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There are things that I value, connections with people, natural landscapes, culture, culinary adventures and history. As we return again for a warm January to Loreto, bright Pueblo Mágico nestled on the Sea of Cortez, this colonial town brings together all of those things so dear to my heart. Each time we visit this magic town in Baja California Sur our connections seem to deepen.
Last year I wrote about the amazing food, adventures and experiences we had during our January stay. We also made some deep connections with local people, Mexicans and Gringos, that were all drawn to Loreto and the mystery of the Baja Peninsula. New friends own a bookstore, café and museum dedicated to the history of the vaqueros (cowboys) from this part of Baja. They invited us to a screening in the gravel-strewn back gardens of El Caballo Blanco Café and Museo to watch a film produced by one of the owners, Trudi Angell. I had not met Trudi on previous trips. I am not sure how we missed each other!
Trudi is one of those people that greet you with direct eyes, open smile and welcome. She came to Loreto in 1976 on a kayaking trip to Mulegé. We wonder if our paths crossed in that year as I had also made my first trip driving the length of Baja at the same time. Trudi fell in love with the raw majesty of the land, rugged individualism of the people, the savory flavors of the local food and the stunning meeting of the land and the sea. She began the first kayaking company in Loreto and spent her time teaching and shepherding Norteamericanos in the Sea of Cortez along the stunning coastline. One day someone asked if she wanted to go on an adventure on land, on a mule. Nine days on the back of the surefooted furry beasts convinced her that “saddling” was as interesting as “paddling”. A new business was born.
During her time leading pack burro trips high into these majestic mountains, Trudi met many of the old time Sudcalifornianos that lived in the isolated ranchitos located near the scarce springs in the small arroyos of the mountains of the Sierra de la Giganta (giantess). In the book she co-authored, Sierra de La Giganta; People and Plants, Trudi notes that Baja is a place known for “rocks, thorns and heat”. And yet local people, first the ingenious tribes native to these lands, then the Spanish Jesuits that arrived 300 years ago intent on procuring land and souls for the Spanish Crown, have scratched out a life here. It has been a history almost as tumultuous as the land itself. Many of the Spaniards that came to work with the Jesuits in setting up their missions found their way into the mountains. Into every small arroyo in the craggy mountains where there was even a trickle of water small ranchitos where settled.
There were a few places in Baja that are truly an oasis in the desert. One was on the Pacific Western side of the peninsula at Comondú, another on the eastern Sea of Cortez in the mountains above Loreto at San Javier, another at La Paz. At these places the Jesuits established missions: La Paz becoming a city and with the other two remaining remote outposts. At San Javier and Comondú the fertile land and abundant water made it possible for people to live sustainably and isolated on the land for generations. The Jesuits brought many productive crops from Europe, including figs, sugar cane, cattle, goats, grapes, citrus and many more. For hundreds of years the indigenous and European families in these ranches and the oasis pueblos were isolated by the rugged land and relied on the only available transportation: that of foot and hoof of people, burros and mules. The only way to take their products to market to trade for staples and supplies was via a recua or pack train. It was the grueling traditional way to journey from deep in the back country into town.
Over the years leading pack trips into the mountains to swimming holes, ranches and world-class pre-historic rock art sites, Trudi has come to know some of the old-time vaqueros, including one Dario Higuera Meza. Dario is a desert-grown vaquero (traditional rancher) raised deep in the mountains of Baja who grew up learning the old ways of dry farming, ranching, life stock raising, butchering, tanning of hides, saddle and tack making, building with palm wood and living off the harsh land. Dario had a dream he shared with Trudi in 2017. He wanted to recreate an authentic recua like the ones his grandfather told him about from the villages of Comondú over the spine of the Sierra to San Javier then on to La Paz. An arduous 200 mile overland, 20-day journey on burros and mules on old Camino Real trails.
Like all great adventures and those that dream them, I am sure neither Trudi or Dario fully knew the extent of the commitment of time, money, effort and heart this “dream” would demand. Oh, and one more thing, Dario said, “I want it to be on film”. Whoo! One year of planning, research and fund raising culminated in the ride covering 20 days of packing over some of the most remote desert on the planet, 300 hours of film and sound recordings, and 2 years of editing and production and La Recua was born. This is what we sat down in the soft comfort of equipale chairs (made from local wood and hides) under the sea breezes of a Loreto evening to see.
This amazing film lives up to more than Trudi’s or Dario’s dream. La Recua captures the magic of this place, the history of the land and people, recording the old ways from Dario butchering cattle and deer, to tanning the leather he painstakingly crafted into dozens of items for the trip. He expertly crafted and put sacred designs on everything from leather hats, shoes, panniers, chaps, saddles to horsehair ropes, bridles, hide and local wood containers for the commodities that they would transport on the backs of the pack animals. With the help of their communities, the riders gathered, packed and transported traditional local produce of dates, traditional sugar cane candies, gallons of San Javier wine and aged local goat cheese on the 3-week journey from Comondú to La Paz. Not to mention the carne seca (dried meat) and other non-perishable foods for their provisions along the way. The hardy desert pack animals forage from the desert plants for their food and water.
In the film it is the sound of the small feet of the mountain born mules and burros hitting the sharp rocks and managing to carry hundreds of pounds of people and supplies that impresses me. Their small un-shod feet are able to fit perfectly in between the piles of treacherous stones piled up to make the crude trail by the indigenous peoples and ranchers over the centuries. The riders are Dario Higuera Meza, age 69, his son Luis Higuera Murillo, age 40, grandson Luis Ramon Higuera Murillo, age 8, a fellow rancher Ricardo Arce Aguilar, age 35 and his daughter Azucena Arce Arce, age 10. They were protected head to toe by Dario’s hand-crafted leather armor against the rocks, thorns, sun and snakes. At each stop along the way they were greeted with hopeful smiles of fellow octogenarians remembering the old times and the old ways. Trudi says it was amazing watching the respect, generosity of spirit and sharing of the traditional knowledge of the mountain and desert way of life that the elders shared with the next generation. Greeting old friends, campsites, vistas and trails, the recua’s four legged and two legged participants made their way successfully to the end of the trail at La Paz nearly three weeks later.
In the end of the film the mules gingerly and hesitatingly cross the strange hardness of a concrete road marking the final stop of the journey at La Paz. They are greeted by throngs of people celebrating the accomplishment preserving the old ways of Baja California life. The city folk enthusiastically gathered at the end of the trail to hear the stories of the challenging journey as well as to enjoy the bounty of food and wine from the remote mountain homes of the vaqueros.
The end of the recua ride was just the beginning of the next piece of the adventure when the camera, sound and production group came together to create La Recua the film. Trudi tells me that this is a special type of documentary designated as a vérité style, meaning without a script, the intent is to capture what happens and then design a storyline around that recording the reality of the ride. All told it took editor Sergio Castro and assistants over two years to edit the 300+ hours of film, sound recordings, still photographs, graphics, interviews and history that came together in the award-winning documentary. La Recua has been honored with multiple international film festival awards, as well as the Venado De Plata – The Silver Deer – Mexico’s highest possible award given to a historical documentary. La Recua has been accepted to be shown on PBS stations internationally. Now Trudi and crew are working on securing sponsorship for showing La Recua on PBS.
To find out more about the film and Baja adventures check out larecua.com or Jodi via email at jodi@therapies4health.com or Trudi Angell at tourloreto@aol.com.
