According to a report published by Punto Norte, the crisis affecting Valle de Guadalupe, considered the country’s wine capital, due to the lack of visitors, is largely explained by a group of businessmen who for years have monopolized control of the region, putting their personal interests ahead of the development and survival of the area.
They include Fernando Pérez Castro, director of the wineries “La Lomita” and “Finca La Carrodilla”; Hans Backhoff Guerrero, CEO of Monte Xanic; Wenceslao Martínez Payán, director of the winery Relieve; Mauricio Cantú Barajas; and Keiko Nishikawa Chávez, Public Relations manager at Bodegas Santo Tomás.
Various business owners in the area, as well as former employees and service providers from Baja California, have pointed to this group as responsible for unfair practices that have harmed one of Baja California’s main tourist destinations.
The conversation began after food influencer Arturo Lemmen, better known as “Arturito,” recently shared his concern and sadness at seeing what was once one of the country’s most visited destinations practically empty.
The influencer stayed in Valle de Guadalupe for seven days, after which he warned about the low occupancy.
“Arriving and being the only table is really sad, but it didn’t happen at just one place, it happened at all the restaurants; we were the only customers,” he shared.
“For me it’s one of the best gastronomic destinations in the world,” explained the influencer, who said that after speaking with restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe, they confirmed that sales have dropped by as much as 60 percent, despite it being high season.
Several voices, both inside and outside Valle de Guadalupe, directly blame businessmen who benefited from the tourism “boom” the region experienced a few years ago, but who blocked the entry of new players while also neglecting the causes that led to this crisis.
Among them is Fernando Pérez Castro, director of the wineries “La Lomita” and “Finca La Carrodilla” and the restaurant Lunario, who was one of the first to appear on national magazine covers speaking about Valle de Guadalupe’s potential and the success of his businesses.
Pérez Castro was appointed president of the Baja California State Council of Grape Producers for the 2022–2024 term.
There is also Hans Backhoff Guerrero, CEO of Monte Xanic since 2008, a winery that at its peak welcomed up to 37,000 visitors per year, and who became president of the Mexican Wine Council in 2019.
It was precisely between 2019 and 2024, while both men were leading these organizations, that together with other businessmen they launched a movement to pressure municipal and state authorities into shutting down new investments seeking to establish themselves in the region.
What could have contributed to the area’s economic prosperity instead became a blockade that prevented the injection of resources into Valle de Guadalupe and also limited the diversification of the tourism offering, a key factor for the long-term development of this type of destination.
Likewise, other businessmen who now share responsibility for the region’s tourism decline include Wenceslao Martínez Payán, son of former PAN federal congressman Wenceslao Martínez Santos, who while serving in the Chamber of Deputies managed to secure public funds for a paving project in Valle de Guadalupe that conveniently connected the main highway to his winery Relieve, according to a journalistic investigation.
Relieve was left in the hands of his son, Wenceslao Martínez Payán, who like Fernando Pérez Castro and Hans Backhoff Guerrero has chaired civil organizations related to wine promotion, specifically the ProVino Committee for the 2024–2025 term.
As head of the civil association grouping 80 wineries, Martínez Payán pushed the same agenda of preventing new investors from entering Valle de Guadalupe Businessman Mauricio Cantú Barajas, founder and partner of Cava Aragón as well as Bodega Madera 5, who presided over the civil association from 2022 to 2023, was also part of the leadership of the ProVino Committee.
This group also includes Keiko Nishikawa Chávez, Public Relations manager at Bodegas Santo Tomás, the oldest winery in Valle de Guadalupe, who has led public positions with the same goal of blocking the installation of new wineries, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
Through ProVino and Por un Valle de Verdad, this group of businessmen has pushed restrictions that, far from benefiting the region, have harmed it by placing it at a disadvantage compared to other tourist destinations.
Local suppliers and companies report, for example, a drop of up to 70% in weddings held in Valle de Guadalupe, which they attribute not only to rising prices backed by ProVino and Por un Valle de Verdad, but also to the operating-hour limits established in municipal regulations.
For several years, this group has blocked discussions about modifying the operating-hour limits for restaurants, wineries, and social events such as weddings, which currently must end between midnight and 2:00 a.m.
Although the businessmen claim they are protecting Valle de Guadalupe’s winemaking identity, the results of these practices seem more focused on protecting their own interests than defending a region now facing a severe crisis.
(Translated from a publication by Punto Norte)
