When art, culture, tourism and the economy work together, Rosarito’s future grows stronger. That was the clear takeaway from the recent forum “Rosarito: Economic and Tourism Development through Art and Culture”, which brought together the local arts community, government representatives, and the private sector.
The meeting resulted in concrete proposals, including: reactivating the Art Route (brochures, website, signage); creating tourism–culture packages; promoting local public art; consolidating the “Rosarito Sur” Creative District; revitalizing spaces such as the Puerto Nuevo Museum and the IMAC cultural center; supporting cultural events in public spaces; promoting Rosarito in California and Mexico City; and integrating artists into COTUCO tourism council meetings.
These agreements will be reviewed within three months, with a commitment to follow up on proposals and continue strengthening the municipality’s cultural ecosystem.
Participants emphasized the importance of including local artists in public art projects and collaborating with tour operators to design cultural experiences such as studio visits, painting classes and ceramics workshops.
They also stressed the need to keep venues like the Puerto Nuevo Museum active and to follow up on the new IMAC Rosarito building. The value of supporting festivals and events that foster community interaction—such as the Rosarito Art Fest—was also highlighted, along with the idea of creating strategies to work with the hotel, restaurant, real estate and furniture sectors to promote a circular economy benefiting the entire community.
Authorities offered various ways to support the cultural sector, such as incorporating cultural products or events into tourism promotion, inviting local artists to upcoming national and international events, offering opportunities to teach art in underserved neighborhoods, collaborating on cultural projects and professional development for artists and cultural managers, and bringing these agreements to joint sessions of the tourism, art and culture commissions to help develop public policy, among other proposals.