[2] Located 10 miles (16 km) south of the US–Mexico border, Rosarito is a part of the greater San Diego–Tijuana region and one of the westernmost cities in Mexico.

By 1,000 BC, a group emerged that is recognizable as the Yuman ancestors of the Kumeyaay, who continued to inhabit the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula at the time of European contact.

Because Mission San Miguel, 13 km (8.1 mi) to the south, was frequently flooded by the Río Guadalupe, Dominican missionary Tomás de Ahumada sought another site on higher ground for at El Descanso.

On May 14, 1885, Machado received his title and registered it in Ensenada, then the capital city of the Northern District of Baja California Territory.

Hugo Torres Chabert, current owner of the Rosarito Beach Hotel led the incorporation drive and was subsequently appointed to a three-year term as mayor.

Urbanization in 1950 marked the beginning of Rosarito's contemporary-era development as planning and construction of streets and city blocks took place.

As land sales soared, coupled with the construction of small restaurants, some shops and two hotels, the city began to take shape its present-day appearance.

In the 1960s, Playas de Rosarito entered the commercial and industrial era with the constructions of a large thermoelectric power plant and the later installations of Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company.

When Rene was not able to serve his people any longer he chose as his successor Hugo Torres Chabert, a friend and owner of Hotel Rosarito.

Rosarito was visited by Hollywood film stars such as Orson Welles and Dolores del Río who were attracted by hunting (deer, quail and rabbit) and fishing (lobster, abalone).

Torres Chabert, as owner of the Rosarito Beach Hotel, was deeply concerned about the safety of tourists, and pledged strong action to deal with both issues.

[8] Mexican Federal Highway 1 and tollway 1D connect Rosarito with western and Downtown Tijuana to the north and Ensenada to the south.