Northern Baja is a beautiful place. But tragedy struck there this month. Photo: Mark Harpur//Unsplash
When I heard that three men had gone missing on a surf trip outside of Ensenada, I was hit by a wall of emotions. I spent a decade of my life in San Diego and have done dozens of surf trips in the northern Baja area, just like these three young men. I looked at the photos of those missing surfers and had a sinking feeling: that could have easily been me or my friends.
Everyone knows there is a level of inherent risk accepted with a trip to Baja, but a triple murder of tourists was unthinkable. So are things different now? Or was this an extremely exceptional event – a case of bad luck?
I try to avoid jumping to emotionally driven conclusions that use an extreme event to paint over an entire population of people or region. Even in the safest of places, bad things happen. My personal experience in Baja has been nothing but positive, save for a one-time bribe requested by a police officer. But in spite of my rosy experiences in Mexico, the country’s crime statistics are hard to ignore. It begs the question, how safe is it really? What precautions should visiting surfers take? Does that change now? How are the locals handling it?
I reached out to three members of Ensenada’s surf community to understand their headspace and collect their thoughts as they grapple with the trauma and aftermath of the tragic murders.
Gino Passalacqua, 49
We’re in a state of shock that this happened. We’re confused and outraged. This has never happened to this level of violence, I think ever. There have been robberies and stuff like that, maybe a couple of things have gone wrong, but not to this level of violence.
This happened in an area we all know and frequent. I have friends who were there the previous weekend camping, probably in exactly the same place, so we’re literally in shock. We are so sorry at the same time that this happened. Sorry for the families. They were good kids just going to Baja looking for a good weekend. That’s why we live in Baja. That’s why we have houses in Baja. That’s why we have this lifestyle of surfing in Baja.
I will definitely think twice about going to that area now, or letting my family go there. Since this tragic event happened, a few stories came out that that area specifically is not a safe area at the moment.
For those who want to visit, I would say to stay around the well-known spots. Ask around or ask the locals where to go. This is part of what’s heartbreaking because these guys had already asked a photographer in San Diego about where to camp. And they asked some of my friends, the same ones who were camping there the weekend before. They told them it was fine to go to that area. We thought it was a safe area.
Because this happened to foreigners and there was pressure from the U.S. and Australian governments, they were found in less than a week. But there are a lot of Mexicans who disappear and that’s the irony of this situation. In the same location where they were found, there was a fourth body of a local rancher who was missing for two weeks. Nobody was looking for him and that’s the case most of the time. There’s a lot of this type of disappearance or murders and not much gets done or it takes years to solve. So the paddle out and protests that we did were not only for local surfers, it was also for all Mexicans who haven’t been able to find their loved ones. My advice to traveling surfers is to be safe and smart. Travel low-key. If you are going to remote places, travel with two cars.
To add context, we have general elections in Mexico on June 2. So, the government is trying to say that this was an isolated thing. They want to downplay the level of violence that there is in Mexico in general.
Kevin Meza, 31
The Ensenada surf community is in shock after this situation. For something like that to happen, in a place that is like our little backyard for weekend camping/surfing, to escape town and go enjoy mellow crowds and epic waves, is a tragedy. Ensenada and northern Baja don’t really depend on surf tourism to survive, but we definitely don’t want to have this reputation worldwide that these kinds of things happen to surfers.
The surf environment in Baja is amazing. It’s definitely an uncharted area depending on where you go, but if you’re near the main cities it can be dangerous. However, when you compare it to any other big city like Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, or Boston, it’s not even as close to as dangerous. But being that it’s in Mexico, it gets over publicized that it’s a dangerous area. And it’s a political time of year when things are over exposed for reasons that are not in our power. The reality is it’s a beautiful place that’s generally safe, you just have to not involve yourself with dangerous people. Sometimes bad things happen, but at the end of the day Baja is wonderful. The waves are great year around and the locals are always there to help you if you need. I’ve rarely felt unsafe here, but it’s unfortunate to see when things happen like that.
My advice to traveling surfers that want to visit Baja is simple: Don’t be afraid, but be street-smart. It’s better to be low-key, not loud and flashy. Respect the locals and say hello. It will go a long way. Don’t be looking for trouble at night. Drive during the day.
Beatriz Ibarra, 40
I can only say that the current situation on the beaches I call home leaves me feeling empty. I always run to the sea in search of peace and tranquility. It’s my refuge and my safe place. It is frustrating, sad, uncomfortable, and incomprehensible, and it scares me to know that the situation of violence in my country that I previously only saw on the news has reached my safe place.
Unfortunately, Baja California is the supply route for most legal and illegal products that go from all of Latin America to the United States. As a result, it’s the area of operation for criminal organizations that take advantage of marginalization and greed, of national and foreign migrants, or oppression and extortion against locals through threats to align with their interests.
Until now, the violent consequences of this context on the coasts of Baja California had only been experienced by fishermen who have been threatened for years by criminal organizations that, in recent years, began to take over fishing resources, stripping fishermen of their source of income and causing the deterioration of marine populations and ecosystems.
We beachgoers have never experienced a situation like this. The worst stories were robberies of opportunity or car break ins, but never an instance of so much evil and violence.
Will I stop visiting the remote places of Baja California because of this? Definitely not and I don’t think anyone should. We cannot let violence win, but we must be more active in demanding that our beaches be free, dignified, and safe spaces.
I am fortunate to have friends in fishing towns throughout Baja. From now on I will give notice to the locals every time I go there and I suggest the same to visitors from other countries. Try to make local friends and report your visit.
Perhaps for Mexicans it is logical not to resist a robbery, but for people who aren’t used to this reality, it may be difficult to understand. My suggestion is to never fight and be nice to everyone even if they are robbing you, since you never know how they may react.
