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Welcome to Los Cabos, Mexico! November is a wonderful month because the weather is perfect, whale season begins and the mountain waterfalls and pools are flowing and full due to the summer rains. Many events take place since it is the beginning of the Los Cabos high tourism season –multiple sport fishing tournaments among them– and seasonal activities start up again such as the San José del Cabo Art Walk and the San José del Cabo Organic Market, among many others. We also celebrate the Day of the Dead on November 2nd and the Mexican Revolution on the 20th, November is indeed a CULTURAL month. Here we feature a few of the cultural happenings mentioned above so you know what it’s all about!
Dia De Los Muertos
Pan de muerto (bread of the dead) is a type of sweet roll traditionally baked during the weeks leading up to the Day of the Dead. It is said that the shapes resembling bones represent those who we’ve lost and the ball on top is a tear drop to represent the sorrow. The bones are placed in a circle to represent the circle of life. TRY IT! You can find Pan de Muerto at most grocery stores such as Walmart and Mega or go to a local bakery.
Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) takes place on November 2nd and is a celebration of loved who are no longer with us, and are honored by creating incredibly intricate altars in their memory. The Day of the Dead imagery has seemed to gain popularity in the past years, such as the iconic catrinas (female skeletons) and calaveritas (decorated sugar skulls), and the popular Disney/Pixar movie Coco brought this colorful point of view about death to an entire new audience. With the representation of this Mexican tradition spreading wide, it is important to understand the true meaning of it. This spiritual celebration brings families together, where they join at their loved one’s resting place in the cemetery. The families create an altar with offerings of food and beverages, precious objects, and photos of the deceased. Each altar is unique in its own way based on each family’s beliefs and celebrations, but traditionally it can include cempasúchil (sem-pah-soo-cheel) flowers, veladoras (candles), religious artifacts, incense, and the traditional pan de muerto (bread of the dead). Families gather, sometimes for the entire night, by their loved one’s grave to share food and drinks, play music, and recount stories of their beloved.
The cempasúchil [sem-pah-soo-cheel] flower (in English known as marigold flower) is used as a decoration in the Day of the Dead festivities. Their warm and bright color brings life to the commemorative ofrendas (altars).BUY IT! Join the festive spirit and decorate your villa or hotel room with these flowers that you can buy at most markets and grocery stores.
The celebration is not only to honor the departed, but also to call forth their spirits to visit those left behind. The food and drink offerings are meant to entice the spirits, and the music, flowers, incense, and stories to please them and bring them joy.
In Los Cabos many restaurants and bars have Día de los Muertos themed celebrations, and for a colorful experience, visit the San José del Cabo main plaza to view the altar contest, the Día De Los Muertos Art Market at One&Only Palmilla, Día De Los Muertos at Casa Calavera & OMNIA Los Cabos, the Altares de Muertos 12th Edition at Puerto Paraíso, and don’t miss the altar competition at Flora Farms, in which Destino Los Cabos will be proudly participating in!
Thursday Art Walk in San José del Cabo
By Sabrina LearEach Thursday evening from November through June, the streets of historic San José del Cabo’s vibrant Gallery Art District come alive with color and creativity. Hidden behind the church off of Plaza Mijares (the main square) Obregón Street is closed to traffic from 5 to 9 pm. on Thursdays for Art Walk. Visit the many galleries and enjoy a glass of complementary wine or spirits while taking in the warm and friendly atmosphere. Ideal for families, it’s a chance to meet artists, attend new exhibits and experience a very special side of Los Cabos that many visitors may miss. Art Walk was created by the Gallery District Association to attract art lovers and tourists to the area. Members are recognizable by distinctive plaques posted on each gallery. Exhibiting genres from paintings and sculpture to ceramics, folk art, photography and jewelry, it’s easy to fall in love with a favorite piece. If you’re driving from Cabo San Lucas or the Corridor, plan to park on Calle Centenario, the boulevard that runs behind the downtown area. For easiest access, park close to the foot of Morelos Street (look for the beautiful hotel El Encanto Suites on the corner) and walk from there. You’ll immediately be drawn into a charming and festive atmosphere. Don’t forget to visit our friends at the Frank Arnold Gallery located around the corner on Comonfort, facing Centenario.Plan to arrive early for Art Walk and stay for dinner. The Art District boasts some of Los Cabos’ finest restaurants and many feature live music, but it can be very busy Thursday nights so reservations are strongly recommended. If you miss out on Art Walk, visit the Art District any time, most galleries and shops are open daily from 10 am. to 7 pm., or thereabouts. To learn more about the San José del Cabo Gallery Art District’s member galleries visit www.artcabo.com
The Mexican Revolution
By Alex NavarroThe Mexican Revolution is celebrated every year on November 20th, when Gustavo I. Madero declared in the Plan de San Luis Potosí of 1910 (which he wrote in jail), that this would be the day of the revolt and beginning of the revolution. It has been fun to learn many things about the history of my country while writing this, I hope you enjoy reading about it too. So here is a brief explanation of the Mexican Revolution, also known as the Mexican Civil War.After the Mexican Independence in 1810 from the ruling of the Spanish Crown, we had about 70 years of many different events before the famous «Porfiriato», which was the approximately 30 year ruling of Porfirio Diaz. The social and political unrest at the end of this period was what sparked the revolution. Some of the events during that 70-year period after the Mexican Independence and before the «Porfiriato» were the Mexican-American War, the Constitution of 1857, the presidency of Benito Juarez, and the Battle of Puebla on «5 de Mayo» where Mexico defeats France. One year later, France defeats Mexico declaring it the «Second Mexican Empire» and gives Maximilian the crown. Maximilian is executed and France withdraws from Mexico. Porfirio Diaz takes part in many of these wars. A couple decades later the «Porfiriato» begins.The Porfirio Díaz rule started in 1876 with the slogan «no re-election.» The only presidency that occurred during the «Porfiriato» was that of Manuel González from 1880 to 1884. Porfirio held power continuously from 1884 until 1911 by fixing elections, but giving an illusion of democracy.The «Porfiriato» was known for the promotion of industry and development
of infrastructure like roads, railroads, ports, etc., by opening the country to foreign investment, but Díaz suppressed the opposition in order to reassure the foreign companies that their investments were safe. Farmers and peasants both suffered oppression and exploitation. Wealth, political power, and access to education were for elite families known as hacendados who controlled most of the land. Most Mexicans were landless people working for slave-like wages at the haciendas.The opposition movement and unrest of the people began, and that was the beginning of the Revolution. A number of Mexicans began to organize in opposition to Díaz. In 1905, the Mexican Liberal Party (Partido Liberal de México) formed addressing the problems of the Díaz regime. The PLM were Ricardo Flores Magón and his two brothers, Enrique and Jesús. They, with Luis Cabrera Lobato and Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama collaborated on an anti-Diaz publication. They were very important men in the Mexican Revolution for agitating the masses. Shortly before the election of 1920, Francisco I. Madero, a member of one of Mexico’s richest families, funded the newspaper «Anti-Reelectionista,» in opposition to the continuous re-election of Díaz.In 1910, Francisco I. Madero announced his challenge to Díaz for the presidency under the Anti-Reelectionist Party. Díaz had him jailed before the election, and Díaz was announced the winner. On the 5th of October 1910, Madero wrote from jail the Plan de San Luis Potosí, with its slogan «free suffrage and no re-election» (Sufragio Efectivo, No Re-elección). It declared the Díaz presidency illegal and called for a revolt against Díaz, starting on November 20, 1910. Madero’s plan was made to foment popular uprising against Díaz and gain support from the U.S. to be able to defeat Diaz.Many revolutionary movements started due to Madero’s Plan de San Luis Potosí. The promises of land reform in Mexico attracted many peasants and rebellions arose from all the working-class Mexicans, along with indigenous natives. Madero also attracted the forces of famous rebels like Pascual Orozco, Pancho Villa, Ricardo Flores Magón, Emiliano Zapata, and Venustiano Carranza, all of which won battles throughout Mexico. With the Federal Army defeated, Diaz began negotiations with the revolutionaries and the talks culminated on the 21st of May 1911 with the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez. The treaty declared that Díaz would abdicate the presidency by the end of May 1911, to be replaced by an interim president, Francisco León de la Barra, until new elections took place.Madero was elected president in a fair election in October 1911, and was inaugurated in November 1911. Díaz left for exile in Paris. Opposition to Madero then started to form from both the conservatives, who thought he was too liberal, and from former revolutionary rebel leaders who thought he was too conservative.Zapata rebelled against Madero in 1911 because of Madero’s lack to implement land reform. Zapata promulgated the Plan de Ayala in November 1911, declaring a rebellion against Madero. He started the guerrilla again in the state of Morelos and fought and won against the Federal Army of Madero. Zapata remained loyal to the Plan de Ayala and stayed in rebellion against every government up until he was assassinated by the orders of future President Venustiano Carranza in 1919.Vicroriano Huerta was a professional soldier who served in the Federal Army under Madero. Huerta changed allegiance from Madero to the rebels and U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson, who had helped undermine U.S. trust in Madero’s presidency. With the support of the U.S., Huerta was to become provisional president of Mexico. Madero and his vice president Pino Suárez were forced to resign in February 1913 and were later assassinated. The counter-revolutionary regime of General Victoriano Huerta came to rule. Huerta was president from February 1913 until July 1914, when he was forced out by revolutionary forces. Mexico then went into a civil war (1914–1915). The Constitutionalist wealthy landowner Venustiano Carranza was the victor in 1915, defeating the revolutionary forces of former Constitutionalist Pancho Villa. Emiliano Zapata was later assassinated in 1919 by agents of President Carranza.The promulgation of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 is considered the end of the armed conflict of the Mexican Revolution. Álvaro Obregón becomes president in 1920 and the period from 1920 to 1940 is considered to still be a phase of the Revolution until the consolidation of the revolution with President Lazaro Cardenas from 1934 to 1940.I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit of our Country’s history. If you are inLos Cabos around November 20th, check out the parade that takes place in the morning in the downtown streets of San José del Cabo.
The Magical Organic Market
By Alex NavarroOne of the now traditional and favorite outdoor activities for tourists every year is the Organic Market in San José del Cabo. It started about 16 years ago and has been taking place in the current beautiful location for about 10 years. It is only a few blocks from downtown San José del Cabo located at La Huerta Maria. Here within DESTINO Magazine you can find it easily in the maps section on the top part of the San Jose del Cabo map. It happens every Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm from November to May and the opening date this season is Saturday November 2nd. I really recommend you visit it with your friends, family and loved ones. It is a magical atmosphere!The Organic Market organizers have a very unique mission. They believe in creating a multi-cultural space that provides local organic produce, prepared food, arts and crafts, activities and educational resources for the community and visitors. They try to promote products and services that originate within the community and reflect the things created and produced in the region. They intend the market to be a place where community members can find local products and produce, as well as a space to meet and interact directly. They emphasize the importance of using low impact packaging for all products, and they believe in promoting the arts like dance and music as one of the creative pillars of the market space.At the market there’s something for everyone, from arts & crafts, painting tables, face painting and games such as knockerball for the kids, to massage stations, yoga, tai chi, capoeira, and salsa, and language lessons. Spend your Saturday morning under the shade-giving trees and catch a special performance, do some hula-hooping, listen to some live music, dance to the beats of djs, join a drum circle, or sit in at poetry reading.
For shopping there’s a wide variety of options, among them you can find beauty products, clothing, leather masks, art, plants, jewelry in all types and styles, bags, books, furniture, an much more! As you can see it is an endless world of possibilities at this lovely market. Bring cash!On a final note, one of the coolest things about the Organic Market is that it makes the local community integrate in a wonderful and positive way within itself as mentioned above, as well as helping make a magical connection and interaction between the locals and our dear visiting tourists like yourself.I hope you make it to the Organic Market for an enchanting experience!
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