North America’s legendary wellness center for more than 80 years and named the top International Destination Spa by Travel+Leisure six times in 10 years, Rancho La Puerta began very humbly in Tecate, Baja California.
The year was 1939, and Edmond Szekely, a Jewish Hungarian philosopher and natural living enthusiast, was in California, where he married 17-year-old Deborah. When the Second World War began, the United States, as a neutral, was obligated to return non-citizens to their countries of origin if that nation would not renew their papers. Both Hungary and Romania refused to renew his documents and demanded that the United States return him.
How Rancho La Puerta was born
Feeling that he had a better chance of avoiding deportation from Mexico, the Szekelys made their way to a small plot of land outside Tecate, then a village of less than 400 souls directly on the border. We were mojados, jokes Deborah Szekely.
In 1940, they named the land Rancho La Puerta. Edmond, now stateless, could not leave the ranch for fear of being deported by Mexico. So he began a series of lectures on health and nutrition. Deborah, a U.S. citizen, had to do all the shopping in Tecate and nearby Tijuana or San Diego.
Guests were invited for US $17.50 a night and were to bring their own tent. The Szekelys lived in an adobe two-room hut.
As foreigners, they were not allowed to own land in Mexico, so they put the deed in the name of a loyal Mexican employee. Two days after her daughter, Sarah Livia, was born in San Diego, Deborah registered her birth in Mexico. Sarah Livia Szekely Brightwood is now the president of the Ranch and a dual-national, just as is her mother.
The evolution of a legend
Initially, ranch employees were from Tecate, and most were illiterate. They “signed” their checks with their fingerprints. Then Deborah started a school to teach her employees how to read and write. Today, most of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are college graduates.
After nine years, Edmond became a Mexican citizen as well. Deborah found out that Mexican President Miguel Alemán Valdés had a home nearby at Rancho Florida, where he entertained prominent guests, many from Hollywood and Mexico City. On a trip back to Tecate from San Diego, Deborah noticed that the Federal Security Directorate FSN (now CISEN) was at the residence — meaning the president was also there. So, she drove to Rancho La Puerta, picked up Edmond and returned to the Alemán residence. It was so early in the morning that the guards assumed that the Szekelys knew what they were doing. They drove into the porte cochere, which was just opposite the breakfast room, and there was the president having coffee by himself.
Edmond presented President Alemán with two books he had written on Mexico and explained his stateless situation. An aide took notes, and two weeks later, the mayor of Tecate called for Edmond to come to be fingerprinted. In 1949, he was now a proud Mexican citizen, and Rancho La Puerta could become theirs legally.
World-class wellness
Edmond passed away in 1979. Meanwhile, Deborah had founded the Golden Door, an elegant fitness resort just north of San Diego in San Marcos. The “Door,” as Deborah calls it, attracted many old clients from Rancho La Puerta as well as prominent celebrities from Hollywood, such as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kim Novak and Robert Cummings. Although the Door was 50 miles north of the border, most of the staff were Mexican citizens whom she admired for their hard work, dedication and loyalty at the “Ranch.”
The Golden Door was sold to an investment group in 1998. However, at 103 years of age, Deborah remains active at Rancho La Puerta and lectures guests there every Wednesday evening.
Still the crown jewel of Tecate, Rancho La Puerta is one of the world’s finest and most acclaimed health and fitness spas. It is the perfect place to escape from life’s stress and the distractions of today’s 24-hour news cycle. Instead, it offers world-renowned speakers on health and wellness. It invites women and men of all ages for a healthy, often life-changing vacation.
A place unlike any other
Landscaping designed by Ranch President Sarah Livia Szekely Brightwood reflects the beauty of nature and the area’s Mexican heritage, respecting the area’s semi-desert environment.
La Cocina Que Canta, located within Rancho La Puerta, is a culinary center and cooking school. It offers guests cooking classes, breakfasts in the garden and seasonal meals using fresh produce from its 14-acre organic garden.
Rancho La Puerta programs are designed for all fitness levels through energetic fitness options, organic cuisine, a variety of massages and fun and relaxation in a tranquil setting in the shadow of Baja California’s mystical Mount Kuchumaa.
Complementing Ranch La Puerta is its Fundación La Puerta, which embraces the complex challenges and opportunities Tecate faces as a border town. Its place-based programs provide educational opportunities that share a vision that human and natural ecosystems can best thrive in partnership. In 2005, more than 4,000 children attended environmental education workshops. Seven miles of the Tecate River were preserved and 28 acres were allotted for the Ranch’s Parque del Profesor, giving Tecatenses a much-needed place for recreation.
4,000 acres and 50 activities
Rancho La Puerta, the small plot of land in 1940, is now 4,000 acres with 40 miles of hiking trails, two swimming pools, a pickleball court and a spa. More than 50 activities are offered for all-levels of fitness, including exercise classes and quiet meditation centers. Ranch-grown farm-to-table meals are served in the dining room three times a day.
The “bring your own tent” accommodations of the 1940s are now beautiful casitas with fireplaces. In addition, luxury residences are available for guests who would like to own their own part of the ranch.
Perhaps, as a visitor told Travel+Leisure magazine, “There’s no place like this on the planet, between the mountain, the sacredness of the land, the type of people it attracts — There’s something magical that goes on here. The ranch heals your soul, no matter what. Even if you’re just here for a few days, you will be healed. It’s the only place I know on the planet that does this.”
James Clark writes for Mexico News Daily.
