Alvaro Bautista

Alvaro Bautista is the son of Enrique and manages the date ranch.

Enrique Bautista and his wife, Graciela, immigrated to the Coachella Valley from Michoacán, Mexico, in the 1970s. They both had experience in farming, and in the ’90s, he became the foreman of a date farm owned by Fred and Betty Wendler, who were both his employers and his friends. When the Wendlers decided to retire, Enrique bought the farm, and his family joined in the work.

In 2004, he was injured in a car wreck that left him in a wheelchair. At that point, his children and grandchildren took over the responsibilities of the business and kept it going, and Enrique continues to zoom around the property offering his wisdom and advice. The children – Alicia, Maricela, Alvaro, Jaime, and Enrique Jr., each with their own young families – work the ranch and sell Bautista dates at farmers markets primarily in the Los Angeles area.