Boca de Agua BACALAR Seeking to drive positive environmental and social change, first-time hotelier Rodrigo Juárez creates a collection of eco-friendly treehouses nestled amidst the Mayan jungle. Words: Catherine Martin • Photography: © César Béjar Studio
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he final leg of the journey to Boca de Agua – located
T
Known as the Lagoon of Seven Colors, the freshwater lake
200km south of Tulum, close to the town of Bacalar –
is the main draw to Bacalar, and with its ever-changing hues,
is something of an adventure. Turning off the highway
it’s easy to see why Juárez became so enamoured. Having
at an unmarked opening, a makeshift road twists and turns
graduated with a degree in architecture and economics, the
through the Mayan jungle, offering fleeting glimpses of a
setting made for the ideal spot to explore his passions. “A
spider monkey or family of white-nosed coati as they scurry
hospitality venture felt like the right fit,” he continues. “It is
back into the dense undergrowth.
an intersection of design, culture, natural conservation and
It’s a fitting arrival experience for the eco-friendly
good holistic business practices; these aspects really matter
escape, where the ultimate aim is to foster a connection
to me, and with that realisation I started conceiving this
with nature. “Many guests have mentioned how being here
beautiful project.”
really forces them to unplug from technology and absorb
After becoming frustrated with the lack of sustainable
the natural wonder that is Bacalar,” reveals Rodrigo Juárez,
architecture in working with large-scale developers, Juárez
the entrepreneur behind the property. “This is a place that
set about leading on both the financial and creative aspects
allows them to pause and breathe; they feel better mentally,
of the project, taking further education courses in business
physically, in every way.”
and the built environment to expand his skillset. A fortuitous
Indeed, every aspect of Boca de Agua is designed to
meeting with a local landowner eventually resulted in
immerse guests in nature, from the architecture and interiors
the venture taking shape, but not before business plans,
to the dining and programming. For Juárez, a first-time
masterplans, obtaining a government loan reserved for eco-
hotelier, the journey began with his own love of nature,
tourism projects, and crucially, finding a balance between
having been captivated by the turquoise waters of Laguna
commercial success and sustainable design.
Bacalar. “Almost seven years ago, I took a backpacking trip
With a growing number of accommodation options in
exploring Mexico from coast to coast,” he explains. “Bacalar,
the vicinity, Juárez wanted to take a fresh approach, and
right on the border between Mexico and Belize, was the
so enlisted Mexican architect Frida Escobedo and interior
last place I visited, and I completely fell in love with it; its
designer Mariel Lozano to devise a solution. “I respect that
cultural relevance, its history, its people, and most of all,
developers try to fit in with the vernacular, but it becomes
its lagoon.”
a problem when every new project starts to look the same