Documentary on the negative impact of tourist developments in BCS
Documentary on the negative impact of tourist developments in BCS. It will be presented in La Paz on July 20, calle Revolución No. 590, corner of
Juárez.
I know the guy in dreads as well as the old rancher, his father...They have been fighting for their land for the last 5 years. The cops even tried to
grab him and rough him up...They are good people...
The pity is that all around the world, money talks. As the industrialized world witnesses an ever growing concentration of the wealth, it won't be too
far away when it's not just peasants who will feel the wrath of the uncaring monied class.
There is a place in baja for tourist development and to think that it is all wrong is bad thinking. I do enjoy the remoteness of many of the baja
communities and the vast areas empty of civilization. Yet I enjoy the ability to have the finer things in life with all the modern amenities that go
with it.
It's a balance that must be respected where tourist developments and nature interact, are kept separate and protected.
Many of those people are employed by such developments and survive on the tourist dollar. Perhaps the issue is more employer related such as low
wages. The Hotels charge U.S. rates and pay their employees mexican wages. Increase the employees wages and their lives get better and they don't need
to get water from a bucket.
Originally posted by slimshady
There is a place in baja for tourist development and to think that it is all wrong is bad thinking. I do enjoy the remoteness of many of the baja
communities and the vast areas empty of civilization. Yet I enjoy the ability to have the finer things in life with all the modern amenities that go
with it.
It's a balance that must be respected where tourist developments and nature interact, are kept separate and protected.
Many of those people are employed by such developments and survive on the tourist dollar. Perhaps the issue is more employer related such as low
wages. The Hotels charge U.S. rates and pay their employees mexican wages. Increase the employees wages and their lives get better and they don't need
to get water from a bucket.
Well said....
Balance is needed not knee jerk politics.
I'm in this one so I expect all you good Nomads to tune in. I'm the one in the beard, speaking English (best I can).
If nothing else this film might point up the negative aspects of the all inclusive resorts --- the employees are from Spain, the Visa debit card
charge goes there to a foreign bank account, all the guests stay on the grounds, all the locals lose. There are 17 in Cabo and soon there will be 30.
The film is about the 45 new ones which have their plans in to the building departments in Baja Sur. The film, the groups, the meetings all ask the
question: "Do the people living on or near the beaches now have a say in what happens to their villages? If they do, what would they have the
regulators do?"
I am not a fan of the all inclusive resort hotels. I travel to baja to see, feel, smell, and enjoy another location and culture.I once stayed at the
RIU Santa Fe and it felt like a cruise ship on land where everyone was getting shuffled around en masse from buffet to buffet. There are some pretty
hefty gringoes that sure love the buffets.
Regardless when staying at one of the Corridor Hotels, one must venture into the towns of SJD or Cabo and eat at local restaurants and not that
overpriced slop they serve at hotels.
Originally posted by slimshady
There is a place in baja for tourist development and to think that it is all wrong is bad thinking. I do enjoy the remoteness of many of the baja
communities and the vast areas empty of civilization. Yet I enjoy the ability to have the finer things in life with all the modern amenities that go
with it.
It's a balance that must be respected where tourist developments and nature interact, are kept separate and protected.
Many of those people are employed by such developments and survive on the tourist dollar. Perhaps the issue is more employer related such as low
wages. The Hotels charge U.S. rates and pay their employees mexican wages. Increase the employees wages and their lives get better and they don't need
to get water from a bucket.
I think the key in many parts of Baja is tourism without "tourist developments".
Let's face it. It probably isn't possible to have the "finer things in life with all the amenities" while experiencing "the remoteness of Baja
communities". You can have the "finer things" in Cabo, La Paz, Tijuana, Ensenada, and Rosarito. You can enjoy the remoteness in Mulege, San Ignacio,
Asuncion, and many out of the way places on this amazing penninsula.
While I haven't seen the film, I think it is reasonable to assume that it speaks of the taking over of huge tracts of coastal land for the building of
exclusive resorts. It is fairly clear that these developments have changed the life of local populations-- in some ways for the better, but mainly to
the detriment of the locals. It seems unlikely that the developers will "increase the employee wages [so that] their lives get better". And so often
the developments bring in people from the mainland rather than hire the locals who are not as well trained or experienced in hotel work.
Living in Loreto and seeing how Loreto Bay and Villas group have done little to improve the lives of long time Loretanos, I would like to see an
emphasis on small scale tourism. It worked for a long time here, and I do think there are people who would happily avoid mega-resort destination
travel to experience a laid back old style way of life with an emphasis on doing things the locals have done for years-- enjoy the natural beaches,
fishing, bird watching, mule riding, swimming, snorkeling, and what have you. Staying in small local hotels, eating at everyday restaurants, meeting
friendly people-- seeing life as it is lived in another place.
Maybe nobody gets rich, but the community benefits, and the people maintain their way of life. Tourism without development.
I will not got into alot here , but what went on in Cabo was just plan B..S..
I first went to Cabo in the early 70s,, what a nice place, then a few times after that,, when me and the wife retired 10 years, I thought about buying
a place and living there,, I could not believe what had happened, NO WAY was i going to buy and live there
Where was this "documentary" published, other than YOU TUBE?
I am not in favor of the developers and I am pro-locals. However there needs to be much more from the locals for the 1:25 documentary to be somewhat
effective on a world-wide scale.
45 seconds of great photography and 40 seconds of dialog of which has to be viewed several times so that one may draw some conclusion.
I know these guys and the story. It is about some big money guys from TJ trying to push out this family who have ranched this land for generations.
They even sent out police thugs to either ruff him up or kill him. He thinks they were going to kill him. a mutual friend of ours happened to drive
by and saw two guys kicking and pushing the guy with dreadlocks into a car. Our friend stopped to help and had a pistol shoved into his face. The guy
with dreadlocks was handcuffed in front and he ran and dove into the surf and treaded water until dark, then swam in and cut off the cuffs!!!
Originally posted by Dave
One gentleman says, "land possession must be respected."
Another woman..."The same thing happened in our village so we moved here."
Did these folks own this property, or were they squatters?
once it's deemed "Federal Zone" by the tidal measurements- only a Federal title is valid- it belongs to Mexico. Then you go through a Concesion
process with Mexico City to get the Federal Title to either protect or develop.
This video looked more like "anti-land banditos" than anti-tourism to me. The problem is lack of planning on the cities parts. People are fencing
off Federal zone beach and claiming it private all the time. Just take guervos. The build quickly and then pay a few thousand dollar fine to Mexico
City for having done it. The fine is much cheaper than the legal approval process and is way faster. By the time people realize their
beach/home/village is gone- it's too late to stop it.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
The video presentation is not about squatters or Cabo Pulmo. It is aimed at groups of interested citizens who would be, might be impacted by the many
grand tourist resorts now in the planning stage. It will shine a much needed light on the regulators who make decisions that effect the area of
development forever. The Mexican people just want them to act responsibly, look at the "big picture". I have not seen the video. Don't watch it. Then
you'll be more surprised when you next visit your old favorite deserted stretch of beach when you see, (from 10 miles away) a new Maya Dolphin Captain
Kidd Treasure Island Disney Water World and Mega-kega Time Spin Island Paradise Resorts Inc.
Where will this be screened? With all of the hype that developments like this generate it will be interesting to see the dark side of all of this
exposed. The hype will get lots of exposure. There are consequences to development and it is all not good.
This looks like a high dollar, high quality, good production values documentary. I wonder if it will be aired on PBS?
Originally posted by Osprey
The video presentation is not about squatters or Cabo Pulmo. It is aimed at groups of interested citizens who would be, might be impacted by the many
grand tourist resorts now in the planning stage. It will shine a much needed light on the regulators who make decisions that effect the area of
development forever. The Mexican people just want them to act responsibly, look at the "big picture". I have not seen the video. Don't watch it. Then
you'll be more surprised when you next visit your old favorite deserted stretch of beach when you see, (from 10 miles away) a new Maya Dolphin Captain
Kidd Treasure Island Disney Water World and Mega-kega Time Spin Island Paradise Resorts Inc.
[Edited on 7-14-2010 by Osprey]
True in developed Baja Norte as well as remote locations. I can't get the city of Rosarito Beach to keep illegal resort condo buildings from being
built on the Federal Zone beach in Downtown Rosarito, let alone people fight for it in remote locations. Seriously. One building went in that
literally cuts the tourist beach in half- including the lifeguards access to patrol the beach. We battle every day to protect the beach from banditos
for the use of all Rosaritenses- and we hold the Federal Title to the beach area we are protecting! The banditos come like c-ckroaches.
And what will Rosarito Beach be without a walkable beach? There is def. a disconnect in what "the people" believe to be true. People will tell you
"Oh, no one can build here... it's Federal Zone." But when you point out a new building on it, they just shrug their shoulders and can't explain it."
They really believe someone is protecting the beach for them, and a Federal Title for Federal Zone land is not enough without their being some
enforcement behind it. But in reality the corruption runs too deep and the money reward for pulling a development deal on Federal Zone beach just too
high.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
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