opposite side of the tracks” in South Central LA; she came from the Northeast, an industrial Canadian city near Niagara Falls named St. Catherines.
El Zopilote restaurant, brewery and inn Norma and Kieran
For Norma and Kieran, more than their menu is international. Norma grew up in the capital of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Kieran, born in South Wales, is proud of his Irish citizenship. Their son, who plays soccer and guitar and practices Tai Kwan Do, has two names: Patrick and Patricio.
