Tenacatita Bay Beach gate is gone, but Rodenas guards remain

TENACATITA, Jalisco, Mexico - The Tenacatita Bay Beach - once the site of restaurants, shops and various commercial concessions is now open to the public after nearly three years of being closed off.

August 2010 eviction of Tenacatita residents

But the dispute over the properties seized in an armed takeover August 4, 2010 remains. In that morning surprise attack, nearly 800 Mexican citizens and handful of gringos were rousted from homes by police and forced to leave at gunpoint.

Visitors to the beach report that a contingent of heavily armed guards are patrolling the area behind the beach and other adjacent areas where wealthy developer Guadalajara Jose Villalobos claims ownership.

The tearing down of the guard shack and reopening of the public highway to the beach was a cause for great celebration June 2, drawing hundreds of people.

Villalobos

But as jubilant as the crowds were, it's only a first step towards regaining what was once one of the most popular tourist destinations along the Costalegre. The public access is limited to the Federal Zone beach area.

And for now there are no announced plans for rebuilding any restaurants or recreating any of the infrastructure that was destroyed by Villalobos.

Villalobos maintains that he is the legal owner of all the properties his security forced seized in 2010. Some of the property owners are still fighting in court to regain their lands.

Tenacatita Bay Beach in its glory days - before the August 2010 seizure