Long touted by the folks from the Grand Canyon State as ‘Arizona’s beach’ I think it is time for some reflecting as a new era was to begin this week on September 10th, 2009 with the ‘official’ (official) opening of the “Mar de Cortez Airport” in Rocky Point.
Of course all the big guns were to be on hand: “President Calderon, and Mr. Molinar Horcasitas, Secretary of Communication and Transportation along with Mr. Daniel Chavez, CEO of Mayan Palace were set to assist in the inauguration. Similar to Air Force One, President Calderon was going to land in the Quetzalcoatl 1, the Mexican Presidential Aircraft for the grand opening on Thursday…”
Unfortunately the ceremony has been postponed—AGAIN!
But eventually it will happen, and as I read several PRs about the event it dawned on me that Mexico, with a population of about 110 Million, doesn’t need to ‘sell’ the “commercial” flights (currently being negotiated) to the ‘Gringo’ market because just among nearby Tijuana, Mexicali, Mazatlan and Hermosillo there are millions of potential Turistas who would enjoy coming to Penasco for a little pleasure, sun and fun and maybe consider setting up a few businesses, too…
I’m sure there will always be a Gringo component to Penasco tourism but I also know that Mexicans love taking their families to visit new destinations, and when a ‘beach’ is tossed into the mix they may likely flock to Penasco in such numbers that tourists north of the border would only be a very thin layer of icing on top of the cake. National tourism to the region has already picked up significantly over the summer; I predict it will quietly continue to grow.
And maybe that is the way it should be, because if you take out of the equation the people (mainly) from Arizona who only purchased real estate over the last few decades-- many on a ‘pump and dump’ methodology and mostly avoiding long term commitments such as living full time, retiring or setting up a business in Penasco-- well, maybe the Nationals will step up and fill in the void.
So all us Gringos better consider brushing up on our Spanish language skills and dusting off the old Sombreros and Sarapes because there may be a new day on the horizon for Puerto Penasco and I for one would love to see it happen…
Viva México!
Email me: El Gitano Penasco
