Rosarito takes another hit and this one has nothing to do with any of the reasons people speculate as the cause tourism seems to be so down recently. This one is the result on one man, Rich Ross, according to The Los Angeles Times on November 18, 2009.

Rich Ross, Walt Disney Studios' new movie chief has made the decision to pull the plug on the planned production of "Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" Disney's $150-million production that was to be shot at the old Fox Studios. With millions already spent hiring crews and prepping to build sets everything seemed on track until the then studio head  Dick Cook was replaced by Mr. Ross. Knowing the contention that accrued around the change of management makes this no real surprise though especially for a picture with such a large budget and high expectations.

If it's any consolation to the area this is a franchise that Disney is bound to cash in on someday and when it does there are not many facilities that can compete with old Fox in Rosarito, Thanks James Cameron.

While many come to Baja for great travel and shopping deals one local day spa has put a new spin on value. Karma Derma Spa, Skin Care & Hair Salon in the Real del Mar Golf Resort & Hotel combines a higher level of service that can only come from an owner who's background far exceeds most of those that you find in this area.

"Every time we came down to this area for my husbands business I would try different places, but something was always missing. Since I knew that he needed to spend a lot of time in the area I decided to create my own place" says Alejandra Hall of Karma Derma. "I have been a spa person all my life, and whether I am working on new products for my skin care line, or helping my husband with his business, I missed the spa ambiance" continues Alejandra.

And create a place for herself she did, and for all of us for that mater. Fashioned after a Costco type approach where you can get high quality with value pricing, her salon provides a place where everyone can afford to spoil themselves. With a variety of services that range from spa manicures and pedicures to the ultimate in facials that include The Deluxe Karma Derma Facial by Alejandra herself this place is a special treat for both regulars and vacationers alike.

Drug violence, danger, and the US economy falling apart. With all that we here in the news regarding both Mexico and The United States its nice to see that there is resiliency from people on both sides as Mexico comes in #1 on the Forbes list of most visited foreign destinations of US travlers with over twenty million travilers in 2008. Not only did travel to Mexico not decline as it did with many foreign destinations it actually rose from the previous year by four percent.

As anyone who lives in the Baja area can testify while there is bad people everywhere, for the most part Americans love visiting Mexico, and the residents of Mexico love having them. And as Mexican and US culture continue to grow together that does not seem like it will change anytime soon.

Click Here To See The Rest Of The Forbes List

Imagine working at Desilu Productions, the company founded by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. A company that was credited with inventing the modern day sit-com and at one time produced a large portion of the most successful television programs on the air. A company that at its height had more TV sound stages than did MGM or Twentieth Century Fox. For John Bell who grew up at a farm in Iowa this was not something he had to imagine, this was his life. After getting involved with acting in collage and auditioning for Laugh-In he was hooked and came out to Hollywood as so many still do to this day.

And even though his goal to be a full time working actor did not pan out, he had the privilege to make his living in the business, running the post productions facilities at the old Desilu studios, and then moving over to MGM where he ran the projection facilities all the while maintaining his love for acting and not skipping a beat to this day as he now sits on the board of the Rosarito Theater Guild in Baja. This is where we caught up to him to speak with him about his latest roll, that of the director of the guilds last play, The Cemetery Club, Written by Ivan Menchell.

The Cemetery Club is a comedy/drama that revolves around three friends who meet monthly over tea before they trundle off to the cemetery to visit their dead husbands. And while at first thought this doesn't seem to jump out at you to be the subject matter for entertainment, entertainment it certainly was thanks to a great cast and a wonderful job of direction from Mr. Bell.

Ask him how he came to choose this particular play and a big smile comes immediately to his face. "I went to Samuel French in Hollywood and spent about two hours looking and going through everything", says John, "and finally I just went up to the girl and said do you have plays for old people. She mention this play and I just skimmed threw the first couple pages of it and said this is it".

Not only was John pleasantly surprised by the material, we were just as pleasantly surprised with its outcome. In an area that offers so much of its own rich culture sometimes it is hard to find a little something from back home and a night at the Rosarito Theater sure hits the spot. When we sat down to speak with John about it, one of the first questions that came to mind was how this presentation ended up with such high production value. Finding out a little about John's background explained a lot.

Getting involved in theater in collage, John then traveled the mid-west in a successful production. After leaving that he came out to Hollywood and began studying with some of the top teachers in the area and auditioning for roles in TV and movies as he began working at the studio's behind the scenes.

This true Hollywood background along with the plays talented cast made our night thoroughly enjoyable and makes us look forward to there next production.

Americans In baja is looking for any and all interesting and entertaining events in the general area and would love to list your event. If you would like to list your community event for free on our  events calender please send us an invitation to your event through your Google calender to americansinbaja {at} gmail {dot} com.

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