Vecinos History

The story of the Homeowner’s Civil Association of La Cholla starts after World War II.  Many southwestern fisherman discovered the fertile grounds of the Sea of Cortez.  As a result, many took the long trek across the desert with truck and boat to come to the Puerto Peñasco area to fish.  In those days, the highway stopped at the border. The last leg of the trip was filled with sand and the aggravation of getting stuck.  Upon arriving in La Cholla, they were rewarded with excellent fishing.  The thought of returning to the border through the sand spawned the idea of “renting” a plot of land from the local land owners.   Gustavo “Gus” Brown bought the land from the widow of his uncle, James Duncan Brown.  Duncan Brown was killed in an incident at the border near San Luis.  His widow was not a Mexican citizen and according to the 1917 Mexican Constitution, could not own land in the restricted area.  Gus had been born in 1919 in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and was a Mexican  citizen. He bought the 3,374 acres containing Cholla Bay in 1956.  The system was simple then; some rocks, a little paint and a handshake was all that was needed to secure your piece of La Cholla. Leaving your boat and/or trailer on the rented land made the return trip to the US much easier and made a return trip to La Cholla quicker and easier as well.

There were no services in La Cholla; e. g. no electricity, no piped water, no sewer, no telephone.  The roads were basically trails through the sand. The earliest map of La Cholla was drawn by Bill Valentine in 1948. Bill’s book, Valentine and Friends Revisited, is a great read for anyone interested in the golden years of La Cholla fishing.

In 1955, the Cholla Bay Sportsmen’s Club was founded.  In those days, its primary function was to run a monitored radio system and a search and rescue operation to make fishing far more safe than previously.  During these years, more and more fishing cabins and shacks were built in La Cholla by the fishermen.

The Gustavo Brown companies envisioned developing the Sandy Beach area to promote tourism in the Puerto Peñasco area.  With help from the City, State and Federal government, the dream became a reality.  One of the issues facing the developers was the legal status of the renters in the community of La Cholla.  By the early 1990’s, La Cholla had become a community. Beautiful homes were replacing the fishing shacks and city services were becoming a necessity.  The Sonoran government insisted that a Mexican non-profit corporation be created to “regularize” La Cholla.  In 1991 the corporation, Asociación de Regularización de Vecinos de la Cholla, A. C.,  was recognized as the entity to represent La Cholla.  To ensure the regularization of La Cholla moved forward, a deadline of July 1, 1995 was set for the land renters to enter into a purchase agreement for their land.  At the same time, the state of Sonora formed a technical committee to work out the details of regularizing La Cholla.  This committee included representation of the Vecinos de la Cholla, the city of Puerto Peñasco, the state of Sonora, the Land owner, and Bancomer.

The committee met 25 times over the course of 2 1/2 years to start the infrastructure of La Cholla and create bank trusts for the land owners of record. Bancomer created the largest master trust in Mexico to enter into trust agreements with La Cholla’s foreign owners.  Our Association, through our first President, Alan Peterson, made sure the power brought into La Cholla was adequate for current and future needs.  Telmex began telephone service to La Cholla as the electric project was completed. Your Association paid for a feasibility study to bring water to the edge of La Cholla through a pipeline installed by the developer.  The study resulted in the city (OOMAPAS) providing water to our standpipe.  The roads and signage, although owned by the city, are maintained by your Association.

The community center was purchased from the Cholla Bay Sportsmen’s Club and additional land was acquired to accommodate outdoor events and provide adequate parking. The Association remodeled and expanded the community center to include a large open meeting space, a commercial kitchen and a library.  As with La Cholla’s roads, there is a park maintained by the Association, but owned by the City.

La Cholla has come a long way from a remote fishing village to where it is today. Many can say they own a home in Puerto Peñasco, but few can say they are part of a community of mixed cultures with a common bond of the Sea of Cortez and being part of the La Cholla community.