Fiesta celebrates Rosarito, Imperial Beach friendship

When the cities of Rosarito Beach and Imperial Beach signed a friendship pact last fall, they pledged to promote their common civic goals and values. On Saturday they did just that, with the help of some Puerto Nuevo-style lobster and tortas, craft beer and wine, and folklorico dancers and mariachi music.

The day-long Fiesta del Mar, held at Imperial Beach Pier Plaza, sought to promote cross-border relations while providing tangible examples of the shared cultural identities of the two coastal cities.

Festival attendees sampled Guadalupe Valley wines and mostly Baja California-style cuisine from Cohn Restaurant Group restaurants, including Sea180 in Imperial Beach; listened to live musical groups and guitar soloists; and perused booths featuring jewelry, paintings, masks and folk art from Mexico.

“Both of our cities are enjoying big increases in tourism,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina. “I’ve spent a lot of time down in Rosarito and they’ve really turned their city around, like we are doing. We both are using food, art and sports to really promote our cities.”

Mark and Janet Wraight, Imperial Beach residents since 1974, didn’t need any convincing about the allure of their longtime home. Like Dedina, they are seeing a renewed interest in their redeveloping beach town.

“In the past, I think it had a reputation of kind of a rough area, but I’m seeing people wanting to come back,” Janet said. “Tourists coming in may not know what we know about the two cities — the music, the culture. Just the idea of Mexican food to them may be Taco Bell, but here they can see the authentic food and the music.”

Rosarito Mayor Silvano Barca is eager to show off his city to north-of-the-border visitors who may not be aware of the $78 million in improvements over the last few years, including a remodeled tourism district, underwater park and state center for the arts.

“I think our cities are examples of the binational work that can be done in cultural, economic and other areas and how we should work more as a single region,” he said. “Just like more people from Rosarito Beach and the rest of the state come to Imperial Beach and Southern California, I am hoping more people will come and visit us and share with their relatives and friends what they experience.”

Benito Del Aguila, a Rosarito Beach gallery owner who also help put on the annual Rosarito Art Fest in May, suspects that many people are unaware of his city’s strong cultural and artistic identity.

“We are not just a place with beach and sand and food. Culture is a strong part of Rosarito,” said Del Aguila, who was showcasing a sampling of colorful paintings from Rosario artists and folk art from elsewhere in Mexico. “When our festival started in 2010, people were not aware of our arts community, but more and more people are coming now.”

Bonita resident Diana Wilson is no stranger to Baja California, but Saturday she was hoping to give her sister and brother-in-law who are visiting from Australia a taste of authentic Mexican food and entertainment.

“The music and the food we thought would be a fun way to build toward Cinco de Mayo,” said Wilson, who recently took her relatives to Rosarito. “For a period of five to seven years, I had quit going south of the border because of the crime issues, but I’m back going again.”