Page 44 - SanFelipe

Our days were spent swimming, riding motorcycles, and racing our buggies and
4x4’s up and down the dunes behind the campo. My favorite was sailing on the
smooth water of the Sea of Cortez. My brothers and I made many great friends
during that time of our lives; like Angel Huerta (RIP), whose family owned the local
lumberyard; Victor Rodriguez Romero from the El Cortez Hotel; Carlos Conklin,
whose father was one of the original fishermen in San Felipe; Carlos Gratianne, who
became an agricultural leader in Mexicali and Aaron Zanudo from Rube’s Camp .

Today, Club de Pesca remains popular for the annual Chili Cook Off. I would be
remiss without talking about the chili cookoff. Jorge described the cookoff starting
out more as just a fling, with its founder, Joseph Malek, introducing the idea to
Jorge and Pancho over 20 years ago. With just a handful of entries the first year,
Jorge said it was a small event. A “Taka Taka” band walked up to the store patio
during the event and began to play live music. Guests started dancing and had
a great time and soon it became an annual event. This year the Chili Cook Off
attracted more than 400 attendees and 19 teams. Proceeds of over $2500 were
donated to the San Felipe Dog Rescue.

Chili Cookoff photos by
Victor Ratliff

In addition to the fond memories of
my youth, I feel so fortunate that I get
to continue to enjoy Club de Pesca
today, much as it was in the 1970’s.
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