Baja California Sur’s Busy Season: A Guide to Upcoming Festivals and Events
Now that we’ve all recovered from the long food- and drink-filled holiday season—known in México as the Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon—get ready to gear up for another series of seasonal festivals and events. This is the best time of the year to visit Todos Santos, since January and February are when the state’s only pueblo mágico hosts its annual art, film, and music festivals. La Paz is preparing for its for its 127th consecutive carnaval celebration, and for those interested in shedding extra holiday-padded pounds…there are only so many days left to train for the second annual Ford Ironman Triathlon in Los Cabos.
Todos Santos Art Festival: February 1–8, 2014
The Todos Santos Art Festival is a weeklong celebration of the cultural vibrancy of one of México’s best known artists colony, and the 16th annual incarnation will include sales and exhibitions of paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and other arts and crafts, as well as music, folk dancing, and theater performances. Although the festival officially ends on the February 8, the fifth annual Open Artist Studio Tour is scheduled for the following day, February 9, with three dozen or so studios showing off their work to visiting art lovers, and all proceeds benefit the Children’s Art Project of the local Palapa Society.
www.eventsloscabos.com/2014/01/todos-santos-art-festival-festival-del-arte-de-todos-santos-2014/
Todos Santos Film Festival: February 20–28, 2014
Since its inception in 2004, the Todos Santos Film Festival has provided an annual showcase for the best of Mexican and Latin American cinema, screening full-length features, documentaries and shorts. Films for the 2014 festival will be shown at the beautifully restored theater on the town square—Teatro-Cine Manuel Márquez de León, a local landmark since 1943—as well as at several other locations in Todos Santos and La Paz, including Hotel Guaycura and the historic Centro Cultural. For more information about the festival, from the complete film screening schedule to the affiliated Youth in Video Program, visit www.todossantoscine.org or www.facebook.com/TodosSantosCineFest.
www.eventsloscabos.com/2014/01/festival-de-cine-de-todos-santos-film-festival/
Carnaval La Paz 2014: February 27–March 4, 2014
Forget Rio or New Orleans…La Paz is much closer. Baja California Sur’s capital city has been celebrating the lead up to Lent with a massive party since 1888. In addition to the coronation of the king and queen, the festivities will feature multiple musical performances on multiple stages, plenty of great street food from local vendors, and of course colorful parades along the malecón with costumes, masks, dancers, floats, music, and more. The parades are traditionally held during the evenings of the final three days—Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday—before Lent, a six-week period of Catholic observances that culminate on Easter Sunday. For updates and additional information, visit the event’s Facebook page, or follow @CarnavalLaPaz on Twitter.
http://www.eventsloscabos.com/2014/01/carnaval-in-la-paz-baja-california-sur-mexico-2014/
Ford Ironman Triathlon Los Cabos: March 30, 2014
The Ironman Series returns to Los Cabos for the second consecutive year, with contestants vying for the 50 qualifying spots available for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, as well as the self-satisfaction that comes from completing one of the world’s sternest tests: a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a marathon-length 26.2-mile run. This year’s course will be similar to last year’s, with the swim taking place off Palmilla Beach, and the run finishing in front of City Hall in San José del Cabo. There have been changes to the biking portion of the race, which will now include three laps between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. For registration or event information, visit www.ironmanloscabos.com.