The history of Santa Rosalía, a small city and hidden treasure of the Baja California, It is as peculiar as its location in the desert, facing the Sea of Cortez, surrounded by mountains. We invite you to discover how, from its origin, it was predestined to be unique.
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Santa Rosalía was born in the second half of the 19th century, when the French company El Boleo established itself in the region to extract a promising copper deposit.
From that moment until the middle of the 20th century, it would become one of the most important and prosperous mining towns in Mexico.
The missionary settlement of Mulegé
It is worth mentioning the influence of the Jesuit missions in the region; which arose in the 17th century in response to the fear that the New Spain authorities felt about a possible invasion of southern California by the enemies of the Crown.
Consequently, the viceroyalty financed an expedition accompanied by Jesuit missionaries, which arrived in La Paz, 549 kilometers away from Santa Rosalía de Mulegé, in 1683. However, the colonization failed; but the experience motivated the missionaries, led by Father Kino, to persevere.
For this reason, in 1697 they landed in what we know today as Loreto and began their work of evangelization. In 1705, Father Juan Manuel Basaldúa would found, 135 kilometers to the north, the Santa Rosalía de Mulegé Mission.
A town is transformed into Southern California France
In 1885, the then president of Mexico, Porfirio Díaz, granted a mining concession to the El Boleo Company to install an industrial plant that would allow the extraction of copper.
The company, of French origin, is based in the town and requires infrastructure for its new inhabitants: managers from the French country, employees, workers and their families.
In a short time, buildings with a French architectural style were built: the church of Saint Barbara, attributed to Gustave Eiffel and imported from Europe; a school (which still exists); the hospital, a theater and two hotels. The bakery could not be missed, which today is the city's culinary heritage.
The region has a new face
This is how the nascent city took shape in the last years of the 19th century and was structured into two parts: the Mesa México, where the community of Mexicans was established; and the Mesa Francia, where the residences of French managers and technicians are established.
Immediately, what was a town is transformed into a modern city. In fact, Santa Rosalía was the second city in the country that had electricity; And not only that, it also had a telephone line and boasted the use of the most advanced technology in the world for mining exploitation.
A melting pot of identities
Mexicans from different states converged in the newly formed city: Yaquis from Sonora, workers from Sinaloa and also from the north of the peninsula. Likewise, they all lived together not only with the French, but with Italians, Americans, Germans and Chinese who migrated to the city.
Due to the above, Santa Rosalía becomes the most cosmopolitan and diverse city in northwest Mexico.
It is interesting to mention that, currently, Southern Californians refer to the city as it was known before the arrival of the Gauls: Cachania. This name comes from the cachanilla, a native plant characteristic of the region. Its current name, Santa Rosalía, was only obtained in 1910, renamed by the French.
The legacy of the cachanías
The city experienced an unprecedented economic boom for more than half a century; However, when the mine's deposits were exhausted, the French company closed its operations in 1954.
Despite this, El Boleo left an important architectural heritage that includes the Palace, Historical Museum, Boleo Bakery, House of Culture, former Raya Store, Mahatma Gandhi Library and the French Hotel.
Today, tourism is one of the city's main productive activities; since the French touch of the buildings, monuments and streets attracts countless visitors.