Page 20 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2020

COAST NOTE
I t’s sad, yet tting, that Arturo Barajas learned he was winning the Spirit of the Gulf Coast award about 20 minutes before
his death in January at age 42. The award was formally presented by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce to his wife, Rachel Hancock Barajas, before a crowd of 600 at the organization’s annual meeting. The Pat Santucci “Spirit of
the Gulf Coast” award honors business leaders for community service and involvement in the local economy.
“Arturo was such an active member of the community including the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce for many years,” said Adele Lyons, chief executive o cer of the Chamber, in making the presentation. “He gave his heart and soul to make this community a better place. I am so proud that Arturo was selected as the recipient of this award.”
Rachel Barajas says her late husband was a colorful and genuine person. “He
was a soft soul, but there’s not a word that really describes him. He absolutely was a gentleman.”
Barajas opened Mosaic Tapas restaurant in Ocean Springs more than 10 years ago. The couple met there when Rachel worked for a food distribution company and called on him as a customer. At rst he didn’t buy from her company. “Then all of a sudden something clicked and
he started buying from me,” she recalls. They started seeing each other socially, which she says felt very comfortable.
Arturo Barajas was born in Mexico City and came to the Gulf Coast as an exchange student while attending Pan American University. He worked at Casino Magic and, despite not being uent in English, worked double shifts in housekeeping while reading and studying hotel administration manuals as well as casino department operations manuals.
He returned to Mexico to graduate with honors, then came back to the United States and worked in the casino and restaurant business until losing his job in
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This gave him the opportunity to open Mosaic Tapas, which was named the 2017 Restaurant of the Year. He was a member of Gulf Coast Chamber of
Commerce, a graduate of Leadership Gulf Coast, and served
on the board of
the Chamber and Leadership Gulf Coast.
In addition to his wife, Barajas is survived by a daughter Crystal,
14, and
a son Bruno, 6.
20 | April 2020
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
Rachel Barajas accepts the “Spirit Of The Gulf Coast” award on her husband’s behalf.
Arturo Barajas
Arturo Barajas
story by Lynn Lofton
photo courtesy of Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce
AWARDED THE
2020
PAT SANTUCCI
SPIRIT OF THE GULF COAST