Of the 157 restaurants in Mexico honored by Michelin in Mexico, 13 are located in Los Cabos. However, these aren’t exactly spread out evenly around the municipality.

Cabo San Lucas

The Land’s End city has a terrific taco scene and a few great restaurants. But it’s no coincidence most of the Los Cabos restaurants that received Michelin Guide recognition are found in the Tourist Corridor — (home to many luxury resorts and their signature eateries —) and San José del Cabo, the showplace for the region’s superb farm-to-table dining.

Los Tres Gallos

Michel Zermeño and Fabiola Sánchez founded this downtown gem in 2010. It’s named after a trio of movie stars from Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema:  (Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, and Javier Solís, collectively Los Tres Gallos). It’s the premier local stop for traditional Mexican cuisine. A second restaurant has since opened in the Gallery District of San José del Cabo.

 

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Michelin Status: Recommended
Leona Vicario esquina 20 de Noviembre

San José del Cabo

Rodrigo Esponda, director general of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, recently noted via Travel Pulse Canada: “We are the number one region in Mexico that produces organic vegetables and fruit. Everything is for local consumption; we don’t export. We have sustainable fishing and farming, so the combination and innovation of the chefs really make our culinary scene unparalleled.”

Nowhere is that fact more evident than in San José del Cabo. The region’s acclaimed farm-to-table dining style was pioneered at restaurants just outside the city, like Flora’s Field Kitchen and Acre in Ánimas Bajas. It continues to be spotlighted in the popular downtown Gallery District, home to great art galleries and many of the area’s best restaurants.

Acre

A farm-to-table gem that’s as remarkable as the treehouse accommodations set on the property. The cuisine, contemporary Mexican with some global influences, is crafted from ingredients grown sustainably on the farm or bought from local fishermen or other local farmers. 

Michelin Status: Green Star, Recommended
Ánimas Bajas

Flora’s Field Kitchen

With an outdoor dining area overlooking the 25-acre farm from which so many ingredients are sourced (meat comes from a nearby ranch), Flora’s Field Kitchen is the most iconic of the region’s farm-to-table restaurants and perennially the most popular. This place is always packed and with good reason.

Michelin Status: Green Star, Bib Gourmand
Ánimas Bajas

Lumbre

Chef César Pita’s Lumbre is one of several contemporary restaurants in San José del Cabo’s downtown Gallery District where the region’s incredible diversity of fresh seafood and organic produce is displayed. “It’s a Mexican and live fire concept,” notes the Michelin Guide, “with global influences where creativity and originality reign supreme.”

Michelin Status: Recommended
Calle José María Morelos 162

Omakai

The history of Japanese cuisine made from Mexican ingredients in Los Cabos dates back to 1994 when Nick-san invented it. However, per the Michelin Guide, Omakai is now the foremost proponent of this style, thanks to its flawless execution and superb fresh local seafood. 

Michelin Status: Recommended
Ignacio Zaragoza 1311

Ruba’s Bakery & Bistro

Ruba’s backs up its pastries with more substantial bistro fare like the chef’s creative tasting menu prepared during the Gallery District’s weekly Art Walk. 

Michelin Status: Recommended
José María Morelos 8

Tourist Corridor

It shouldn’t be surprising that many of Los Cabos’ best restaurants are found on the premises of in luxury resorts. That’s where all the celebrated chefs come from. The first big names like Larbi Dahrouch and Charlie Trotter were brought in 20 years ago by One&Only Palmilla. 

More recently, it has been superstar chefs like Enrique Olvera and Sidney Schutte,  two chefs with Michelin Guide credentials, who  that have helped elevate the overall quality of Los Cabos cuisine at resorts like The Cape, A Thompson Hotel, and Grand Velas, respectively. 

Árbol

Las Ventanas al Paraíso was the first of the modern luxury resorts in Los Cabos and it remains a benchmark for elegance and exceptional food and drink. Árbol doesn’t stint on the elegance, with Beluga caviar and Maine lobster among many luxury items on the menu. But it’s also one of the area’s most cosmopolitan eateries, thanks to Indian curries and other Asian culinary specialties.

Michelin Status: Recommended
Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Carretera Transpeninsular Km 19.5

Carbón Cabrón

The name itself is reason enough to visit. A grill aficionado’s idea of heaven, with wood-fired specialties from chef Poncho Cadena. These include the expected meat and seafood cuts, plus exquisitely grilled vegetables. 

Michelin Status: Recommended
El Merkado, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 24.5

Cocina de Autor

Eight to 10-course tasting menus highlight the experience at Cocina de Autor, Dutch master chef Sidney Schutte’s signature restaurant at Grand Velas, and the only restaurant in Los Cabos granted a coveted Michelin star. 

Naturally, it’s hard to interpret giving the only star to a European chef as anything but a backhanded compliment to the region’s cuisine. 

Michelin Status: One Star
Grand Velas, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 17

Comal

Stylish decor, Sea of Cortezés views, and first-class cuisine courtesy of chef Yvan Mucharraz — formerly of Capella Pedregal — headline the attractions at this picturesque seaside restaurant at the luxurious Chileno Bay Resort & Residences.

Michelin Status: Recommended
Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Caretera Transpeninsular Km. 15

Manta

Enrique Olvera, whose Pujol in Mexico City was one of only two restaurants in Mexico to receive two stars, opened this signature eatery at The Cape, A Thompson Hotel in 2015. The focus is on local ingredients, but with a pan-Pacific outlook. 

As the chef told me when the restaurant had its grand opening: “Baja has a Pacific influence, so that’s why we’re playing around with Peruvian and Japanese flavors; because a sashimi, a tiradito, and a Mexican ceviche have a common language.”

Michelin Status: Recommended
The Cape, A Thompson Hotel, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 5.5

Metate

A Bib Gourmand selection due to its combination of quality and value, Metate is “welcoming and attractive,” per Michelin, serving up Mexican specialties in a charming outdoor setting just outside Cabo San Lucas. 

Michelin Status: Bib Gourmand
Avenida Crispin Ceseña S/N, El Tezal

Nao

Alex Branch is one of the most talented and well-traveled chefs in Los Cabos having worked with Enrique Olvera at Manta and helmed Acre — two other Michelin-recognized restaurants — before opening the Mediterranean-style Nao.

Michelin Status: Recommended
El Merkado, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 24.5

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

The post The very best Michelin-rated restaurants to dine in Los Cabos appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Nowhere is this beefy goodness more evident than in Chihuahua, Mexico’s largest state by size. Chihuahua has a large cattle inventory and is the leading Mexican beef exporter to the U.S. Its livestock are also a major source of dairy, including two exquisitely melty Mexican cheeses: asadero and the eponymous Chihuahua cheese, a.k.a. queso menonita.

The iconic dish of Chihuahua

Chihuahua’s love of beef supports two different dried beef specialties: carne seca and machaca. The former is a variety of jerky made from salted beef dried in the sun as a preservative to keep the meat from spoiling, a technique also used in the state for items like fruits and grains due to Chihuahua’s short growing season. Machaca, meanwhile, is salted, marinated and cooked before being sundried and pounded flat.

The differences are subtle but bear noting when discussing the state’s signature dish, chile colorado con carne seca. Chile colorado is a kind of stew, although not necessarily served like one. In Chihuahua, the stew typically features guajillo chilis along with seasonings such as garlic, cumin and oregano, with the consistency thickened by wheat flour. The finished delicacy includes carne seca and potatoes and is often scooped into flour tortillas to make tacos. 

Beef, beef and more beef

Given its abundant cattle, it should be no surprise that Chihuahua doesn’t make its barbacoa with lamb like they do, famously, in Hidalgo. They use beef. Nor do the state’s barbecue experts pit cook the meaty specialty, which like chile colorado con carne seca, is best served in taco form. Instead, they cook it in a pot. 

If that sounds suspiciously like a stew, consider that the only thing residents seem to like more than eating beef is adding it to a stew… and then eating it. In addition to the iconic chile colorado, beef stew puchero is likewise a signature state plate. A year-round specialty, puchero utilizes a variety of beef cuts paired with veggies like cabbage, carrot, corn, potato and pumpkin.

The great burrito debate

According to legend and lore, the burrito was born against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, during the time of Pancho Villa and his famed División del Norte. Its progenitor is said to have been Juan Méndez, a vendor in Ciudad Juárez who wrapped meat, beans and other ingredients in oversized flour tortillas. This creation became known as the burro, or burrito, after the donkey Méndez rode on his daily route. 

The legend appears to be just that. When Cuban exile author Félix Ramos y Duarte, living in Mexico, penned his “Diccionario de Mejicanismos” in 1895, the burrito was listed and accurately described. Its origin was given as Guanajuato, and while that may not be correct — Ramos y Duarte was not noted as an expert in Mexican culinary history and it has been theorized that he used burrito as a synonym for taco — it still seems the filling favorite was well-known long before Juan Méndez and his burro came upon the scene. 

The wrap-style treats are indeed a specialty in Chihuahua — particularly in Villa Ahumada and Ciudad Juárez, Méndez’s old stomping ground — so the state remains one of the likelier birthplaces, even if its claims are never conclusively proven. Some reports have Méndez pioneering the dish in the late 19th century, which would better fit the known timeline.

The cheeses that pleases

Superb Chihuahua cheeses have been made since the Spanish introduced the cheesemaking process to Mexico in the 16th century. However, the most famous of the state’s pasteurized cow’s milk cheeses wasn’t invented for another four hundred years.

Most of the country knows it as queso Chihuahua, but it’s also called queso menonita, after the Dutch and German Mennonite immigrants who began relocating to Chihuahua during the 1920s. By the end of that decade, the Mennonite population in the state was nearly 10,000. The signature cheeses began appearing widely in the 1930s and have elevated scores of Mexican delicacies ever since.

Asadero is semi-soft rather than semi-hard like Chihuahua cheese. But it, too, is a cow’s milk cheese that melts beautifully and makes almost any meal better. Most commonly associated with Villa Ahumada due to the artistry brought to this specially stretched and kneaded cheese in that municipality, it reaches its most delicious heights when served in quesadillas. The aforementioned stretching process, known as pasta filata in Italian, is similar to the one used for mozzarella and provolone. 

The sotol boom

Chihuahua’s sotol, with over 800 years of history — and maybe far more — is among Mexico’s most ancient spirits. Derived from the shrub known in English as desert spoon, the liquor is produced somewhat like mezcal. The plant’s “heart” is removed, roasted and pressed before fermentation, followed typically by two to three distillations.

Although legally banned between 1944 and 1994, commercial sotol production has returned with a vengeance since, and is one of the drinks touted as “the next mezcal.” That seems unlikely, but sales are on the upswing, increasing 17% in 2022.

Sotol is traditional to Chihuahua, but not exclusive. The government-granted appellation of origin status allows for the spirit to be distilled in Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango. Just like they share many beef dishes Mexico’s northern states share this liquor too.

What’s for dessert?

Apple pie, of course. Chihuahua grows more apples than any other state in the country, accounting for a staggering 85% of the nation’s production.

The post State by Plate: Chihuahua’s cheese and beef appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Whale watching in Loreto

This targeted schedule, it must be noted, is only because of the brevity of the blue whale season in Loreto, which lasts from January through March. But if you’re going to go whale watching, don’t you want to see the largest creature ever to have lived on Earth? These 200-ton cetaceans can weight as much as 33 elephants and are also quite mysterious and shy. 

The shyness is understandable. By the middle of the 20th century, blue whales had been hunted almost to extinction. They’ve since been protected internationally and enjoy a double layer of national protection in Mexico, where the largest known population group of the species comes to breed each year. Not only are there strict guidelines for the sizes of boats that can approach them, the number of passengers they can carry and the distance they must maintain from the whales, but their breeding grounds are within Bahía de Loreto National Park. 

Other whale species can also be seen in Loreto, but the blue whales are the primary attraction.

Whale watching in Los Cabos

The humpback is king in Los Cabos, where the whale-watching season runs from mid-December to mid-April annually. Yes, many of the same species of whales seen in Loreto can be seen in Los Cabos as they make their way to shallow water coves and bays around the state to breed; beaked, bryde’s, fin, gray, minke, orca, pilot, sei and sperm whales, to name a few.

But the humpbacks are the most commonly seen locally and that’s good for tour operators. Why? Because 40-ton humpbacks engage in some incredible behaviors, most notably breaching for epic splashdowns. No, this is not to put on a show – although it is awe-inspiring – but rather is a communication device that other whales can hear. The bigger the splash, the further the message travels. 

Of course, that’s not the only way whales communicate. They also have a language with syntax and grammar, achieved through clicks and vocalizations. Often called whale songs, these languages are specific to species, with accents varying regionally. If you’re interested in this fascinating aspect of whale behavior, choose a tour that offers hydrophones so you can listen in.

Gray whale watching on the Pacific coast of BCS

Gray whales are the main attraction on the Pacific Coast side of BCS, thanks to three primary breeding spots: Bahía Magdalena, Lagunas San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre, the latter two of which are within the protected Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve. 

It was reported last year that gray whale numbers had increased significantly in the Vizcaíno Reserve during a single year, a very positive sign. Even better, a greater rise has been generally noted in the Pacific gray whale population, which has climbed by 33% since 2022. Over 19,000 gray whales are estimated to be in the Pacific now, with some 25,000 gray whales being born in BCS alone over the past three decades. 

That’s great news for this remarkable species, which makes what is thought to be the longest mammalian migration, traveling from Arctic summer feeding grounds to warm winter breeding grounds in BCS, where they remain from late December to April each year. In fact, a gray whale holds the record for the longest whale migration, traveling over 14,000 miles round-trip between Russia and Cabo San Lucas in 2011. 

Gray whale watching in Magdalena Bay

Crispin Mendoza, also known as the “Whale Whisperer,” is the godfather of whale watching in Magdalena Bay, having begun taking out tourists as far back as 1970. That was two years before the first whale-watching protections were put in place by the Mexican government. Today, his family-owned company, Magdalena Bay Whales, remains one of the best local tour operators. 

Whether it is simply 50 years of positive interactions, gray whales are often extraordinarily friendly in BCS. It is the breeding season after all, with plenty of 2,000-pound newborn bundles of joy, and it probably helps that while these whales are in their breeding grounds they’re safe from predators like orcas, who avoid such shallow water. However, that doesn’t make it any less special when these enormous creatures approach pangas and invite interactions. 

It’s not something that can be scripted or expected. But it does happen occasionally, making experiences in Magdalena Bay and the Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve far more intimate than those in Los Cabos or Loreto. But all rate as bucket-list adventures. 

Whale watching in the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve

Vizcaíno, a federally protected biosphere reserve since 1988, is an amazing place, and not just because of the whales. With over 9,800 square miles, it’s the largest wildlife refuge in Mexico (indeed, in all of Latin America) and a sanctuary for a wide variety of species, from desert foxes and the peninsular pronghorn antelope to endangered sea turtles and 192 different kinds of birds. 

During the winter months, though, gray whales and their calves are the focus of most visitors. Of course, it bears noting Magdalena Bay and other BCS sites aren’t exactly Los Cabos when it comes to resort and lifestyle options. Neither is Loreto, for that matter, but at least it has the superb Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto resort and world-class golf at TPC Danzante Bay. 

However, some adventure companies offer package deals, with whale-watching excursions in Los Cabos and Pacific Coast lagoons like San Ignacio. Baja Expeditions’ Ultimate Whales package, for instance, is an eight-day trip that starts from Cabo San Lucas after an afternoon of whale watching, then proceeds to La Paz for swimming with whale sharks and continues on Laguna San Ignacio in the Vizcano Biosphere Preserve for camping and gray whale encounters. Then, it’s back to Cabo. 

Naturally, such packages are expensive. But you aren’t obliged to book your own hotels or motels along the way. Everything is taken care of, from hotels, yachts and glamping to food and drinks— unforgettable moments, too.

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

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Well before Mexico-sourced tomatoes were introduced to Europe and inspired Italian marinara sauces, the Mexica had created recipes (or inherited them from earlier Mesoamerican cultures) for sauces like mole and guacamole that remain iconic and widely popular more than 500 years later. 

The essential ingredients in Mexican salsas

The presence of chile pepper is the defining and indispensable element of Mexican salsas, even more so than the use of tomato or tomatillo — staple ingredients in red and green sauces, respectively. 

More than 60 varieties of chile pepper are grown in Mexico, and as any connoisseur can tell you, different flavors and textures (and sometimes names) are produced according to whether the pepper is fresh or dried. Commonly used peppers like chile de árbol, for instance, have the same name fresh or dried, while chipotle is the dried version of jalapeño and guajillo the dried version of the mirasol. 

Tomatoes and tomatillos are thought to have originated wild in South America, but both were first domesticated in México; tomatoes by about 500 B.C.; and tomatillos even earlier, from 800 B.C. Even though tomatillo means “little tomato,” it’s not. Rather, it’s a ground cherry. But each is part of the Solanaceae family of fruit, a category that also includes potatoes and all the world’s peppers (yes, chile peppers too). 

Garlic, lime and cilantro are the major salsa ingredients brought by the Spanish, thanks to emerging trade routes. All were introduced into Mexico in the 16th century. Onion, another one, was already present during the pre-Hispanic period — its Náhuatl name was “xonacatl” – but its reputation as an aid to good salsa rose considerably during the Spanish colonial period.

The Classics 

Mole

The similarity in the names of mole and guacamole speaks to a shared origin in the Nahuatl language. The first recipe for this world-class Mexican sauce was long attributed to a 17th-century nun in Puebla, Andrea de la Asunción. However, the tomato, pumpkin seed, and chile-based favorite has since been traced back to pre-Hispanic times when it was called mulli or molli (sources differ on spelling). Nowadays, regional variations abound, including some, like mole poblano, made with chocolate. But in Mesoamerica, chocolate was typically served only in beverage form, while mole sauces spiced with assorted chilies were commonly served as an accompaniment to turkey.

Guacamole

Guacamole, too, has its origins in Nahuatl-speaking cultures. The Toltecs may have invented “ahuacamolli.” Their “Feathered Serpent” deity, Quetzalcoatl, is said to have revealed it via divine message. However, the Mexica also accepted Quetzalcoatl into their pantheon as a god and the first recipe comes down to us from them. The original version, as noted, lacked lime, onion, and cilantro. The Mexica used only avocado, chilies, salt, and occasionally tomatoes. Avocados it should be mentioned, have grown wild and been eaten in México for 10,000 years or so. But they are theorized to have been first cultivated around 1800 B.C. by the Mokaya, an Olmec precursor group who lived in Chiapas and are now better known as the first people to make chocolate. 

Salsa Verde & Salsa Roja

Yes, salsa verde and salsa roja also date to pre-Hispanic México. Tomatillos and serrano chiles are the featured ingredients in the former, a versatile sauce that now tops everything from tacos and enchiladas to chilaquiles, quesadillas, and burritos. But garlic, onion, and cilantro are included, too, just as they are in the sauce’s “red” equivalent: salsa roja. The color difference between the two comes from the fruit of choice — tomato or tomatillo. Otherwise, these sauces are quite similar. 

Salsa Bandera / Pico de Gallo

If you’re noticing a trend that suggests most iconic Mexican salsas date at least to the Mexica, salsa bandera provides further evidence. However, its name comes from the Spanish word for flag, as the main ingredients — tomato, onion, and serrano or jalapeño chiles (plus lime and cilantro) — have colors that mimic those in the Mexican flag. One of its names, that is. This salsa is also known as pico de gallo, or “the rooster’s beak.” Why? That’s unclear. But likely it acquired different monikers in different regions. By either name, it’s a superb accompaniment to Baja-style fish tacos, among other tacos and enchiladas.

Bottled Salsas

Bottled salsas have added another dimension to the culinary experience, allowing for flavoring on food items not previously sauced. Who can now deny, for instance, that Salsa Valentina is perfect on popcorn, chapulines or virtually any other snack item? The Guadalajaran brand first hit the market in 1954 and has been a national favorite ever since thanks to its pleasing mix of puya chilies, vinegar, and spices.

Several other bottled salsas — Huichol and Guacamaya, notably — date to the 1940s, while habanero-spiced El Yucateco didn’t premier until 1968. However, these are relatively recent additions to the Mexican salsa tradition. As we’ve seen, many of the best-known salsas used to flavor the nation’s cuisine — including those most likely to grace dishes at your favorite restaurants and street food stands — were created before Hernán Cortés and his Spanish soldiers conquered Tenochtitlan in 1521. Some well before. 

The Joys of Salsa

That’s part of what makes Mexican cuisine so special. It’s a living tradition, with staple elements that evoke millennia of history. Tortillas, for example, are said to have been around for over 10,000 years. From that perspective, salsas of all kinds are a relatively recent invention. It’s hard to imagine Mexican food without them, though. Salsas are the heart and soul of any dish they accompany and they accompany everything. 

If you’ve ever felt a sense of joy as you dig into a hearty Mexican dinner, it’s likely because of the chile peppers in your salsa. They contain capsaicin, a compound that yes, makes your tongue burn. But it also signals the body to release endorphins and dopamine, flooding you with happiness and a profound sense of well-being. So the flavor is only part of the magic. Salsas please on many levels.

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

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Born José Doroteo Arango and nicknamed the Centaur of the North Villa joined Francisco I. Madero to end the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. After Madero was assassinated in a coup d’etat by usurper president Victoriano Huerta, Villa led the fearsome Northern Division to victory over Huerta’s federal army. Echeverría’s tribute was a fitting one. The only problem was that the bones may not have been Villa’s — and his skull wasn’t there at all. 

The theory espoused by some in Parral was that Villa’s last wife, Austreberta Rentería, had replaced the bones in his coffin with those of an unknown woman to thwart the repeated attempts of grave robbers. Meanwhile, Villa’s real bones had been secretly relocated to another grave 100 meters or so distant, where they remain today.

As for the skull, it has been missing since Feb. 6, 1926, when it was stolen from his original grave. Nearly 50 years after Villa was laid to a hero’s rest in Mexico City, though, many in Mexico feel certain they know who has it.

But officially, the crime is still a mystery, as is the person who ordered Villa’s assassination on July 20, 1923. Rest assured, however, there are suspects aplenty, including an elite university club whose members have included several U.S. presidents.

Is Villa’s assassination linked to the stolen skull?

When Villa was gunned down in an ambush in Parral in 1923, the assailants weren’t all unnamed. One of the admitted assassins was Jesús Salas Barraza, who spent only three months in prison before being pardoned by the governor of Chihuahua. Salas Barraza, it should be noted, was a congressman himself and was considered by many a puppet manipulated by his masters, then-president Álvaro Obregón and future president Elías Plutarco Calles. 

Obregón had good reason for wanting Villa dead. Aside from the fact that Villa was rumored to be considering a run for the presidency, thus breaking the non-political oath that had allowed him to retire in peace in 1920, he and Obregón were old rivals. After a contentious Convention at Aguascalientes in 1914, when the revolutionary factions debated what to do after Huerta’s defeat, Obregón and Venustiano Carranza had allied themselves against Villa for leadership of Mexico. 

The next year, Obregón defeated troops under Villa at the Battle of Celaya. However, during the subsequent Battle of León, Obregón lost his right arm — blown off during an artillery attack. It is conceivable then that Obregón would have wanted Villa’s skull, too, as a kind of payment for his own bodily loss. But he wasn’t the only one seeking a pound of flesh.

Why Americans had a bounty on Villa

Villa had many enemies in Mexico and plenty in the U.S. after a daring cross-border raid on Columbus, New Mexico in search of supplies for his army in 1916. U.S. Cavalry repelled the raiders but that wasn’t enough for President Woodrow Wilson. He assigned General John J. Pershing the command of over 6,000 soldiers for a punitive expedition to capture Villa and bring him to justice, even if it meant going into Mexico to get him. 

This expedition increased political tensions between the two countries, with Carranza’s troops eventually firing on the Americans, and ultimately proved unsuccessful. Villa eluded U.S. troops for nearly a year, by which time Pershing had been reassigned as commander of the American Expeditionary Force for the First World War. 

Rumors of American bounties on Villa would continue even after his death. An unnamed U.S. organization was said to be offering $10,000 for Villa’s skull, twice what newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst was reportedly offering. Another group, the Yale secret society Skull and Bones, was also rumored to be seeking the skull for the collection.

The man who was arrested for stealing Villa’s skull 

Only two men ever spent time in jail for removing Villa’s skull: American mercenary Emil Holmdahl and his accomplice Alberto Corral. Three days after scaling the wall of the locked cemetery in Parral, the two were locked up in the town jail. Enraged locals wanted to lynch Holmdahl. A man named Ben Williams helped to bail him out and get him across the border. A man of means, Williams was one of the investors who purchased the gigantic Palomas Ranch in Chihuahua, then the largest ranch in North America. 

Williams’ version of events was later published in the 1984 book “Let the Tail Go with the Hide,” which leaves no doubt as to why Holmdahl stole the skull: it was for money. Holmdahl allegedly claimed the skull fetched $25,000 from a member of Yale’s Skull and Bones. Williams was so enraged when he learned this, per The Washington Post, he wanted to send Holmdahl back to jail in Mexico.

Skull and Bones, it should be noted, has in its historical membership some of the most powerful men in the United States, including not just scions of the Rockefeller and Vanderbilt families, but three former presidents: William Howard Taft, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. 

Is the Skull and Bones angle a conspiracy theory?

Yes, this does have all the elements of a conspiracy theory. However, evidence beyond Williams’ assertions suggests this story might be true. For starters, Skull and Bones does seem to collect skulls of famous people, including those of Villa, Apache leader Geronimo and former president Martin Van Buren. Prescott Bush, father of George H.W. Bush, was allegedly among the grave robbers who stole Geronimo’s skull. 

Geronimo’s descendants are convinced Skull and Bones has his skull. As of 2009, twenty of his descendants had filed a lawsuit against Skull and Bones, Yale University and some U.S. government officials. Plenty of people buy the Villa story, too. In 1988, when The Washington Post repeated the Holmdahl story, a group of El Paso historians was mulling a lawsuit against Skull and Bones for Villa’s skull. In 2010, historians in Chihuahua asked the Mexican government to negotiate its release from Yale University, where they were positive it resided.

Many historians thus obviously believe the story is true. Two decades ago when journalist Alexandra Robbins interviewed over 100 Skull and Bones members for “Secrets of the Tomb,” her book on the organization, there finally seemed to be proof. Robbins affirmed that Skull and Bones did indeed have Villa’s skull. However, she soon recanted the claim in an interview with The Yale Herald.

So it’s still unknown to any degree of certainty. What is certain is that if Skull and Bones does have Villa’s skull, it doesn’t seem inclined to give it back.

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

The post Where is the head of Pancho Villa? appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Expect these trends to continue rising in 2025. Of course, to achieve this, more tourists from new markets must be introduced to the destination. These plans are in the works, with new flights already announced and more being negotiated.

“Connectivity” is the buzzword for 2025

The traditional markets for Los Cabos are all in North America. There are direct flights from 30 cities in the U.S., 16 in Mexico, and 11 in Canada. New flights from Nashville will begin in March — just in time for Spring Break — bringing the number in the U.S. to 31.

But the big news for 2025 (and beyond) will be an attempted expansion into more non-traditional markets around the globe. Currently, there is only one flight from Europe, the Condor flight from Frankfurt, Germany that began service in November 2024 and will run seasonally through April. Seasonal summer service from Madrid (Spain) has also been offered in recent years via Iberojet.

The Los Cabos’ Tourism Trust (Fiturca), has ambitious plans to expand into more European markets between 2025 and 2027 and is also looking to gain footholds in South America and the Middle East. Central America should also be mentioned since, according to FITURCA Director General Rodrigo Esponda, there’s a good chance service from Panama will begin in 2025. 

What about Asia? Yes, tourism officials are interested in this market, too. For example, there was a 500% increase in tourists from Japan in 2023, bringing the number of visitors from that country up to 5,000 for the year. 

Pool, music and lots of fun with #AllInclusive! We are launching a new Riu Pool Party concept at the Riu Santa Fe, in Los Cabos, #Mexico. Every week you’ll get to enjoy themed parties: #JungleParty #WhiteParty #NeonParty and #PinkParty https://t.co/5ooGCFNnbE pic.twitter.com/YGvBSHEiBt

— RIU Hotels & Resorts (@RiuHoteles) May 11, 2018

New hotels & resorts are coming, too

The big news is that Park Hyatt Los Cabos at Cabo del Sol is officially accepting reservations beginning next summer, July 1, 2025. The upscale Hyatt brand is known for its luxurious accommodations, first-class cuisine and fine art collections. 

The Los Cabos version in the destination’s Tourist Corridor is certainly expected to deliver in the luxury department, with 197 rooms, villas, and suites — the latter featuring private plunge pools or terraces — and an enormous 59,000 square-foot spa and fitness facility that will outpace the extensive pampering spas at Grand Velas Los Cabos and Montage Los Cabos, at 35,000 and 40,000 square feet, respectively, as the largest on the peninsula. 

A handful of seaside swimming pools and access to the Tom Weiskopf-designed Cabo del Sol Desert Course should also entice visitors who can afford the rates, which start at US $765 per night off-season.

Other long-awaited high-profile hotels and resorts are tentatively slated for 2025, including a 70-room Soho House & Beach Club at Cabo del Sol, 55-room Amanvari at Costa Palmas, and the 120-room St. Regis at Quivira. However, no official opening dates have been announced for these properties.

Those looking to explore new accommodation options should also note recent openings like the boutique Tropicana Los Cabos, a 68-room, 2-suite Tapestry Collection by Hilton property renovated and remodeled in downtown San José del Cabo, which premiered on November 14, 2024.

Notable events in Los Cabos for 2025

Los Cabos has several high-profile sporting events that draw visitors annually, from fishing to PGA golf and ATP-sponsored tennis tournaments. The schedules for the most notable 2025 events have already been set, with one significant calendar change. 

• Cabo Triple Crown of Fishing: June 19 – 22
• ATP Los Cabos Open: July 14 – 19
• Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore: July 29 – August 2
• Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore: October 13 – 18
• Bisbee’s Black and Blue: October 20 – 25
• PGA World Wide Technology Championship: November 3 – 9
• Cabo Tuna Jackpot: November 5 – 8

The ATP Los Cabos Open, sponsored by Mifel and Telcel Oppo, has returned to the summer after moving up to February 2024 to serve as a lead-in for the Mexican Open in Acapulco. That change helped fellow Mexican Pacific Coast destination Acapulco return to sporting prominence after the devastation wrought by Category-5 Otis in 2023. 

Although judged a success, the two will no longer be held back-to-back. The ATP 250 series Los Cabos Open returns in July, the month it was held from 2016 through 2023. The ATP 500 series Mexican Open in Acapulco, the country’s most important tennis tournament, remains in the usual February/March calendar slot.

The PGA World Wide Technology Championship is also expected to see significant change in the coming years, as the host course shifts from the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal layout at Diamante to the Woods-designed Legacy Course at Diamante either in 2026 or 2027. The year the change occurs will depend on when the Legacy Club, envisioned as a sort of Baja version of Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas, is finished. 

An update on new golf courses

An estimated 5% of Los Cabos tourists are drawn to the destination solely by the region’s world-class collection of golf courses. Eighteen are currently open and up to a half dozen more are expected to open their fairways and greens to the public and private members in the coming years. 

Unfortunately for destination duffers, it doesn’t appear any of these will open in 2025. But for those who’d like to look ahead, 2026 is shaping up as a banner year for golf in Los Cabos. Tom Fazio, whose first course outside the U.S. at Querencia in 2000 has been rated one of Golf Digest’s World’s 100 Greatest, has a second spectacular desert-meets-the-sea style layout set to debut at Querencia in 2026. Woods’ ultra-exclusive Legacy Club course, restricted to only 250 members, is also expected to open in 2026, as is the new Ernie Els-designed course at Oleada (Oleada Golf Links).

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

The post What’s new in Los Cabos for 2025? appeared first on Mexico News Daily

The politics

Bud Light’s 22-year reign atop the U.S. beer market ended amid a storm of controversy. In March 2023, Bud Light was still clearly the most popular beer in the the countryU.S., with a market share of 10% compared to 7.7% for Modelo Especial. Then, in April, transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoted Bud Light in an Instagram post, causing a few outraged conservatives to call for a boycott of the beer. When Bud Light subsequently failed to stand by Mulvaney — she later said she felt abandoned by the brand — liberals were outraged, too. It was a devastating one-two punch and by May Modelo Especial had overtaken Bud Light for the top spot.

 

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The culture war controversy badly damaged Bud Light — the brand’s losses in the wake of it were estimated to be well over a billion dollars — and undoubtedly helped Modelo Especial become the country’s most popular beer when it did. But it was going to happen anyway. “This was long a matter of, if not when. These trends have been building for a long time,” Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association told CNBC. “Modelo has been on a rise and Bud Light’s been on a decline as we’ve seen overall shifts in the beer market in the last 10 years.”

The demographics

Demographics are part of the reason for Modelo Especial’s rise. The Latino population in the U.S. has been steadily growing and now makes up a more significant part of the population than it did a decade ago: 19% in 2021 compared to 13% in 2013. Much of that 62 million-strong bloc is Mexican-American. In fact, according to statistics from the 2020 census, almost 36 million Americans have roots in Mexico (or as high as 40 million if you count the estimated four million unauthorized immigrants from the country). But even without factoring in the latter, Mexican Americans are now a robust 10.8% of the U.S. population — and many of them are of beer-drinking age.

In all but one U.S. state, White Americans make up the largest group of those aged 65 and older. Latinos, by contrast, are a rising force in the demographic categories beermakers covet most, accounting for 20.7% of those aged 35 to 44, 21.5% of those aged 25 to 34, and 23.6% of those 18 to 24. Even more importantly, perhaps, they make up 25.8% of potential future beer drinkers, those aged 5 to 17.

This demographic shift has proven especially favorable to Modelo Especial, helping to push it past Bud Light and another popular Mexican beer, Corona Extra, in popularity. “Corona is for an older, whiter audience,” notes Matthew Barry, insights manager for Euromonitor International, via NBC News. “Modelo Especial has been positioned, on purpose, for a younger, more diverse market.”

The Mexican beer boom

That’s not to say Corona Extra isn’t doing extremely well in the U.S. It has remained a brisk seller, along with Coronita Extra and Corona Familiar. Mexican beer brands Pacífico and Dos Equis are also firmly entrenched among the top 20 beers favored by U.S. consumers.

Sales of Mexican beers, in general, are booming. It’s perhaps not surprising when one considers what an overwhelming share they now hold of the export market. In the early 1990s, it was 17%. Today, it’s 80%. As The Washington Post points out: Mexico sells more than twice as much beer in the U.S. as any other suds-exporting nation. The Netherlands is a distant second.

Lest one thinks it’s only Mexican beers that are now flying off shelves, it should be noted that tequila and mezcal are also logging record sales, with the volume of the two combined increasing by a staggering 273% between 2003 and 2022.

Marketing savvy

The success of Modelo Especial is due to more than political controversies and shifting demographics. After all, the fastest-growing markets for the beer brand are now near the Canadian border, which are not exactly Hispanic hotbeds. For this, the credit should go to New York-based Constellation Brands, which by dint of a decade-old legal decision lucked into the opportunity of a lifetime. 

When the Belgium-based AB InBev, already the owner of Anheuser-Busch, purchased Mexico’s Grupo Modelo for $20 billion in 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice decided it was too close to a beer monopoly for comfort and filed an antitrust suit. The upshot was that AB InBev maintained global rights to Grupo Modelo brands. However, the U.S. rights were instead divested to Constellation Brands, which has seen its company valuation surge from $8 billion to $45 billion in the 11 years since.

It has been well-earned. Constellation Brands has made all the right moves, with savvy marketing that has stressed Modelo Especial’s connection to authentic Mexican culture and ads touting its “fighting spirit.” Promotion via partnerships with several popular sports leagues — the UFC and NCAA College Football, notably — helped to establish it as the fastest-growing beer brand, and Constellation’s distribution has been up to the task of meeting increased demand as the company has invested in more Mexico-based brewing facilities. 

Modelo Especial in Mexico

 

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Una publicación compartida por Cerveza Modelo (@cervezamodelomx)

Modelo Especial is still exclusively brewed in Mexico, and yes, it’s the most popular beer in its home country, too – at least according to a Statista survey from November 2023 that showed it ahead of Victoria and Heineken (currently the world’s most valuable beer brand). 

So as Modelo Especial quickly approaches its 100th birthday (it was first brewed in 1925) it’s now more popular than ever, and that popularity should only continue to grow.

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

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The salad may not be as readily associated with Baja California as the margarita or the Baja-style fish taco, perhaps because its fame spread so rapidly around the globe. But it was created in Tijuana in 1924 at a restaurant run by Italian immigrant Cesare Cardini, and its traditional association with the city has been kept alive by Tijuana’s most famous family of restaurateurs, the Plascencias. In 2024, as the iconic salad celebrated its 100th anniversary, celebrations were held along Avenida Revolución — including the unveiling of a statue of Cardini in the act of making his namesake specialty — only a few blocks from where this signature Mexican dish was first served a century ago.

The birth of the Caesar salad

The original wasn’t the Caesar salad as most think of it today, There were no anchovies, no garlic, no croutons and as with any good Mexican recipe, squeezes of lime rather than lemon juice were used. In total, there were just seven ingredients: romaine lettuce, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a dressing made with olive oil, egg yolk, salsa inglesa (Worcestershire sauce) and lime juice, plus a toasted slice of baguette-style bread placed on top. This eclectic mix, with preparation instructions such as a two-minute time limit on the “coddling” of eggs, resulted in the dish that the Parisian International Society of Epicures declared in 1953 to be “the greatest recipe to originate from the Americas in 50 years.”

How did Cardini, a man who originally hailed from Baveno, Italy, who emigrated to the U.S. along with his brothers for a fresh start and who achieved no great success with his early restaurants in Sacramento and San Diego, achieve something so singularly remarkable in Tijuana? That’s a difficult question, one complicated by the competing claims for credit that often go hand-in-hand with any new dish that acquires “classic” status. 

But if you believe Cardini’s story, as related by his late daughter Rosa, it was simple desperation. On July 4, 1924, the restaurant was packed with revelers celebrating U.S. Independence Day. At some point, running low on almost everything, he was forced to improvise, using what few ingredients he had left to create a salad. Or, rather, to create “the” salad. 

How the Caesar salad conquered the world

There are alternate theories. Some believe, for example, that Cardini’s brother Alessandro, also called Alex, was the true inventor of the salad. A veteran of the Italian Air Force, one version of the origin story has him whipping up the salad for some aviator buddies. Thus, it was called the “aviator salad” before being renamed for his fratello-cum-hermano Caesar. However, according to The Los Angeles Times, this tale came from a Detroit restaurateur named “Monsieur Joseph” Calemme and despite being published by Gourmet Magazine deserves zero credence. Still, several cookbooks have repeated it, and Alex did have chef skills, as he later demonstrated.

But considering who the salad is named for, it’s hard to credit anyone but Caesar himself for the salad’s birth. He died in 1956 but his daughter Rosa backed up his claim to the salad and dressing he began bottling in the 1940s — she later patented it under his name. It’s still sold that way, although she sold the rights to a manufacturing company called Dolefan Corp. in 1988, and it has since been resold to T. Marzetti.

In the early days of Caesar’s restaurant, movie stars like Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Rita Hayworth spread the salad’s fame. Later, so too did Julia Child. The future author and television star visited during her youth and would remember the intense emotion she experienced while eating the salad. Chefs in the U.S. and Europe soon began refining their own Caesar recipes, although it was the popularity of the cookbook “The Joy of Cooking” in the early 1950s that made it a household word. Today, AP reports that an astonishing 35% of restaurants in the U.S. feature Caesar salads on their menus. 

The rebirth of the Caesar salad in Tijuana

A year before decamping with his family to Los Angeles in 1928, Cardini had moved his business from the restaurant on Calle Tercera where his famed salad was created to a new one on Avenida Revolución — the Hotel Caesar came later, in 1931. This is the eatery reimagined as Caesar’s Restaurante Bar in 2010, although it should be noted that the place has been in operation, albeit under numerous owners and with varying degrees of success, for nearly a century. 

It’s hard to overstate how important the Plascencia family, who acquired the historic property, is to the food scene in Tijuana. From “Nana Chela,” who cooked for the legendary Agua Caliente casino in the 1930s and 1940s to Juan José Plascencia, who opened Giuseppi’s, the city and perhaps the country’s first pizzeria in 1969, the family has deep culinary roots in the border city. Grupo Plascencia now boasts five restaurant brands, and the Plascencia’s most famous family member, chef Javier Plascencia — who helped revive Caesar’s fortunes and was one of the founders of Baja Med cuisine at Misión 19 — has seven more of his own that stretch the length of the Baja California peninsula from Tijuana to San José del Cabo.

Caesar’s preserves the original bar and the restaurant is still designed to look as it might have back in 1927. Photos of the restaurant’s long history also adorn the walls, but some things have changed. The namesake salads, for instance, are now made with anchovies, garlic and exactly two croutons. Tableside service, as always though, remains a specialty. This service aspect of the salad has been lost in many locales but is still practiced in Baja California. At Caesar’s, where scores of salads are ordered nightly, waiters make them using wooden bowls and mixing pallets. No one knows why cured wood matters to the finished product, but it certainly seems to. However, high-quality service is the real secret ingredient for this acclaimed Baja food dish.

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

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Both men had enormous energy and ambition. Pando, for instance, became rich due to various business interests and lived to the age of 102. Bulnes would later retire from the cannery to build hotels, becoming a pioneer developer of Cabo San Lucas. The family-owned hotel chain he founded, Solmar Hotels & Resorts, remains the only one ever born at Land’s End. A statue of him stands on the marina boardwalk, a testament to his enormous contributions to tourism.

How Cabo San Lucas became a tourist destination

It was a destiny that must have seemed impossible when he first arrived in what is today Los Cabos. “We had no children in those days. It was impossible to have children here,” Bulnes told Baja Explorer in 1992. “No doctors, no medicine, no nothing. It was really isolated. To take a trip to La Paz took five or six hours by car. In the stormy season it could take a week because the road would wash out. Once I had to rebuild the road with my guys. We were isolated for 25 days.”

By 1971, Cabo San Lucas was no longer isolated. That was the year Hotel Finisterra opened near Land’s End, built by Luis Cóppola Bonillas, Bulnes, and Raúl Aréchiga. It wasn’t the first hotel to arrive in Cabo San Lucas. Abelardo “Rod” Rodriguez Jr., son of a former Mexican president, premiered Hotel Hacienda at the juncture of the marina and Playa El Medano in 1963. Except there was no marina then. Dredging on the marina wouldn’t begin until 1973, the same year the Transpeninsular Highway was completed. 

Bulnes saw it all and played a major role in the destination’s continued development. He sold his shares in Hotel Finisterra and opened his own 20-room and two-suite Hotel Solmar in 1974, even closer to Land’s End than the hotel that bears its name. That was also the year Baja California Sur became a state, becoming, along with Quintana Roo, the last to join the nation.

The evolution of the Solmar brand

That means Hotel Solmar, later redubbed Solmar Resort and renovated and expanded to 100 rooms, is celebrating its 50 anniversary in 2024. Bulnes and his family would eventually help grow Solmar from a single hotel to a hospitality brand managing resorts, restaurants, residences, spas, and a world-class golf course. 

The first restaurant of note was Romeo y Julieta, which opened in 1986 and continues to serve Italian-style cuisine in an enchanting setting in Cabo San Lucas. By then, he had partnered with Marco Monroy on Terrasol, the first beachfront condominium project in Los Cabos. It received a presidential inauguration in 1988 and today retains its pristine location between Solmar Resort and Playa Grande Resort & Grand Spa, overlooking Playa Solmar and the Pacific Ocean. By 1990, Solmar would also venture into timeshares.

Playa Grande, another Solmar property, opened in 1998 and was followed by an adjoining luxury resort – The Ridge at Playa Grande – in 2005.

A commitment to sustainability

It may seem surprising that a former manager of one of Mexico’s most productive fishing canneries and once the owner of Cabo San Lucas’ largest sportfishing fleet would be so dedicated to sustainability. But Bulnes was an early advocate for big-game fishing in Los Cabos while also seeking to protect its resources. For example, he established the Fundación para la Conservación de los Picudos in 1993 to help preserve the billfish species so important to sportfishing in Los Cabos.

He also helped to promote catch-and-release policies. “We have to protect the resource. There are too many lines in the water. The important thing is catch-and-release,” he said in 1992. “I want my grandkids to be able to fish these waters.” 

This spirit has carried on into the 21st century at Solmar. The world-class Solmar Golf Links designed by Greg Norman that opened in 2020 is an Audubon Certified Cooperative Sanctuary, attesting to its efforts to remain environmentally sustainable while protecting native wildlife.

Solmar in the 21st century

The fact that Solmar Hotels & Resorts is the only locally grown hotel chain with a history that dates to Cabo San Lucas’ early days as a tourism destination has certainly provided some benefits. No other hospitality brand has ever built hotels on the Land’s End headland at the tip of Cabo San Lucas. Bulnes passed away in 2011, the year the most spectacular of these properties, Grand Solmar Land’s End Resort & Spa opened. That was also the year the non-profit Solmar Foundation was created in Bulnes’ honor to aid those who need it most locally.

His son Francisco “Paco” Bulnes took the reins, overseeing a decade of tremendous growth, including the opening of Grand Solmar Pacific Dunes & Spa and Grand Solmar The Residences in 2017, and the nearby Solmar Golf Links. He would pass away too soon in 2021. However, the legacy endures with new president Rosario “Charo” Bulnes Malo, a tribute to what one family can achieve, for themselves and their community. Solmar Hotels & Resorts has grown from its original 22 rooms to a collection of properties offering about 1800. More are on the way, too. 

For instance, several new food and drink destinations have recently opened under the Solmar aegis. The Wine Bar premiered next to Romeo y Julieta in 2019, Picaro Garden Cuisine on the Pacific Coast near Solmar Golf Links in 2020, and Fiore Bakery & Coffee (also by Romeo y Julieta) in 2024. More rooms are also expected to be added to Grand Solmar Pacific Dunes and a renovation is planned for Playa Grande. 

What would Luis Bulnes think of Cabo San Lucas today, which no longer has 300 residents, but over 200,000? Probably some variation of his quote after the opening of the Transpeninsular Highway in 1973, remembered in Gene S. Kira’s superb The Unforgettable Sea of Cortez: “We are going to lose the tranquility, but we are going to make a lot of money. Civilization has a price.”

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

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There is no single December event in Los Cabos greater than the collective Guadalupe–Reyes Marathon, the uniquely Mexican monthlong binge of festive holiday season parties between the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Dec. 12, and Three Kings Day, on Jan. 6. But one comes close — the official start of the local whale watching season on Dec. 15. New Year’s Eve merits a special mention, too, thanks to the spectacular annual fireworks show over Playa El Médano in Cabo San Lucas.

Aside from these though, what other activities can you expect this month in Los Cabos?

Gastrovino Food and Wine Festival

Okay, so this one isn’t in Los Cabos. But it’s a short one-hour road trip up the coast from Cabo San Lucas to Todos Santos, where this annual food and wine-focused festival is staged. And since there’s no Sabor a Cabo — the big food festival in Los Cabos — scheduled this December, it’s the one monthly opportunity for visitors to sample world-class wine from Mexico’s best vineyards and world-class food courtesy of some of the region’s best chefs. 

Date: Dec. 1
Location: Todos Santos Cultural Center
Cost: 85 pesos per person

Los Cabos International Film Festival 

¡Ya están aquí las 11 películas seleccionadas para #FICLosCabos2024! Del 4 al 8 de diciembre, ven y sumérgete en lo mejor del cine en un escenario inolvidable. #cine #ficc #encuadresmexicanos pic.twitter.com/XCapMSqsOv

— Festival Internacional de Cine de Los Cabos (@LosCabosIFF) November 15, 2024

Held annually since 2012, this film festival has hosted dozens of big-name actors and directors, including Liam Neeson, Nicole Kidman, Robert De Niro, Ewan McGregor, Edward Norton, Diego Luna, Virginia Madsen and Matt Dillon. However, the focus remains on strengthening collaborative ties between the North American film industries. Screenings this year will take place, as in past years, at Cinemex at Puerto Paraíso in Cabo San Lucas, but also in several locations in San José del Cabo, including Plaza Mijares and the Wirikuta botanical cactus garden.

Dates: Dec. 4 – 8
Location: Cinemex Puerto Paraíso and other screening sites
Cost: Check the website for price and ticket availability at individual venues.

San José del Cabo Art Walk

The historic Art District in San José del Cabo takes center stage each Thursday evening from 5 to 9 p.m. during high tourist season — November through June — when residents and visitors alike are invited to stroll its cobblestone streets and peruse the many eclectic fine arts galleries. The many superb bars and restaurants nearby also benefit, since the event finishes around dinner time. 

Dates: Dec. 5, 12, 19, 26
Location: Gallery District in San José del Cabo
Cost: Free

Whale watching season

Every winter, more than 5,000 blue, gray, humpback and other whales migrate from their Arctic feeding grounds to breed in the shallow water coves and inlets of beautiful Baja California Sur. In this regard, these leviathans of the deep are very much like the snowbirds who flock to cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo to escape frigid winter temperatures in the U.S. and Canada. They’re just much, much larger.

Dates: Dec. 15 – April 15
Location: Sea of Cortés and Pacific Ocean
Cost: Free, with tours available at various price points

New Year’s Eve party at El Squid Roe

The place to be in Cabo San Lucas when the clock strikes 12 to usher in a New Year is near Medano Beach to see the annual fireworks show in all its spectacular glory. However, the place to be the rest of the night is El Squid Roe, the best nightclub in town since it opened in 1989. This year partygoers can expect an indoor firework show, not to mention drinking, dancing and all the convivial atmosphere for which the bar is famous.

Date: December 31
Location: Blvd. Lázaro Cárdenas, Cabo San Lucas
Cost: From 109 pesos per person

New Year’s Eve white party at Marquis Los Cabos 

Costume parties are a New Year’s tradition in Los Cabos. Luxurious Tourist Corridor-based all-inclusive resort Marquis Los Cabos keeps the tradition alive this year, requesting White Party-themed apparel to enjoy its many other offerings, including a four-course meal, a bottle of Taittinger Champagne, and a live band and DJ providing mood-appropriate music as couples elegantly dance their way into 2025.

Date: December 31
Location: Carretera Transpeninsular Km 21.5
Cost: New Year’s Eve night accommodations from 1,400 pesos

New Year’s Eve Party at Mandala 

Paradise Found, Hotel Marquis Los Cabos, Mexico pic.twitter.com/ga3NLgd14l

— Natural Views On Earth (@OfEarth8) September 13, 2024

Like El Squid Roe, Mandala is a titan on the Cabo San Lucas nightlife scene. 

To see the strobe light-painted glitterati atmosphere here at its shimmering best, visit on New Year’s Eve when highlights include acclaimed DJs, bottle service-style drinks and a dazzling light show. Reservations for this one aren’t cheap. The cheapest ticket package provides four access passes for 12,000 pesos. If you want a table, the number goes up. If that sounds steep, the asking price at La Vaquita across the street is a little more modest — but only a little. But who wants modesty on New Year’s Eve?

Dates: Dec. 31
Location: Blvd. Lázaro Cárdenas, Cabo San Lucas
Cost: From 150 pesos per person

Swimming with whale sharks season 

The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, reaching up to 40 feet in length and weighing as much as 47,000 pounds. There’s no risk in swimming with them, though, as these gentle giants subsist solely on plankton. Baja California Sur’s capital city of La Paz is the premier place to indulge in this unforgettable wildlife adventure, with round-trip transportation from Los Cabos provided by many of the area’s best activities purveyors.

Dates: October – May
Location: La Paz, with transportation available from Los Cabos
Cost: Varies according to the adventure company

Surf season on the Pacific coast

Summer may be the best time to find great waves off Los Cabos’ Sea of Cortés-facing beaches. But beginning in November, the surf scene is centered around Pacific coast beaches like Cerritos, La Pastora and San Pedrito. Surfing is indeed good year-round in this part of Los Cabos— La Paz municipality, to be exact. However, conditions are at their peak from November to March, thanks to seasonally bigger and more consistent swells. Several local activities companies offer lessons for those who need to brush up on their wave-riding skills. Or learn some.

Dates: November – March
Location: Pacific coast surf beaches like Cerritos, San Pedrito and La Pastora near Todos Santos
Cost: Varies according to the company for lessons and rentals

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

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