SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1530871
RIVIERA DE ENSENADA, THE HISTORIC SITE OF THE TRADITIONAL BAJA 1000, BAJA 500 AND BAJA 400 IN ENSENADA Every year, Ensenada welcomes runners and thousands of visitors to the SCORE International off-road races Monse Buendía and Rosela M. Lencioni For more than 50 years, the Riviera de Ensenada Social, Civic and Cultural Center has been the site of the start of the SCORE-International off-road races with the SCORE Baja 1000, the SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 400, where hundreds of competitors from more than nine countries participate. Hence, the city of Ensenada has been named the World Off-Road Racing Capital, with the Riviera de Ensenada being the welcome site for participants, organizers and municipal authorities, who give the official starting signal in each edition. The former Hotel Playa is a facility that has been part of the Artistic Heritage of the Nation since 2011 and Cultural Heritage of the State of Baja California since 2014. In its early days it was compared to hotels such as the famous Monte Carlo in Paris, France. During its early years, the hotel was recovering from the economic crisis resulting from the changes in the capital of Baja California and the economic recession in the United States. It managed to recover thanks to the fishing and tourist industry that came in search of food, drink, and fun as it was the only casino in the port. This attracted very well-known visitors of the time, from politicians and businessmen to Mexican and Hollywood movie stars, due to the proximity to the border. They arrived by sea aboard private yachts or by air on “The Maddox,” an aircraft that landed on the beach during low tides. Some of the celebrities who visited the Riviera were Charley Chaplin, Dolores del Río, Marion Davis, William Hearst, Merle Norman, Jonny Weismuller, Mirna Loy, Arthur Hornblow, Lucile Ball, Desi Arnal, Lana Turner, Ali Khan and Geni Tierne, among others. During the first three years, the hotel and casino were successful due to the increase in visitors who came for fun and intoxicating drinks, since Prohibition reigned in the United States, so it was a time of prosperity. In 1933 the President of Mexico, General Lázaro Cárdenas, prohibited gambling in the country, and the hotel closed in 1938, as it couldn’t sustain itself. At this stage, the deterioration of the hotel, its facilities, its gardens began, and everything began to fall prey to the humidity and dust. Even the administration went through serious financial problems and numerous embargoes. During those times, in 1948, Mr. Jerome A. Utley, a septuagenarian bachelor, gave the building by public deed to Mrs. Marjorie King Plant, who inspired the traditional cocktail called “Margarita” and who, due to business interests, married Mr. Alfonso Rocha and reopened the building with the new name of Hotel Riviera del Pacífico. It is said that this well-known international drink was created on August 21, 1948, and is attributed to a bartender who was in love with Marjorie, and to please her one day while she was sitting at the bar of the “Andaluz”, he created it in her honor. From 1949 to 1964, another administration and a good period of the hotel began, but without a casino. Instead, it opened up more to the Ensenada society, where they began to celebrate the famous “Blanco y Negro” dance, which was organized annually by the Rotarian Ladies, the first of these being on October 31. In addition to this, it was the venue for the celebrations of the Emperador Club, weddings, Quincieneras, concerts, cultural events, conventions and parties of the society with the greatest economic resources in the town, mainly in the Cathedral and Casino halls. It was not until 1978, after a long period of abandonment and looting, that it was decided to give life to the building, thanks to the architect Jorge Swain, then head of the Board of Material Improvements, who decided to clean part of the hotel to use it. From that year on, on September 22, the Hotel Riviera del Pacífico was converted by Presidential Decree into the Riviera de Ensenada Social, Civic and Cultural Center. In 1979 it passed into the hands of the State Government under the mandate of Roberto de la Madrid Romandía, who in 1980 placed it under the custody of a board headed by Mr. Guillermo Corral who administered it until 1990. Once the Cathedral Hall was conditioned, on August 14, 1981, the 50th anniversary of its inauguration was belatedly celebrated; while in 1992, a state decree was signed in which the property was ceded to the Municipality of Ensenada. Shortly after, José Luis Fernández Bandini was appointed as administrator, who for 14 years dedicated himself to improving and beautifying the building and its extensive gardens. Upon his death, his son José Luis Fernández Ruiz succeeded him, who in turn began maintenance tasks and the official procedures with the Federal Government so that the now INBAL would declare it an Artistic Monument of Mexico in the aforementioned year. The Riviera is today admired by thousands of visitors, North American tourists who arrive by boat, who come to learn about part of the history since its creation, in its time of glamour and prosperity. It is also the site of different cultural and social events that involve music, gastronomy and wine. The Andaluz Bar, one of the oldest in Baja California with 94 years of history, also receives local people, crowding on Wednesdays who come to the 2x1 promotion on margaritas, the most emblematic drink of this place. The Riviera exudes beauty in its architecture, the detail in its works that are captured on walls and ceilings, murals, chandeliers, pieces of tiles; glamour from the era of Hollywood artists, a time of prosperity that continues to offer so many stories to tell that it is well worth visiting and discovering its most intimate secrets.