las cruces
history
Three crosses (cruces) mark the spot where Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, landed on May 3, 1535, while on an expedition to claim land and riches for the crown of Spain. It is this spot and its crosses that serve as the namesake and focal point of today's resort club called Rancho Las Cruces. Abelardo "Rod" Rodriguez Montijo (son of 1932-1934 interim president of Mexico, Abelardo Rodríguez Luján) and his American actress wife, Lucille Bremer, decided to develop the special area into a tiny resort in 1948. This marked the birth of tourism in Baja California. After the success of Las Cruces, Rod went on to build Hotel Palmilla (now the One and Only Palmilla) in Los Cabos. Rod built his family home at Las Cruces, along with homes for his friends and frequent visitors, Desi Arnaz and Bing Crosby. Rod's son, Niki and is wife, Shari now live at Las Cruces and oversee the club. Ask Niki to tell you some stories about the good ole days at the club, including epic parties at Casa Arnaz and Bing singing "White Christmas" at holiday dinners in the dining room!
Joselyn's parents were introduced to Las Cruces in the 1970s, and immediately fell in love with the place and the wonderful people, some of whom have worked there for decades. If you visit the shop, you'll meet our long-time favorite, Maria, who began working at Las Cruces in 1960 at the age of 15. In those early days, membership was hard to come by, and they went through several years of "rush" before they were offered the opportunity to join. The men wore blazers with the Las Cruces crest affixed to their lapels and the ladies dressed in spectacular Mexican dresses. Times are much more relaxed now, as you no longer have to be a member to stay at the club, but it still attracts some noteworthy guests, such as yourselves (along with Desi and Bing, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Randolph Hearst, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster and John Wayne)!
It was a few decades later, after Joselyn's parents, Leason III and Marlene had become close friends with Rod, Niki and Shari, that they were offered the chance to design and build a home at Las Cruces. Theirs is the first private home built there since the originals around 1950. We'll host a cocktail party at Casa Pomeroy (aka La Querencia "favorite spot") during our long weekend celebration. The above photo was taken from Casa Pomeroy.