Buying Art in the Rosarito Area of ​​Baja

There are so many fine artists and galleries in our little Baja area. I am talking about Rosarito because I am not a frequent traveler to Tijuana or Ensenada. The cost of an original, unframed oil painting is much less than what you would expect to pay in many other places. Many of the fine pieces in my house cost around two hundred and fifty dollars, framed. This does not mean that the quality is not of the best. Any time you get a place with a nice climate, art buyers, and a comparatively cheap way of life, you get a lot of great artists. Some of the artists here can charge upwards of six thousand dollars for a painting.

One of my favorite galleries is the one at Polo Valencia, which is located across from the Baja Film studios, just south of Rosarito. It has two buildings packed with so many fine paintings that it almost takes your breath away. He is charming and will go out of his way to tell you about his artist in an informative way instead of selling it. They have been known to give discounts if someone buys more than one painting, which is great for that person who is just decorating a new house or condo. The galleries have been there for almost 20 years. He is a good painter himself who likes to make fruits that can almost be torn off the canvas. He sends by the thousands for some of his oil paintings which are done in a three-dimensional style and are quite large, about three feet by four feet and usually framed in white. There is a frame shop right between the two galleries.

Polo learned to paint from Paco García, who has a gallery across from the Rosarito Beach Hotel, right on the main boulevard. Paco has worked on a wide variety of subjects over the years and is every bit as charming as Polo. He has also done many murals over the years. If he walks into our historic Rosarito Beach Hotel, you can point out some of his mural work. He also has a framing shop which seems pretty reasonable to me, about twenty bucks for a matted, framed piece about twelve by twelve inches.

A few doors down from Paco’s gallery is David Silva’s. David is well known for his depictions of Don Quixote with eyes that follow you around the room. He also does tango dancers in a large format perfect for that big empty wall you may have, using a background that looks like newsprint quite often. His women are realistic and seem to move on the canvas. Part of his gallery is dedicated to MexiFolkArts. Benito Del Aguila owns a business that he has expanded to sell online with eBay. His knowledge of museum-quality folk art is extensive. His family helps by traveling around Mexico to find some of the best artists for him to buy his exquisite pieces and sell them at great prices. I have a piece of pottery that a well-known artist from mainland Mexico sold from his private collection for medical expenses that cost me only forty dollars. Benito assured me with a straight face that he did not have to pay the shipping cost.

The UGI Gallery is between Rosarito and Popotla on the right hand side of the street heading south. Owned by two very talented artists, Alvaro and Janet. He specialized in large flowers perfect for adorning a wall in a contemporary home. Janet is a master of light and uses it to great advantage in her paintings. She also does wonderful things with texture to make a painting come to life.

ArtFest is coming up Memorial Day weekend in Rosarito. It’s this weekend every year.

So if you’re looking to decorate a wall, office, or home, this is a great place to come for masterful art that won’t cost you a fortune.