About Fundación La Puerta

Our mission is to heal and preserve the environmental, cultural, and social heritage of the Tecate River basin through a model of sustainable life based on collaboration, respect, and celebration of natural and human communities.

Our vision is the Tecate River watershed will be a model region in sustainable environmental practices and in the flourishing and conservation of cultural heritage.

We support a vibrant Tecate where:

people and nature prosper
creative and responsible solutions to growth are practiced
healthy communities arise out of a commitment to social and environmental sustainability
a living river embraces parks, recreation and wildlife

Fundación la Puerta was founded in the mid 1970’s to give Rancho La Puerta a thoughtful and strategic way to support our local community It was a time of disorienting growth as Tecate grew from a small agricultural town into an industrial city and there was a great need to create a shared vision of what our community might become. Migrants were arriving from other parts of Mexico for jobs in assembly plants, “maquiladoras”. The sense of belonging that had been part of the deeply rooted local community was disappearing.

Rancho La Puerta has always played a prominent role in the community as a major employer and as an advocate for health, education, resilience, and conservation. For more about Rancho La Puerta, a pioneering world renown resort and spa visit www.rancholapuerta.com

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Accomplishments

For nearly 50 years, the non-profit, Fundación la Puerta, has allowed Rancho La Puerta to invest directly in Tecate’s well-being by committing to:

Preserving the beauty and integrity of Tecate’s natural environment.
Leading efforts in sustainable development and regional planning.
Facilitating partnerships between government, business, non-profit organizations and the community.
Promoting a sense of place through educational and community-based activities.
Finding solutions via an interdisciplinary approach rather than a single perspective.
Protecting Tecate’s unique historical, cultural and spiritual legacy.

Anual Report 2022

Programs

Parque del Profesor

Named after Prof. Edmond Szekely, the co-founder of Rancho La Puerta, Parque del Profesor is our jewel; a 28-acre oasis for the benefit of the community with an average of 100,000 annual users. Parque del Profesor is a unique venue in the City, one that brings families and individuals together in a protected natural environment. The park’s many activities are held in intimate indoor and outdoor classrooms and a plaza and soccer field serve large events. Our mile long interpretive hiking trail through the chapparal with smagnifient views of Mt. Kuchuma is the only place where an intact chapparal eco-system is available to the public in the city limits.

Regional Leadership

Our city-wide campaigns have led to the preservation of the Tecate River, established community gardens and provided urban planning for a green corridor along the Tecate River which is now home to Tecate’s museums and performing arts center. We have sparked partnerships and woven networks with other organizations to preserve and protect our diminishing wild spaces. We created the first bi-national conservation easement in Mexico, and participate actively in many conservation and wellness based governmental regional programs and initiatives.

Cultural Renewal

In the 1990’s Fundación La Puerta birthed two important festivals that draw participants from the whole of northern Baja California. Thousands of families celebrate World Environment Day and the Day of the Dead every year at Parque del Profesor. These events provide unique opportunities for artists, educators, local cultural organizations and citizens’s groups to inspire and network.