The history of San Pancho has much to do with the history of national policies and, therefore, with the country’s vision of the 1970s, specifically during the presidency of Luis Echeverría, between 1970 and 1976.

Although in theory the Agrarian reform’s land redistribution was concluded, at the beginning of the 1970s a new wave of landowners began to emerge who wanted to monopolize lands belonging to the comuneros, joint holders of tenure land and elijido members, those farming communal lands for agriculture. One of the solutions to this problem was the creation of ejido unions, which consisted in the union of two or more ejidos to prevent the lands from being snatched by local caciques, the leaders of indigenous groups.

On the other hand, thanks to the achievements of the Mexican Revolution, especially the redistribution of lands and ejidos, the next step was to launch government programs to make them productive. The allocation of land in a communal, and not individualistic way, favored the creation of rural collectives.

In 1972 the Banderas Bay Ejido Union was created as one of the two pilot government projects, composed of eight ejidos, including Sayulita. Around the same time, the federal highway 200 opened, facilitating access to the region and giving way to tourism. To achieve this, they proceeded to expropriate ejidal lands in the coastal areas. In Sayulita, 544 hectares were expropriated and the Bahía de Banderas Trust was created to properly hold the money from expropriated lands.

Soon afterwards began a megaplan for development of the area which consisted of improving the urban infrastructure through paving of streets, the installation of drainage and sewage systems, electricity grids and the construction of public squares, schools and housing in towns such as Lo de Marcos, Higuera Blanca, San Francisco and Sayulita.

The place destined to be the center of ejidal development was San Francisco (San Pancho). Therefore, in addition to the infrastructure already mentioned, it was the site chosen to relocate people living in poverty in the ejidos to a place where experimental educational centers could be created. The San Pancho hotel school of the Ejidal Union was founded, tourist facilities were built, as well as a hospital clinic, the Center for Technological Studies of the Sea, and a self-sustaining primary school model that had a nursery, two transport trucks, a library and a field for agricultural activities.  The CONASUPO Agroindustiral Complex was also built, for the processing of dairy products, balanced foods, wooden boxes, soap, fruit and vegetable canning, coconut oil, meats, sausages, fish, and seafood.

This dream lasted but a short time. The local caciques, seeing that their economic interests were being threatened, took control of the Ejido Union, expelled the collectivist promoters from the area, and left the companies helpless bringing about their abandonment. Around 1988 all the facilities are dismantled, leaving only the regional hospital in operation. The infrastructure of other projects were also abandoned.

The warehouses in this area then became the responsibility of the Secretariat of Economic Development of the State to manage and promote industrial activities and employment within them. Among the undertakings was a fruit dehydrating company called FRUTAIR SA of CV, which received fruit from the region such as mangos, pineapples, papayas and bananas; Tim Shuen, a furniture producer; a fish packing company and a project to sell embroidered clothes and fabrics. However, none of these projects were successful.

Little by little San Pancho, like all the Riviera Nayarita and the Bay of Banderas, began to become a tourist center coveted by foreigners, mainly from California, Colorado and Canada. In combination with the Agrarian law reforms of 1992 that allow the commercialization of ejidal lands, it produced a large scale amounts of coastal land for sale. Many of the buyers were foreigners who purchased the land to build their retirement homes or real estate developments. It is then that the cultural and social diversity of San Pancho grew and new processes were generated.

The other history of San Pancho begins 20 years ago and, like so many, it is a mixture of coincidences and joint efforts that brought about its current great success.

San Pancho has been a place that has attracted people interested in the environment, arts and culture, from very different places and with very different origins and histories. They meet at a specific place and time, share common interests, learn from each other and take back what others left behind.

The inhabitants remember that a man named Frank Smith and Elvia García organized workshops on a voluntary basis focused on beach cleaning, recycling, separation of garbage and turtle releases. In 1992 they founded the Grupo Ecológico de la Costa Verde A.C. (Ecological Group of the Costa Verde A.C.)  and became the first turtle incubation nursery in the area. Another Mexican family, Rocio and Rodolfo Álvarez Tostado, also contributed to the development of these programs.

The founders of these projects, with the aim of improving and training in environmental issues, searched for Eric Saracho and Gabriela Loreto at the University Center on the Coast of Puerto Vallarta to teach recycling workshops at San Pancho Hospital. In 2002, they settled in San Pancho and began to identify problems related to the estuary and the sewage treatment plant. A few years later, they founded the Jaguar Alliance. In those same years Nicole Swedlow, the founder of entrEAmigos came to San Pancho.

Little by little, the intentions of some programs began to have a life of their own and by taking advantage of the abandoned shell of what was once the agro-industrial complex, the Bodegas de San Pancho Cultural Center took shape.

Authored by Denise Lechner, researcher and collaborator with LILHA.