“I've never experienced racism in Mexico,” says Katia Pierre-Louis, founder of the wellness resort Hidden Leaf Baja in Todos Santos, a town in Baja California, Mexico. “I've traveled all over mainland [Mexico], and there is colorism, but for me, locals are all brown-skinned and the most warm and welcoming people. It’s the value system of, ‘If you're here, you're family, we're going to take care of you, we're going to watch out for you. I've experienced nothing but that in Baja.” 

As an entrepreneur and Black American, the Brooklyn-bred Pierre-Louis reflects a growing consensus of Black Americans who have taken root in Mexico––a country that represents an interesting paradox. On the one hand, many Black folks go to Mexico to party and chill in spots like Cabo and Tulum, and Mexico City is increasingly becoming a hotspot for Black expats. On the other hand, there’s persistent word-of-mouth and even documented evidence that Black people and Afro-Latinos face discrimination and hostility. 

As part of BET’s ongoing series examining the lives of Black people who’ve left the US–a conversation that’s gaming transaction after the 2024 election––Pierre-Louis is proof that everybody’s experience outside the U.S. varies and that for her, living in Mexico has been close to idyllic. “It is liberating,” she says. “I have a better standard of life here than I did in the US.” 

Pierre-Louis traveled to and within Mexico for about a decade but made it home in 2020. A chief data privacy officer at a legal firm, Pierre-Louis had been experiencing burnout for a while, pulling 10-hour days six days a week until it became too much. She decamped to Mexico right before the pandemic hit, but when COVID-19 began ravishing through the U.S., she decided to just stay in Mexico. “I decided that I wanted to shift my lifestyle,” she says.

“Living in Mexico full time gave me more of an opportunity to just live at a different pace and live a lifestyle than the hustle and bustle of being in the city–hopping on trains and having back-to-back meetings.”

Though able to enjoy the lifestyle living in Baja afforded––seeing the sunset at night, fresher food, slower pace, and a more communal environment––Pierre-Louis was still working corporate. Still, as she felt herself recovering from corporate burnout, she tried merging her passion for wellness with her business savvy. Her luxury retreat, Hidden Leaf Baja, was born. 

“I wanted to have a retreat center that focuses on educating people on how they can take care of themselves, how they can change their routines, their lifestyle, to better their health,” she says. Of Haitian descent, Pierre-Louis found a lot of overlap with her newfound community and the culture she’d been raised in: a sense of mutual responsibility and care for neighbors, similar approaches to music as a connecting, joyful force, good food, and a lifestyle rooted in holistic wellness.

“It’s about understanding our bodies,  what we can do to change it, be healthier, live longer lives,” she says. Hidden Leaf offers several tailored programs and specific package retreats that allow guests to replenish mind, body, and spirit––all on the beautifully designed grounds in the community she’s happy to call home. “Everybody's chill and relaxed and just kind of really just doing their thing,” she says of Baja.

For Pierre-Louis, living in Mexico isn’t just about escaping burnout or chasing sunsets—it’s about cultivating a life of intention. In Baja, she’s discovered a rhythm that feels natural, a community that feels connected, and a purpose that feels fulfilling.

“I’ve learned that it’s not just about where you live but how you live,” she says. “Mexico has taught me to prioritize joy, health, and connection in ways I never imagined. And I want Hidden Leaf Baja to be a place where others can discover the same.”