Los Algodones is the northernmost town in Mexico,  located in a unique corner that allows one to walk in any cardinal direction and reach The United States. It’s History is also unique; The name Los Algodones means “The Cottons” which goes back to the beginning of the 17th century, when the Yuma indian tribe “The Halchidhoma” cultivated the land for the wild cotton. During the prohibition era, Los Algodones saw its first tourism boom for the cantinas and bars. It wasn’t till the 1980’s that it started to become a medical border town and now it is one of the foremost dental tourism destinations in the world.

Only  a Century old, the rich history of Los Algodones (“The Cottons”) is very hard to find, when you walk into Los Algodones today you see a small Mexican town with 350 dentists in a three by four block radius, which makes it the town with the most dentists per capita in the world, “Molar City” but how it came to be that town, is very interesting.

With the gold rush and more and more Immigrants heading to California, Mexico needed to secure more land in the California area. The Mexican President gave large amounts of land to his family, friends and to many of his trusted military officers, claiming the territory as Mexican occupied. That is how retired General Guillermo Andrade came to be in Baja California. He was given an area just a few miles south of the Yuma Crossing to encompass the area of the Mexicali Valley all the way south to the Gulf. Retired General Guillermo Andrade now needed labor to work the area so he brought farm hands from all over Mexico to work his large ranch. They, the workers, were referred to as “the Andrade Cowboys”. Those cowboys later were settled in the town of Los Algodones, making Los Algodones the first settlement in the Mexicali Valley. Although the official year that Los Algodones was founded is in 1894.

They built homes somewhat scattered and close to the river. Los Algodones was actually founded in part of the mesa of Andrade and because of being settled next to the Colorado River, not far from Yuma, and next to the border, it was a town that at the beginning was very isolated, there was no connection to Yuma and it was way too far from everything else in Mexico.

As the Colorado River started growing in a commercial way, as the “Gateway to the West”, with the steamboats that carried provisions to the west in California. Progress continued and soon the Southern Pacific Railroad opened a connection, through Los Algodones, to the West, in order to avoid the sand dunes. The railroad brought immigrants as labor, from all over including China and some of whom settled in and around Los Algodones. In 1878, the border line between the 2 countries was established. With the completion of the transcontinental rail systems, the steamboat era ended and the agricultural era began. The Colorado River soon gave way to building on the farming, growing cotton and vegetables in the area.

During the prohibition era, Los Algodones saw its first tourism boom for the cantinas and bars. As Sandra, whom we interviewed, puts it: “Los Algodones was the official CANTINA OF THE VALLEY with 48 bars and very little of anything else here. The first block, coming from the border, was the train depot on the right and on the left was a parking lot for a cantina/restaurant, where Americans came for the burritos all the time, and next door on the corner was the gas station”.

With The United States occupied with World War II, there was a huge demand for farm labor, the train transported workers from all over Mexico to work the fields in the U.S. on the Braceros Program. Mexicans, like Don Ramon Muñoz who worked as a Bracero, were hired to work in the fields and other handyman duties in The United States. Many Mexican-Americans trace their family’s roots in the US to their fathers’ or grandfathers’ arrival as braceros.

Morelos Dam, the last dam on the Colorado River, was built from 1948-50, it diverts its water from the Colorado River to highly developed crop lands in the Mexicali Valley. The Morelos dam brought jobs with good wages. Their Children would take the train every day from Los Algodones to Mexicali, to go to school every day.

By the 1950’s the railroad was gone and today the only remnants of the train station left in Los Algodones is the Mexican Government buildings you pass through on your way into the town of Los Algodones, within feet of the Andrade U.S. Port of Entry. Ramon Munoz and his wife Delia, Sandra’s in-law’s, owned the first General store in town that “sold everything from a needle to a saddle”.

Dentistry was pretty simple before 1969 ….if you had a toothache, pull the tooth out……. if you had a cavity, fill it up. San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico was the closest dentist. Fresh out of the University of Mexico City, visiting his brother in San Luis, Dr. Bernardo Magaña was persuaded to settle in Los Algodones as the first dental surgeon in the area. On his first day he saw 9 patients, and some days he would see as many as 100 patients. For 3 years he was the only dentist, he would work from 6am - 11pm most days.

1980-1982 Manuel Martinez mayor of Mexicali and Dr. Magaña, now mayor of Los Algodones agreed, it was time to clean the town of the cantinas, 48 cantinas went down to the 4 cantinas still here today. By 1980, there were 10 dentists in Los Algodones and getting the reputation of “Molar City”.

So, when you walk into Los Algodones today you see a small Mexican town that has gone through many changes since it was first settled by ranch hands a long way from anywhere except the river, well over a 100 years ago. Now with around 350 dentists in a three by four block radius it is growing to be an easily, well sought after medical tourism destination with an average 3,000 visitors a day and growing. Come see the charm that brings many a tourist back again and again, year after year.

Remember that Mexico was once considered a cheap alternative for elective cosmetic procedures. Now is a growing industry and an attractive alternative to rising health care costs. Medical in Mexico isn’t what it used to be.

Starting in the 1980’s the Mexican National Healthcare System aggressively addressed their country’s healthcare concerns and created several programs to improve the quality of healthcare education and their healthcare system.  Today healthcare education in Mexico is one of the best in Latin America surpassed only by Brazil.

Mexico’s higher education system was featured as one of the best world-wide in the first edition of the QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings.

Most doctors and dentists in Mexico received at least part of their training in the U.S. and many continue to go to the U.S. or Europe for ongoing training.

The World Health Organization developed a pilot plan in the establishment of Centers of Excellence that promote Good Regulatory Practices for international agencies. This evaluation process allowed COFEPRIS (Mexico’s FDA) to strengthen the country’s regulatory capacity, which brought with it important benefits by being aligned with the best international practices, being recognized by its global leadership.

With leading-edge technology and state-of-the art facilities, Baja’s medical and dental centers treat patients from all over the world. Baja welcomes more than one million visitors a year for an extensive range of specialties and services, a number that is growing rapidly.

Most medications in Mexico and in the United States are produced by the same pharmaceutical companies.

Nearly a half million Americans seek dental care outside of the U.S. each year, because of the high cost of medical and dental care in The United States.

The Medical Tourism Index 2016 says that “Mexico is among the top 5 medical tourism destinations in the world.” Patients Beyond Borders ranks Mexico as a “World-Class Healthcare Destination” and LiveandInvestOverseas.com ranks “Mexico is #1 of The Worlds Best 8 Countries for Dental Tourism.” Each year Mexico sees hundreds of thousands of medical and dental tourists.

The boom began in the late 1990s as health-care costs in the USA rose and the southern states began drawing retirees and snowbirds. More and more foreign visitors are going to Mexico for dental and medical care every year, for the advantages of quality medical and dental services, faster medical attention where American insurance is accepted and for the Nationally Certified Hospitals and Dental Centers.

Dental Services, Weight loss surgery, Hip & Knee replacements, Eye correction surgery, Plastic & Cosmetic surgery, Alternative and homeopathic medicines, along with Spa and Wellness services, are becoming more and more popular. Now, the most sophisticated treatments are in the mix, for cancer, heart problems and other diseases. Many of its health care practitioners are U.S. trained and many speak English. Some are world leaders in their specialties.

Faster Medical Attention than in the U.S.A. or Canada.

Medical Tourism certified Hospitals and Clinics have been saving insurance companies in the United States for years offering quality healthcare to Americans at a considerable savings. By traveling a short distance across the border, you can cut your medical costs 40% to 80%.