Tuesday, April 12, 2005 | The godmother of the mind/body/fitness movement talks about her dream to start the New Americans Immigration Museum and Learning Center in San Diego.
Deborah Szekely, 83, is a woman in a hurry. Considered the godmother of the mind/body/fitness movement, she is the founder with her now deceased husband of Rancho La Puerta, a spa in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico, and the upscale Golden Door in Escondido. She has been a wife, mother, entrepreneur and public servant and is now focused on starting the New Americans Immigration Museum and Learning Center which would be located in San Diego.
Who is Deborah Szekely?
What is your role with Rancho La Puerta and the Golden Door?
How did you get the idea for the New Americans Immigration Museum and Learning Center?
Why is the museum important?
What is the purpose of the museum?
Today, America is more than the land of Washington and Lincoln. We need to teach the newly arrived, both adults and children, how to navigate well our incredibly diverse and complex society, which is so different from their monocultures at home. It is difficult enough for us who were born and raised here to digest the changes brought by things like civil rights and the women’s movement … These are lessons you don’t learn at the mall or on TV.
What is the status of the museum?
What locations are you considering?
How much will the museum cost?
What is your timeline?
– BARBARA BRY, Voice Editor in Chief
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