Armida Castro

Proudly born in San José del Cabo

We are a close-knit family of nine siblings, six women and three men. I am the youngest of the women. Now we only have our father, who still lives downtown; my mother died 11 years ago. I grew up in the historic center. My house is a few blocks from the Hotel Encanto Inn. When I walk around San José, I feel that longing; I have fond memories.

My father was a farmer, and in the afternoons, he worked at the Hotel Palmilla because he was also a musician and loved music. My mother was a homemaker; she was very helpful and attentive. In Baja California Sur, people are excellent hosts.

At 18, I ventured into hospitality; I worked at Tropicana del Mar in La Jolla. Ángel Carbajal was my boss; I appreciate him very much because he was a great mentor to me. He gave me my first important opportunity to shine. I was very restless; I was in all areas; I tried to cover for someone when they didn't show up for work; I was always ready to raise my hand. I think it's part of the education our parents gave us; the basics are important.

Then I got married, had my first daughter, and became a full-time mom. I have two daughters; they are now 31 and 23. Four years after my first daughter was born, I went back to work.

My beginnings in the hospitality industry

So, I became fully involved in the operation of the Tropicana hotel restaurant. I loved being part of the operation and, above all, the creative side. At the time, it was one of the icons of San José del Cabo; we were pioneers in offering entertainment in the center, as well as excellent cuisine. We were the meeting place for breakfast, lunch, and parties.

For me, it was like welcoming people into my home; sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night, and ideas would come to me. I would organize everything with the manager, the chef, and the rest of the team that needed to be involved. It was so much fun. We were always looking for local, national, and international artists. It was a great success. It's important to mention that at that time there were no social networks. Tropicana was a watershed moment, both in society and in other areas, because we did bring in new projects and proposals. We were favored by both locals and tourists.

We had to work on our identity

Well, after all that work, I was invited to join the Historic Center Association. For me, it was important to be part of preserving our values, history, and culture, so that they would endure over time and the identity of my people would prevail.

The initiative came from a group of people from various professions, including hoteliers, merchants, and restaurateurs. They wanted to bring us together to preserve our essence. It began to grow rapidly. Everyone contributed their grain of sand. We were very clear that we had to work to improve the flow of tourism.

Our goals were definitely to preserve our identity and to get the government's support, because we couldn't do it alone. We wanted to raise awareness among tenants and neighbors so that they would join us in the idea we wanted to convey to the world. We know that it is important for visitors to learn about the culture. And finally, the Art Walk and some other projects, such as a Gastronomic Route, were launched.

It was important that we were all convinced of our purpose; my contribution was to collaborate on the projects and support their socialization. We knew how important it was to build relationships. You can see the titanic work that went into it: we met every week with about 80 businesspeople. Every Monday was a work meeting, and suddenly we had to bring some order because, imagine, so many ideas were coming up.

Then came the opportunity to remodel the historic center. As with any project, there were controversies; the important thing is that we were very clear about the objective and that it was achieved. The truth is that it took a lot of effort on the part of the colleagues who participated in the process, without taking their finger off the pulse, to carry out this remodeling.

And look how beautiful it is now: visitors can walk on sidewalks without poles, with good lighting and security, everything working very well, coordinated and atmospheric. So, yes, it was very important.

The importance of continuity and collaboration 

The biggest challenge for the association is coordinating with the government and tenants, as we are currently responsible for maintaining the infrastructure of the Historic Center. Yes, there are still several challenges ahead, but I am sure that the board will continue to work hard, persisting and coming up with new ideas and proposals.

The Historic Center will rebound again, especially because the board of directors is very insistent on continuity. It is a job we have been doing for years, with a lot of dialogue between the center and the government. The good must be for everyone: tenants, the community, and visitors, that is, we all have a common benefit.

I am proudly from San José del Cabo and belong to the Historic Center Association because I want to help preserve the city's identity. If I can humbly add anything, it is that I want everyone to do well.