Forward, March: Los Cabos Swings into Spring with an Impressive Array of Festivals and Events
Although March is best known locally as the time when U.S. and Canadian spring breakers flock from northern climes to the sun-drenched shores of Cabo San Lucas, this mass mid-semester collegiate migration is hardly the month’s only notable event. In fact, dozens of noteworthy spring festival and fiestas are scheduled to take place during the next four weeks, not only in Los Cabos, but in popular area day trip destinations like Todos Santos and La Paz, and Baja California Sur’s beautiful East Cape.
Here are a few of our favorites.
The best new event in Cabo San Lucas? A weekly Circuito Cultural on the city’s scenic marina boardwalk with artists and workshops, food and drinks, and live music and dancing.
Adults, children, and college students looking for an alternative to tequila-soaked debauchery will want to amble, saunter, or stroll (as the case may be) along the newly minted Circuito Cultural on the Cabo San Lucas Marina. Oh, there is tequila at this Saturday showcase for local artists and traditional Mexican culture, but it’s meant for sipping…just the like the wines from Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe. In addition to wine and tequila tasting, the cultural circuit—which stretches from the cruise ship terminal to the “Golden Zone”—features exhibitions from nearly three dozen of the area’s best artists, cultural workshops for children, special tasting menus from some of the area’s best restaurants, and live music and folkloric dancing at strategically located stages. The cultural circuit is open noon to 11 p.m. every Saturday, with workshops from 5 p.m.–7 p.m., and live entertainment 9 p.m.–11 p.m. For more information, go here.
Visitors looking for an antidote to the spring break madness in Cabo San Lucas will find a tranquil alternative in cape sister San José del Cabo. The glories of the colonial-style city’s historic downtown district are on full display this March thanks to two signature events: Art Walk and the Fiestas Tradicionales (or Patronales, if you prefer).
Art Walk, for the uninitiated, is a weekly event held each year during high season (Thursday nights, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., November to June) that essentially serves as a de facto open house for top galleries in the city’s scenic and highly-regarded Distrito del Arte. Locals and visitors alike are welcome to stroll the neighborhood’s charming cobblestone streets, sip wine, nibble cheese, chat with artists and gallery owners, and enjoy the romantic ballads of wandering musicians. Post-walk dinners are highly recommended, since the Art District is also home to some of the finest restaurants in Los Cabos. For more information, visit www.artcabo.com.
The Fiestas Tradicionales honor San José’s patron saint – in English, Saint Joseph – with a series of parties and parades, as well as general bonhomie. This year’s celebration takes place March 14–19, with food booths and entertainment on display throughout the downtown area. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ayuntamientodeloscabos/.
One event usually scheduled to take place in March will not. The Ford Ironman Los Cabos triathlon has moved from mid-March to October 25 in order to give aspiring contestants more time to train, and also to institute an additional event: a 70.3, or half-triathlon to be run on the same day. The full triathlon – consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 26.3 mile run, and a 112 mile bike ride – remains the big draw, however, with 40 qualifying slots available for the 2016 Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, HI. For more information, go to www.ironmanloscabos.com.
Women’s contributions to film will be honored at the upcoming Festival de Cine in Todos Santos.
Todos Santos and La Paz
Hot on the heels of its music and art festivals – and its second writers workshop at Casa Dracula – the coastal pueblo mágico of Todos Santos finishes out the artsy stretch of its yearly event calendar with the 12nd edition of its popular Festival de Cine, scheduled to take place March 12–22. The annual showcase for Mexican and Latin American films offers screenings at several locations, most notably the historic Teatro-Cine Manuel Márquez de León (est. 1943) overlooking the plaza principal, as well as the local cultural center. Films are also shown in nearby Pescadero (Dana’s Diner), and Baja Sur’s capital city, La Paz (on the malecón, and at Teatro Juárez). This year’s festival honors the contribution of women, and will feature the usual mix of full-length films, shorts, documentaries and projects from the local Youth in Video program. General admission tickets for screenings at the Teatro-Cine Manuel Márquez de León are $50 pesos each ($100 on opening and closing nights). Screenings at Dana’s Diner are also $50, or $70 for double features. Admission is free most other locations, although donations are appreciated. For movie times and locations, and other information, go to www.todossantoscine.org. Programs are available via download.
The 22nd annual East Cape Art Festival is one of several notable March events to be held at the Hotel Palmas de Cortez in Los Barriles.
East Cape and El Triunfo
The East Cape offers an impressive array of event options this March, ranging from doggie to-dos to Shakespearean drama. Lovers of the Bard may be a bit confused by this year’s production – Shakespeare’s Robin Hood, or A Funny Thing Happened on My Way Through Stratford Forest – since the eminent Elizabethan wrote no such play. But it’s the spirit that counts, not to mention the gorgeous surroundings at the Buena Vista Beach Resort in Buenavista. The 15th annual Baja Shakespeare Festival runs March 20-22, and 26-28, with special overnight packages available at the resort: $149 gets a double-occupancy room, dinner for two before the show, and breakfast the following morning. For reservations, go to www.hotelbuenavista.com /n/promotionsandevents.
The big news, at least for canine connoisseurs, is the inaugural Los Barriles Dog Show, set for Sunday, March 15, 2015 at the Hotel Palmas de Cortez in the lovely East Cape town of Los Barriles. Think your pooch is “Best in Show” caliber? Find out for sure by entering him or her in up to six competition categories in this Baja Kennel Club sponsored event, including best costume, best trick, best looking (small and large), and cutest pair. There is also an agility event for the four-legged, and food, drinks, music and arts and craft shopping for those making do with two. Admission is $50 pesos per dog, and $20 per spectator (free to kids 12 and under). Beach chairs and umbrellas are recommended conveniences, and dogs must remain leashed for the duration of the show. For more information, visit www.bajakennelclub.com.
The Van Wormer owned Hotel Palmas de Cortez will also be the site of the 22nd annual East Cape Arts Festival – coming March 29, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. – which promotes work from regional artists, as well as the local culture courtesy of participating musicians, dancers, culinary artists and mixologists. For the latest information and updates, go to www.eastcapearts.com/festival.html.
The small town of El Triunfo, best known for its piano museum and attractiveness to gold miners, is also hosting an arts festival this month. The 8th annual El Triunfo Festival Artesanal is scheduled to take place Sunday, March 15, from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., with all the familiar ingredients: traditional food, art, music and folkloric dancing. Since it shares the same date as the dog show in Los Barriles, El Triunfo’s art fest is likely to be the preferred option for cat fanciers, as well as those of a more bohemian temperament. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/eltriunfobcs/.