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The sunshine yellow of the Princesa de Peñasco condominiums in Rocky Point has been an unmistakable fixture on Sandy Beach for over two decades. Ana Maria Rodriguez Garcia of Casago beams equally as bright when recounting her history as a housekeeper with the company since its inception. As staff at Princesa de Peñasco are eager to point out, Ana Maria is “the real OG.”
“Welcome to my home – Bienvenida a mi casa,” Ana Maria smiled as she opened the door to one of her favorite condominiums. The centrally located one-bedroom condo at Princesa provides Ana Maria a bird’s-eye view of the spacious complex she knows like the back of her hand.
“It’s not really my home, but I care for it as if it were my own,¨she explained, “I am the eyes of the owners and I know every part of it; I know exactly how it should look for guests, and I know exactly how the owner likes things arranged.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m sentimental, but this is where I started and where I want to stay,” she went on, “So while it’s not my home, I spend more time here than in my own, and have done so for nearly 25 years. Princesa will always be my home, even though Casago has repeatedly asked if I wanted to go to other complexes.”
As I interviewed Ana Maria, I would come to learn she had specifically chosen this condominium for our talk. Initially hesitant on being interviewed, she had stated her preference for meeting in one of the condominiums she cares for, in her “own area, her comfort zone.”
Casago’s First Housekeeper
Ana Maria, who just turned 61 and became a widow 6 years ago, has three adult children, all of whom reside in Puerto Peñasco. She is immensely proud to be known as Casago’s first housekeeper. Presently, her Casago badge states she is an “Independent Housekeeper.” After more than two decades, she remains fiercely dedicated and loyal to the company.
Ana Maria has watched Casago’s steady transformation. She is quick to point out how she would watch Steve (Schwab) knock on doors in the early days, observing his firm intent to build relationships with owners.
This tenaciousness and dedication, Ana Maria affirmed, is reflected in her own steadfast determination. “Everyday I come in to give 100%, and a little more, and to meet people.”
Ana María Rodríguez García: From Opportunity to Legacy
Ana Maria Rodriguez Garcia came to Puerto Peñasco from Culiacan over 4 decades ago in search of new opportunities. She arrived with her 6-month old daughter, the eldest of her three children.
Time passed and Ana Maria eventually met Xochitl, a woman who she would see when they both took their children to kindergarten. “I knew that Xochitl cleaned homes and I asked her if she needed an assistant,” she detailed.
“About a month later,” Ana Maria recalled, “she called and asked if I’d like to help. I thought, sure! Oh but let me tell you, that first day I went to Las Conchas I ended up with a fever! I wasn’t used to working that close to the sea, with the sea breeze; working like that is very different than working in your own home.”
When Ana Maria joined Xochitl’s crew, the two worked for una Americana, Cyndi’s Beach Rentals, which at the time just managed homes.
“One day we’d work out at Playa Encanto,” she described as her eyes looked out the window reminiscently, “another day Miramar, and the Mirador. We worked all over Puerto Peñasco. I worked like that for about 3 years…maybe 5, but I was no longer an assistant. Cyndi offered me homes, and that’s when I started in Princesa. Cyndi had two condominiums she managed here.”
The First Team
As a treasure trove of Casago’s history, Ana Maria described how when Cyndi’s husband passed away, and Cyndi no longer wanted to continue with the business, she decided instead to sell. “I knew her well; I have purely good memories of her and of her husband as well,” stated Ana Maria fondly.
“One day,” Ana Maria explained, “Cyndi called us into the office, and we saw this American guy who didn’t speak any Spanish. She introduced him to us, said his name was Steve, and that possibly he was going to buy the business. ‘I want you to go show him the houses,’ she told us, so off we went.”
“I remember at that time Steve drove a pick-up, a red Dakota, I remember that first day he bought us sodas and chips at the gas station and we were on our way. We showed him the houses, going from one to another…and well, he ended up with the homes.”
“At that time there was Xochitl, myself, and a maintenance guy, Isaias…who kept working until he passed away,” she detailed.
“His (Isaias’) photo is on the wall at the main Casago office,” Ana Maria interrupted herself, referring to a collage of staff portraits gracing the hallways of the main office in town, “There’s my photo, photos of my daughters, as well as Xochitl – though she’s stopped working for health reasons – and Xochitl’s daughter.”
“When Cyndi left, Steve rehired us,” she explained, “He gave us our jobs back; we were the first group. I am among the oldest, I was his first housekeeper.”
Watching Casago Grow
Ana Maria has had a front row seat to Casago’s growth in Rocky Point. Much of this vantage point has been from the warm familiar embrace of the Princesa de Peñasco condominiums.
After that initial tour around town in Steve’s red Dakota, Ana Maria recalls watching the eager entrepreneur become one of the city’s most well-respected business leaders, “He was younger and eager to build his company,” she recounted, “He started to get more and more homes, and would meet with owners to convince them.”
“He would go condo by condo, offering his services….and on and on, until he got Princesa. We had a lot of condominiums, then he started to get properties in other complexes, but this was the base, the home,” she detailed, “For those of us that have been here the longest, this is still kind of like our home, and the main office was here; almost all of us started here.”
From those first two condominiums at Princesa de Peñasco, when another company “wouldn’t let me bring my car in and I had to park outside,” to being responsible for over 20 condos at one point, Ana Maria has a fondness for her role.
This appreciation extends to Ana Maria’s feelings for the company itself. Acknowledging there have been some challenging years, including the pandemic and earlier economic downturns, she gushes, “…if there’s something I feel for this company, it’s pure gratitude. I am very grateful for them – muy agradecida – they’ve kept on working and kept moving forward.”
Nurturing Owners & Guests
Ana Maria has a special affection for her work, the condominiums, homeowners, and guests. She knows with precision which owners expect what when they come to their beachside home. On quieter days, she finds comfort in checking on each condominium – even after the supervisor has gone through – to “make sure everything is in order, as I know how I’ve left things.”
She is keenly aware of how she witnesses the joy, celebrations, and even sadness of guests. She thinks back on the many beach weddings she’s seen, or “when they come to decorate the condos with balloons or things…I’ve lived so many things here. There have been more good stories than bad.”
Among the stories that stand out, Ana Maria recalled providing service at a condominium where an older couple was readying for their wedding. “The woman had a wedding dress hanging up, and invited me over,” she remembered, “What a beautiful dress, I told her, and she said ‘Can you believe it, I’m getting married, this is my first time! I’m not a young person but I wanted to come and get married here on the beach.”
Ana Maria Rodriguez Garcia: Casago Family
Nearing the end of our interview, Ana Maria admiringly brought up the relationship with fellow housekeepers and staff.
“Here, the housekeepers, we are a team,” she began, “We aren’t coworkers, we are a family. Family isn’t blood it’s from the heart because we’ve been here for a long time. We’ve had some rough times but we’re here to support each other, we are a family.”
Speaking of family, she added that her adult son has been her assistant for over 12 years. He does everything, “except make beds,” she chuckled, “But he does everything else and we work well together.”
Behind her rimmed glasses and sleek hairnet, crisp uniform, and Casago badge, after more than 20 years Ana Maria continues to draw inspiration from her surroundings.
“I see the people are so happy that it inspires me, it’s contagious,” she described, “I really like talking with people, asking them questions or they ask me, I almost always pull out a conversation.”
“A number of guests that come back time and again spot me and say, ‘wow, you’re still here!’”
“Yes,” she proudly remarked, “I’m still here and hopefully will continue to be. I’ve continued to show I am a woman that is productive, that is still eager to work. If I could, I would be here every day.”
As she led me from her favorite Princesa condo back to the elevator after our time together, Ana Maria – Casago’s longest active housekeeper – concluded with a final thought just as the doors started to open, “I like my job, I like to meet people. Steve came to change the lives of so many.”
