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Bodegas de Santo Tomás Cultural District
20 Years a Success
By Maria E Curry
September/October 2022
 Poster for a recent conference in Ensenada to recall and learn from the 18-month preservation battle over Bodegas de Santo Tomás in 2000-2001. The photo shows citizens “embracing” the endangered buildings with their circle dance on April 1, 2000. The photo was originally published by Semanario Zeta in 2001. Courtesy Maria Curry |
 Tinted Postcard circa 1930. Bodegas de Santo Tomas Winery Ensenada Baja |
 The oldest winery in Baja California and one of the most distinctive, over 130 years of producing wine. Courtesy rutasdelvinobc.com |
 Two of the winery district buildings in downtown Ensenada, photographed in 2020. The historic district is now a popular commercial, tourist, and cultural attraction. |
 Leaders from the 2000-2001 Bodegas preservation battle and organizers from the 2022 conference recently gathered with Maria Curry, who also helped save the winery district and now works for the state Secretary of Culture. Some of the leaders are descendants of Baja California pioneer families. Photo by Cynthia Castillo |
 David Swarens and Martha Edna Castillo Sarabia in 2000 at the historic house of Mario Ruanova in Ensenada. David and other SOHO members were preservation advisors on the Bodegas wineries project as well as this house and the SS Catalina. All photos by Maria Curry, except where otherwise noted. |
Bodegas de Santo Tomás, the first Baja California winery district in Ensenada, was declared an outstanding example of the state of Baja California cultural heritage in 2001. The designation of a group of wineries built in the first half of the 20th century was the first cultural asset to be so recognized under the 1995 state preservation law, thanks to a grassroots effort led by a group known as Comité Pro Conservación del Centro Cultural Santo Tomás. The group became famous nationally and internationally because many people throughout the state and beyond joined in the effort.
Had they not acted, the beloved downtown Ensenada winery district, which includes 11 adobe and brick buildings with original machinery and wine barrels, was going to be demolished and replaced by a supermarket. This imminent threat to the city’s cultural, industrial, and urban heritage sparked a year-and-a-half-long legal battle that ended with the historic designation.
Six leaders of the Bodegas preservation group met in the iconic Sala de Tintos (Red Room) at Bodegas de Santo Tomás to discuss topics for their upcoming August 24, 2022 panel that will take place as part of Ensenada's month-long Festival del Centro. Their hope is to inspire the community to protect their heritage by remembering and learning from what happened 20 years ago. Pictured to the right, from the left Leaders present were Adriana Ayon, Marianne Vincens, Cynthia Castillo, Martha Edna Castillo Sarabia, Maria Curry, Santos Cota, Estela Hussong, and Bruno Geffroy at Casa Adelina in Ensenada. As a representative of the Baja California Secretary of Culture, I had the honor of introducing them, and we plan to continue the discussion in other venues throughout the state.
The meeting was made possible thanks to a joint effort of the state Secretary of Culture; the Bodegas de Santo Tomás Cultural Center director, Jaime Delfin; and the architects and historic preservationists, Cynthia Castillo, from the Patronato del Centro Histórico and Ensenada Urban Sketchers; and Adriana Ayón, director of the architecture school at the Universidad Xochicalco and a member of the Grupo Cultural 20 Mujeres.
The precedent-setting Bodegas preservation action succeeded for several reasons: It was led by a group of well-organized negotiators who convinced the private owners and public officials of the value of the historic resources; the movement did not become politically divisive; a new preservation law proved effective; public participation and media coverage exceeded expectations; and stellar advisors joined in, including SOHO and ICOMOS-Mexico members.
Today, two decades after the Bodegas battle, the ongoing success of the historic buildings as a downtown commercial, tourist, and cultural enclave continues to prove how preserving our cultural heritage can benefit everyone.
For more on the Bodegas preservation story, see these three articles:
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