Baja Rosario Festival 2005 Makes History
text by connie ellig; photos by connie ellig & david hopps;
rodeo photos by dan evanoff

Baja Rosario Festival 2005 celebrated the founding of the first Dominican mission, Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Viñadaco, by Friar Vicente Mora in July of 1774. This was the first such fiesta that the town has ever held to commemorate this historic occasion. Located approximately 150 miles south of Ensenada, El Rosario has played an important role in the history and development of the Baja California peninsula.

The festival officially kicked off on Friday afternoon with an inauguration ceremony at the upper -- and oldest -- of El Rosario’s two sites of mission ruins. After short opening speeches by organizing committee president Antonio Muñoz Murillo and his staff, words of welcome were spoken by five of the town elders: Anita Espinoza, 98; Teófilo Ortiz, 82; Zacariaz Espinoza, 79; Francisca Valladolid, 74; and Jorge Duarte, 72. In addition to townsfolk and tourists, attendees included an unexpected cabalgata (cavalcade) of cowboys on horseback from San Quintín.
 

Left to right: Town elders Anita Espinoza, Teófilo Ortiz, Zacariaz Espinoza, Francisca Valladolid and Jorge Duarte

The action picked up in the late afternoon as daring cowboys performed a series of thrilling rodeo feats like roping half wild horses and riding spirited bulls and broncos at the jaripeo held in the countryside of lower El Rosario. After the dust settled for the day, many festivalgoers continued their quest for excitement in town at the first of the three nightly dances featuring electronic and live norteño music. Others opted for a more laid back ambiance and drove out to La Bocana for several hours of storytelling and songs by town elders around a bonfire on the beach.
 

There’s always plenty of action at the jaripeo

There were plenty of recreational, historical and cultural activities throughout the entire weekend: an antique car parade, horse races, more rodeos, carnival rides, food booths, a local industry and livestock exposition, and an art and history expo that featured antiques, photos and memorabilia contributed by the Espinoza, Duarte, Arce, Peralta, Garcia, Higuera and other founding families.
 

Local ranchers provide a livestock exhibition

On both Saturday and Sunday, visitors and residents had the opportunity hop aboard vans for guided tours to La Lobera sea lion grotto, the Petrified Forest, or local sites including the two Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Viñadaco mission ruins, the community museum and the old cemetery. Located on private property, La Lobera was particularly awesome with its panoramic ocean views, extraordinary cliff formations, small blowholes, and unusual sea cave with a collapsed roof that has become a sea lion habitat.

The highlight of the festival was the “Señorita Rosario 2005” Beauty Pageant at the Saturday night dance. The huge tent was nearly filled to capacity as more that 700 people of all ages and occupations turned out to root for their favorite of the eight attractive candidates. According to most of the townsfolk, this was the first time in thirty years that they had seen so many people at a fiesta/dance!

Pageant coordinator Gabriela Gaxiola Gámez presented the well-qualified contestants in informal attire, cocktail dresses and evening gowns. The international panel of judges faced a difficult decision, but finally selected poised, well-spoken 16-year-old Esmeralda Alvarado Quintero as “Señorita Rosario 2005” to the delight of the crowd. First runner up was Mara Alejandra Arce Montes; second was Karen Alvarez Vargas; third was Dalia Lizeth Camberos Alvarez, who also won “Miss Elegance” and “Miss Congeniality.” Verónica Onett Reseck Delgadillo was awarded “Miss Photogenic.” In addition to reigning at the remainder of the festival’s activities and receiving numerous prizes including a trip to Las Vegas, Esmeralda Alvarado will have the opportunity to compete in the “Señorita Turismo Baja California” Pageant in 2006.
 

Srita. Rosario Esmeralda Alvarado poses with (left to right) pageant judge Antonio Muñoz Meza, event organizer Antonio Muñoz Murillo and Municipal Delegate Jesús Viera Espinoza

Srita. Rosario Esmeralda Alvarado presides at festival activities

On Sunday morning, organizing president Antonio Muñoz and his wife Lorenia hosted an appreciation breakfast for foreign press and Baja Nomads at their newly renovated Baja Cactus Motel (formerly El Rosario Motel). Among the two dozen attendees were Baja Talk Radio’s Ted Donovan, VivaBaja.com’s David Kier, EnsenadaGazette.com editor/Baja Times contributor Connie Ellig, Ensenada photographer David Hopps and BajaNomad.com Travelers Forum founder Doug Means.

A large part of the success of Baja Rosario Festival 2005 is due to the hard work of its organizing committee: Antonio Muñoz M. (President), Gloria Arce E. (Secretary), Guilibaldo Espinoza V. (Treasurer), Carolina Espinoza M. (Speaker), and Jesús Cortés C. (Speaker). “In practice, we all did a lot of different jobs, from carrying and selling the beer to feeding the horses at the jaripeo. We all got personally involved in all the activities of the festival. It was REALLY teamwork,” said Muñoz.

But perhaps what is even more remarkable is that their efforts captured the imagination of the entire town so that almost every business and family became involved in some aspect of the festival, whether it was contributing meals for the norteño band, donating prizes for pageant candidates, offering vans for the tours, or providing their best broncos and bulls for the rodeo contests. Baja Rosario Festival 2005 was a historic weekend for El Rosario, a town that united not only to celebrate its extraordinary past, but also to celebrate its promising future.

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