When Gaspar de Portolá, the new California governor, sailed into San José del Cabo on Nov. 30, 1767, “the soldiers, who had come with exaggerated notions about the wealth of the Jesuit missions, hastened to seize the treasures of Mission San José del Cabo; but, with the exception of the church ornaments, nothing of value was discovered,” wrote Zephyrin Engelhardt in his 1908 book on the Spanish missionary period, “The Missions and Missionaries of California: Vol. 1, Lower California.” 

“They then proceeded to Mission Santiago and encountered the same poverty. Like all the Jesuits in the missions, Father (Ignacio) Tirsch of Santiago had not the least suspicion of what was coming, and no reason or opportunity for concealing anything. Portolá next took his men to the silver mines and convinced himself of their poverty, and the penury of those who feebly worked them.”

José de Gálvez and the shift in Franciscan focus

After a little more than 70 years of missionary work on the Baja California peninsula, the Jesuits had accumulated no wealth but had founded 17 missions and “saved many souls.” 

The Franciscans, who replaced them, would remain in Baja California for only five years, establish only one mission — the Misión San Fernando Rey de España de Velicatá, about 35 miles southeast of El Rosario — and leave the peninsula’s missions even poorer than they already were.

The Franciscans were chosen as successors to the Jesuits by José de Gálvez, the visitador general, whose newly endowed authority had made him the most powerful man in Mexico (or Nueva España, as it was then known). 

Gálvez arrived in July 1768 to reorganize the peninsula, unveiling his plans for California to the dozen or so Franciscan friars, led by Mallorcan Junípero Serra, who himself had only been in residence since April. 

The most ambitious of these plans was the commitment to establishing missions in Alta California — now the U.S. state of California. How much of this shift in focus northward was influenced by the evident poverty of the missions in Baja California is unknown. However, by early 1769, land and sea expeditions were bound for San Diego. By July of that year, Serra had founded the first Alta California mission there. Serra would later found eight more missions in Alta California, an achievement for which he has since been controversially canonized as a saint by the Catholic church. 

Portolá, also integral to the expedition, saw his role as governor expand to include both Alta and Baja California.  

How Baja California paid for the settlement of Alta California

Not everyone benefited from this northern focus, which by 1777 had seen the capital of Las Californias shift from Loreto in Baja California to Monterey in Alta California. To be blunt, the settlement of Alta California was largely paid for by looting the meager coffers of Baja California’s missions and squeezing money from the peninsula’s lone successful entrepreneur. 

“To lessen the expenses for the proposed missions, Gálvez decided that the old establishments (the missions in Baja California) should aid in founding the new ones by donating vestments, sacred vessels and other church articles,” Engelhardt wrote. “From the inventories, he saw that all could assist a little, which, with what he had obtained from the extinguished missions, would supply at least three new missions. He himself proceeded to Todos Santos to collect what could be spared, and he directed Fr. Serra to do likewise on his trip to the north from all the missions, not excepting Loreto.”

Also contributing was the one rich man the peninsula had so far produced: former soldier Manuel de Ocio. After reaping some timely intel from Cochimí Indians about 400 pounds of pearls thrown onto a beach in Mulegé after a violent storm in 1740, Ocio retired from the Loreto presidio to found a mine at Santa Ana in 1748, a few miles south of the Baja California Sur mining towns that subsequently sprang up in San Antonio and El Triunfo.

Ocio’s mine wasn’t that impressive in terms of the amount of silver it produced, but by 1751, it had reached the limit necessary for him to register it with the Spanish crown and pay taxes. In addition to the workforce of 300 he acquired, many from the Mexican mainland, he also ran thousands of head of cattle and managed to buy 14 homes in Guadalajara as a real estate investment. 

Gálvez, seeing that Ocio had what little wealth there was on the peninsula, established his headquarters at Santa Ana and ruthlessly pumped the mine owner to help fund the expedition to Alta California. Indeed, according to Harry W. Crosby’s definitive book, “Antigua California, Mission and Colony on the Peninsular Frontier, 1697-1768”: 

“Manuel de Ocio’s little empire provided the ship that made possible Portolá’s coming; the further use of his ships, his mules, mule drivers and stores made possible the prompt launching of the expedition to the north. Without that which was commandeered from Ocio, Gálvez’s plans would have had long setbacks. But Ocio received no thanks and ultimately no reward nor even the recompense promised by royal officials.”

As if that weren’t bad enough, two of Gálvez’s imported miners murdered Ocio in 1771 after robbing his storehouse.

Indigenous peoples and the disaster of Gálvez’s policies

If Ocio was ill-used by Gálvez, so, too, were the Indigenous peoples of the Baja California peninsula. Gálvez believed the Jesuits had coddled the Indians; he was intent on using them as a free labor source, including in the salt mines at Isla del Carmen, off the coast of Loreto. 

“Gálvez made elaborate plans for the transformation of the California missions using Serra and the Franciscans as the agents for the changes he thought necessary,” author Dave Werschkul pointed out in “Saints and Demons in a Desert Wilderness: A History and Guide to Baja California’s Spanish Missions” (2003):

“Among Gálvez’s decrees were the reduction in the number of missions, elimination of the visitas (sub-missions), and the movement of Indians from one area to another to meet the labor requirements of the more productive agricultural areas. The results were a disaster. In 1769, one ranchería of 44 Indians was moved from San Javier to San José del Cabo. All but three died.”

The native inhabitants of Los Cabos, the Pericú, also saw their numbers continue to dwindle. In 1768, the year the Franciscans took over, there were 178 Indians at the Santiago mission under Fr. José Murguía and 70 at San José del Cabo, which had been raised back to full mission status under Fr. Juan Morán. Three years later, in 1771, those numbers were 70 and 50, respectively, or a total of only 120 throughout Los Cabos. 

Likely, these were mostly still Pericú, although as noted above, Gálvez was not above importing Indigenous people from other parts of the peninsula to help facilitate agricultural production for the missions.

Disease remained the primary culprit for the diminished numbers. Many Indigenous people were killed by the 1769 epidemic that also killed Fr. Morán, as well as the French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Chappe d’Auteroche, who had traveled to San José del Cabo to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus, which he did successfully before his death. 

The exact disease that decimated Indigenous numbers is not known. An outbreak of measles was known to have occurred that year, with typhus and yellow fever also conjectured.

The Franciscan era’s legacy in Los Cabos

The Jesuits had been careful to keep the population of Baja California restricted to missionaries, Indigenous and presidio soldiers. Some soldiers were married. Esteban Rodríguez Lorenzo, for example, one of the original 10 to land at Loreto in 1697, married María de Larrea on the mainland during a hiatus from his duties in 1707. They had seven children, the first true family of settlers on the peninsula. Rodríguez was also the first man permitted by the Jesuits to raise his own cattle. 

But as local historian Pablo L. Martínez was quick to note in his “Guía Familiar de Baja California, 1700-1900” (1965), the first real secular community to arise on the peninsula came about because of the need for workers at Ocio’s mine. Santa Ana thus became a kind of cradle for early settlers, with some of the most esteemed Los Cabos families, such as the Cotas, arriving during this early period. 

Gálvez, for all his faults, was the first to initiate a call for colonists. 

“Besides making strong efforts to improve the conditions of the natives, Gálvez paid special attention to the project of colonizing Lower California with Spaniards,” Engelhardt wrote. “On Aug. 12, 1768, he issued a decree setting forth the privileges offered to colonists and the regulations by which they were to be governed. Government lands were separated from mission lands and offered to Spaniards of good character on easy terms. 

“The chief obligation was that the settlers would make improvements and pay a small annual tax to the king. The first to avail themselves of these advantages were discharged soldiers and sailors from Loreto, but there were few others before 1821.” 

These discharged soldiers, sailors and their families, along with the workforce at Santa Ana, would form the roots of the communities that would eventually arise in San José del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas and elsewhere in the region now known as Los Cabos. 

But, first, there was one more Catholic missionary order to come to the area — that of the Dominicans, who took over the missions in Baja California after 1773, when the Franciscans decided to concentrate their efforts solely on Alta California. 

Chris Sands is the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He’s also a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.

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The border states of Baja California, Sonora and Chihuahua, as well as Durango state, were put on alert due to “a significant drop in temperatures, strong winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall … and possibly snow or sleet.”

At the same time, Cold Front No. 30 will drift over the northeastern part of the country where it will be reinforced by an Arctic air mass by Friday evening. The SMN report said moisture coming in off the northern Gulf of Mexico will combine with the remnants of Cold Front No. 30 to generate rain and showers there. 

The phenomenon in northern Mexico is the westernmost edge of the potentially historic winter storm that is expected to impact the United States this weekend, prompting extreme weather alerts from the Texas Panhandle to the Northeastern Atlantic states.

The rejuvenated cold front is also expected to produce northerly winds gusting up to 70 km/h (42.5 m/h) in northeastern Mexico. Residents of northern Coahuila are being advised of the possible formation of whirlwinds or tornadoes.

In the Northern Plateau and the Central Plateau, including the Valley of Mexico, cold to very cold conditions will produce fog banks in the morning and persist throughout the day. Minimum temperatures could dip as low as minus-5 C (23 F) in Hidalgo, México state, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Veracruz and Oaxaca. Mexico City’s low is projected to reach 0 C (32 F).

🥶❄️⛈️ Hoy se prevén #Lluvias muy fuertes y caída de #Nieve o #Aguanieve en regiones de #BajaCalifornia, #Sonora, #Chihuahua y #Durango. Más información en ⬇️https://t.co/agFhcoEB8W pic.twitter.com/9scC2Tri7D

— CONAGUA Clima (@conagua_clima) January 23, 2026

In response to the winter storm conditions, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) reported that it has sufficient capacity available to maintain the supply of electricity across the country.

The CFE said it is coordinating with the Energy Ministry to establish strategic actions to protect the continuity of the electricity supply. The CFE also activated its Emergency Response Steering Group, which will remain in permanent session to monitor the evolution of the storm.

The National Coordination of Civil Protection also issued an advisory, urging residents across the country to take preventative measures throughout the weekend. 

“To mitigate the effects of these weather systems and safeguard physical safety and property, specific recommendations are issued. If using gas heaters or fireplaces, maintain adequate ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning and turn them off before going to sleep; protect and insulate external pipes to prevent frost damage and secure sheet metal roofs, windows, awnings and objects that could be dislodged by wind gusts exceeding 60 km/h (37.3m/h).”

Elsewhere, the Regional Hydrometeorological Center in the state of Yucatán forecast stable weather conditions, warm temperatures up to 34 C (93 F) and isolated showers in coastal Quintana Roo, eastern Yucatán and southern Campeche, with wind gusts of up to 40 km/h.

With reports from El Universal, La Jornada and El Diario de Yucatán

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Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila on Wednesday confirmed that Carlos Torres is the subject of a probe that stemmed from an anonymous complaint implicating her ex-husband in a plot to allow a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel to operate in the northern border state.

After referring reporters to a statement issued by Torres (in which he called the accusations “slanderous”), Ávila said she is confident that the FGR “will conduct a thorough investigation and the facts will be clarified.”

Last May, the U.S. government revoked the governor’s and her then-husband’s tourist visas. At the time, Avila said the decision by the U.S. government was “neither an accusation nor an investigation.” The news was significant, however, as it represented the first time in recent history that a sitting Mexican official was denied entry to the U.S. In following months, dozens of Mexican politicians had their U.S. visas revoked by the Trump administration.

According to N+, the news division of the Grupo Televisa-Univision media conglomerate, the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office received a complaint on June 11, 2025, that Torres received US $150,000 a month from Pedro Ariel Mendivil García, former security  minister for the Mexicali City Council, to allow the Los Rusos Cartel to operate in the northern state. 

By then, Torres had stepped down from his honorary posts and in October the governor and he began divorce proceedings.

N+ identified Luis Alfonso Torres, Carlos’ brother, as the alleged leader of the criminal network under investigation, reporting that Luis “directed the administrative operations of illicit funds through companies and support for political campaigns in Mexico.”

The network allegedly carried out extortion by seizing merchandise or shipments and demanding millions of dollars for their release at state customs offices. The payments were then allegedly sent to a local notary. The network is also accused of trafficking in weapons, money and drugs.

Among the names mentioned in the file as subjects of investigation are high-ranking state officials from the Tax Administration Service (SAT) and Customs, as well as mayors and municipal leaders. Also appearing is Sen. Armando Ayala Robles, the former mayor of Ensenada, Baja California.

Carlos Torres was a member of the National Action Party (PAN) for 20 years during which time he was a state congressman (2016-2019), competed to be mayor of Tijuana in 2010 and served as a federal deputy (2006-2009). 

In February 2025, Torres resigned from the PAN and joined Morena, the dominant party in Mexico. Ávila and Sen. Ayala are also members of Morena.

With reports from El País, N+, Proceso and Infobae

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Nor has Ensenada’s popularity as a cruise destination ever waned. It remains the third most popular cruise port in the country — behind Cozumel and Mahahual (Costa Maya) in Quintana Roo and ahead of fellow Pacific Coast ports Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta — and has welcomed in excess of 1 million cruise ship passengers in two of the past three years.

Based on a recent announcement, that number should only continue to rise.

Ensenada Bay Village project unveiled

Plans for Ensenada Bay Village — a new shoreside port destination for cruise ship passengers that’s being developed in partnership between Carnival, Hutchison Ports ECV and the ITM Group — were announced during a public presentation at the Ensenada Cruise Terminal in early December 2025.

The US $26 million project is expected to take two years to complete, but will welcome up to 9,000 visitors per day and have a significant economic impact on Ensenada, creating at least 350 new jobs and bringing in an estimated $120 million to the local economy each year.

“Ensenada Bay Village represents meaningful investment in Baja California,” noted Baja California’s governor, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda. “This project supports local jobs, expands tourism and highlights the culture and natural beauty that make our state a unique destination,” she said. 

What will Ensenada Bay Village’s attractions be?

Ensenada Bay Village is going to be a village-style port resort, steps from where ships are docked. Cruise passengers will be able to enjoy not only swimming pools, thermal springs and spa offerings but also wine and cheese pairings, tequila tastings and activities like zip lines, a scenic boat ride and a dune buggy rally.

By design, the village — with architecture that evokes 18th-century mission-era California — is meant to appeal to both kids and adults and be family-friendly. Ensenada Bay Village is also envisioned as a complementary attraction, which perhaps accounts for the fact that, as yet, there have been no controversies or complaints from local businesses that rely heavily on business from the cruise ships.

Will Ensenada Bay Village be free for cruise ship passengers?

Costs to cruisegoers are as yet unknown. Carnival has not revealed whether there will be admission fees or premium charges for the various rides and attractions. Nor is there any rush to announce this information, given that Ensenada Bay Village — based on its two-year construction timeline — is not due to open until late 2027 or early 2028. 

What does Ensenada Bay Village mean for other cruise lines?

Carnival Corporation is the world’s largest cruise company, owning not only Carnival Cruise Lines but also, among other subsidiaries, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line. 

However, despite Carnival Corporation’s dominant market share in Ensenada (it accounted for 71% of all cruise visits in 2023-2024), its cruise lines are not the only ones that visit the destination; Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Disney-owned ships are all frequent visitors too. Are their passengers also welcome at Ensenada Bay Village?

The answer is yes. “The destination will also welcome guests from other cruise lines, reinforcing a shared commitment to inclusive tourism and regional growth,” Carnival confirmed in a statement. 

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that pricing will be the same for passengers of other cruise lines — again, no pricing information has yet been released — or that non-Carnival-owned cruise lines will recommend Ensenada Bay Village with the same enthusiasm as they do other local attractions.

That said, Carnival’s investment in Ensenada is a reflection of just how strong its presence is in the port, and Ensenada Bay Village will almost certainly benefit other cruise lines. 

Who’s developing Ensenada Bay Village?

Hutchison Ports ECV and the ITM Group are the companies developing Ensenada Bay Village, in partnership with Carnival, and the US $26 million figure quoted for the project is considered a minimum investment.

Mexican-owned ITM Group is a specialist in hospitality and cruise port development and management. More to the point, ITM has a history of collaborations with cruise lines, having partnered with Royal Caribbean Cruises since 2019 on port projects under the Holistica Destinations banner, a 50-50 venture that includes operation of the Port of Roatán in Honduras. 

ITM was also instrumental in developing Puerto Costa Maya at Mahahual in Quintana Roo, Mexico’s second-largest cruise port, although that concession was subsequently shared as a Holistica Destinations partnership and is now solely administered by Royal Caribbean.

Given this history, ITM Group was a logical partner for Carnival in Ensenada. So, too, was Hutchison Ports ECV, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, since this company has the concession (acquired via the government of Mexico) for the Ensenada Cruise Terminal. The Ensenada Bay Village project would not be possible without Hutchison’s participation.

What is the Baja California Sur connection?

ITM Group, notably, also acquired the concession for developing the Port of Pichilingue in La Paz, Baja California Sur’s capital. Aquamayan Adventures, which shares the same owner as ITM Group — entrepreneur Isaac Hamui Abadi — had plans to build a new US $50 million cruise pier there, but after environmental protests, that project was scuttled in 2022.

Still, Baja-based cruise ports do seem to be on the rise, with both Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas recording robust visitor numbers in 2025, and La Paz also seeing strong traffic. For example, Mexico welcomed 8.7 million cruise ship passengers between January and October 2025, and was projected to finish the year with over 10 million, with the Baja California peninsula’s top three cruise ports accounting for more than 2.5 million of that total.

Chris Sands is the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He’s also a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.

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Sordo Madaleno is also responsible for the newest eye-catching design to arrive at Cabo del Sol: a boutique shopping destination for over 80 luxury brands.

 

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Ánima Village opens in Los Cabos

The first phase of Ánima Village premiered at Cabo del Sol in early December 2025, with over 1,500 guests showing up to celebrate the opening. Already open are more than two dozen shops featuring brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Guess, Hugo Boss, Lululemon, the Mac Store and Nike. More upscale brands are on the way in the next phase, scheduled for later this year, including Cartier, Dior, Prada, Valentino and Louis Vuitton. 

When complete, Ánima Village will be by far the most sophisticated shopping destination in Los Cabos. In addition to its anticipated 84 luxury brands, it will feature diverse dining options, art exhibitions, open-air walkways with botanical gardens and a range of regular events and programs.

“Art and culture are central to Ánima Village’s identity,” notes SOMA Group, the Mexican real estate development company led by members of the Sordo Madaleno family that operates Ánima Village. “The project features Arte Abierto, a dedicated gallery space that hosts rotating exhibitions, permanent installations throughout public areas, and an active cultural program. This initiative invites visitors to engage directly with the creative process, making them part of the ongoing artistic narrative.”

Of course, given Sordo Madaleno’s architectural reputation, this aspect, too, is first-class. Buildings “rise and fall in volumes ranging from 6 to 9.5 meters, creating a dynamic rhythm reminiscent of a coastal village. This stepped geometry not only frames shifting views of the landscape but also incorporates passive climate strategies — terraces open to public plazas, while shadows and landscaping provide comfort and shade, encouraging visitors to pause and enjoy the environment.”

Despite being located beyond the gate at Cabo del Sol, Ánima Village is open to the public daily between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The history of Cabo del Sol

Cabo del Sol owes its existence to the visionary foresight of legendary Los Cabos developer Don Koll. During the mid-1980s, the Southern California real estate heavyweight made a series of moves that would forever change the landscape of Los Cabos. In 1985, he purchased the land for what would become Cabo del Sol in partnership with Robert Addison Day from Bud Parr, another Los Cabos pioneer. The next year, Koll bought the landmark Hotel Palmilla (now One&Only Palmilla) and brought in Jack Nicklaus to design golf courses for both, the first world-class layouts in the area. 

“Koll knew from time in the area developing Palmilla Hotel resort that this property [Cabo del Sol], with its gradual sloping terrain and two miles of pristine ocean frontage, was the best property in Cabo,” Day told Cabo Living Magazine in 2019. “Anywhere you put your finger on the map, you had an ocean view from the property. So Don and I struck a deal to buy the property in a joint venture between our two companies. Don took the role as operator and lead developer in those years, leveraging the expertise and team they already had in place at Palmilla and immediately began adding value.”

Two parcels were sold off to hotels for capital: the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar (now the all-inclusive Hacienda del Mar) and Grand Fiesta Americana, both of which opened in 1999. Accompanying these early Cabo del Sol tent poles were Jack Nicklaus’ stunning Cabo del Sol Ocean Course (now the Cove Club), which opened to acclaim in 1994, and Tom Weiskopf’s Desert Course, which followed in 2001. 

Koll may have been the visionary, but Day was, practically speaking, the most important figure in Cabo del Sol’s history. The grandson of William Myron Keck, founder of Superior Oil Company — later sold to Mobil for US $5.7 billion in 1984 — Day made his own fortune, selling the Trust Company of the West, which he founded in 1971, for $2.5 billion. The Oakmont Corporation, which he began in 1980 and for which he served as CEO, would later buy out Koll for ownership of Cabo del Sol and oversee its development for decades before Day passed away in 2023.

Cabo del Sol’s revival

Cabo del Sol’s golf courses were designed to sell the accompanying real estate, which they have been doing for 40 years and counting. But over the last few years, a series of luxury resort openings, along with Ánima Village, have ushered in what can only be called a resurgence. This has been led by the arrival of several properties from big-name hospitality brands that not only provide stylish accommodations to visitors but also amenities like restaurants and spas that residents can enjoy.

The first to open was Four Seasons Resort and Residences Cabo San Lucas at Cabo del Sol, which premiered in May 2024 with 96 guest rooms and 61 branded residences, the latter including luxe villas and estates. The following year, saw the announcement that Hacienda del Mar would transition to an all-inclusive resort, as well as the opening of Park Hyatt Los Cabos at Cabo del Sol, with its 163 guestrooms and enormous 59,000-square-foot fitness and wellness center, the largest in Los Cabos. 

This year,  trendy Soho House will open its first phase at Cabo del Sol, showcasing 15 bedrooms, 12 casas and three spacious casonas, along with a branded Soho Health Club. Phase 2, still to come, will feature 45 private residences, ranging from two-to four-bedrooms and five villas with three and four-bedrooms. Yes, Soho House, too, is being designed by Sordo Madaleno.

This flurry of openings, combined with the arrival of Ánima Village, has established Cabo del Sol, 40 years after its birth, as the most impressive resort and residential community in Los Cabos. Interestingly, perhaps, given this ascendance, Oakmont Corporation sold a controlling interest of 51% in Cabo del Sol holdings to RLH Properties, a Mexico City-based asset management company in September 2025. 

But that doesn’t change the resort inventory or the many real estate offerings still available. Or the location of the best new shopping destination in Los Cabos.

Chris Sands is the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He’s also a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.

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On his social media, the song-and-dance man expressed that he is “so happy” to return to his “beloved Mexico” in March 2026. In that same message, he revealed he would perform in the cities of Querétaro, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Chihuahua, León and Mérida.

One minute: backstage in Bratislava getting ambushed by my son holding the cake and my band playing Happy Birthday.

Next minute: Puerto Rico, cake, hugs, Christmas, soul reset.
Plot twist approved. 🎂✨

Ps. The photo of the baby celebrating his first birthday. Yup, that’s me a… pic.twitter.com/0Am5jmUvCT

— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) December 28, 2025

Martin also announced that before the tour begins he would be performing at the La Paz Carnaval in Baja California Sur, on Feb. 21. 

Here are the dates and venues for the Mexican leg of the tour:

• Querétaro – March 12, Querétaro Racetrack
• Mexico City – March 14, Fray Nano Stadium
• Guadalajara – March 18, Pan American Stadium
• Monterrey – March 20, Walmart Park Stadium
• Chihuahua – March 22, Monumental Stadium
• León – March 24, Poliforum Esplanade
• Mérida – March 28, Kukulkán Baseball Park

According to organizers, the show is expected to last an hour and a half and include a live band, backup dancer and large-format visuals. 

Tickets start at 690 pesos (US $38) and reach up to 4,990 pesos (US $279) depending on the city and section selected. Tickets are now available through funticket.mx and at official box offices.

Ricky Martin rose to fame with the Latin pop children’s group Menudo in the ’80s before launching his career as a solo artist, becoming one of the most influential figures of Latin music in the ’90s. 

His album “Vuelve” (1998) and the global success of the English-language album “Ricky Martin” (1999), with singles like “Livin’ la Vida Loca”, established him as one of the singers responsible for the so-called “Latin explosion.”

He has sold more than 70 million albums as a solo artist, and won numerous awards including two Grammy awards. 

With reports from Sin Embargo and Tribuna de México

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The shortage affected approximately 691 neighborhoods in Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito due to interconnection and rehabilitation work on the Florido-Aguaje Aqueduct, a key infrastructure component that supplies water to more than 1.3 million residents in the region.

“Since Sunday, we’ve been re-establishing service to all the neighborhoods affected,” said Jesús García Castro, head of the Tijuana State Public Services Commission (Cespt). “Everyone should be back online by early this week.” 

Water supply was gradually restored starting at 6 p.m. on Sunday, with authorities warning that it would take up to 36 hours for full restoration. That same day, Cespt reported that water service had been restored to over 300 neighborhoods in Tijuana. 

On Tuesday, Cespt reported that 5% of the affected areas were still limited to intermittent water flow, marking a week since the outage. 

The president of the Downtown Merchants Association, Guillermo Díaz Orozco, told the newspaper El Sol de Tijuana that hotels and restaurants without storage tanks have been the most affected, with estimated economic losses of up to 15%.

Households have also been affected, as money that was destined for food and other goods had to be diverted to buying water.

“Our routine is disrupted,” Ana García, a resident in one of the affected neighborhoods, told El Sol de Tijuana. “We avoid cooking to prevent creating a mess, and this also impacts our finances, since we have to eat out. We can’t maintain proper hygiene.”

According to authorities, work on the Florido-Aguaje Aqueduct took some 86 hours. The tasks included replacing pipe sections, repairing leaks and upgrading infrastructure to improve system efficiency and reduce future failures.

García said that the renovation work was unexpectedly delayed by the need to unearth an old storm drain used more than 70 years ago as irrigation for former agricultural areas. Another reason was that houses in the area are located almost on top of the aqueduct.

That renovation work was scheduled to be completed on Saturday morning, but was extended until Sunday evening. 

Authorities have asked affected residents to continue reporting water shortages. “We want to thank everyone for their patience and we want to apologize for the delays,” García said. 

With reports from El Sol de Tijuana, San Diego Red, El Imparcial, Border Report and Milenio

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“And yet, I believe there are multitudes of people, accustomed to receive injunctions of new year resolutions, who will sin all the month of December, with a serious determination of beginning the new year with new resolutions and new behaviour, and with the full belief that they shall thus expiate and wipe away all their former faults.”

Nowadays, resolutions are almost always made in good faith. You may not develop six-pack abs or read the entirety of the Harvard Classics, but such resolutions reflect an honest desire to improve mind, body and spirit. And if you fail, there’s always next year.

But no one starts out believing they will fail, which is why travel to destinations such as Los Cabos may be viewed with trepidation. Enjoying luxurious accommodations and beautiful beaches during the heart of winter may sound like a recipe for indolence and idleness. In fact, the opposite is true. Los Cabos is the perfect place to maintain your resolutions, if only for a week or two until you’re back on home turf. 

Getting more exercise

Virtually every resort in Los Cabos has a gym and fitness facilities, while the best may offer everything from yoga classes to guest visits from U.S.-based fitness instructors. That’s not to mention additional amenities like tennis courts or access to world-class golf courses. 

This brings us to the real power of Los Cabos as a resolution-friendly destination: its wealth of outdoor-activities. There is almost nothing under the sun — yes, it shines every day, even in January — that you can’t do, and at a high-level, in Los Cabos. The surfing is superb, as is the fishing, sailing, kayaking and swimming (in the ocean or in indoor pools). On dry land, there’s hiking and biking, for starters, and several local activities companies provide guided climbing or mountain biking tours, for those who aren’t sure where to start or to find the most scenic trails.

That’s not to say you won’t have time for relaxing on local beaches. But you’ll get your cardio, too, even if it’s just counting your steps while you walk around downtown Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.

Eating healthier food

If your goal is to lose weight or simply to eat healthier, whole foods, Los Cabos is the place to be. Famed for its farm-to-table restaurants featuring produce grown steps from where it’s served, the Los Cabos food scene is premised on using fresh, local ingredients. 

That mantra extends to restaurants at hotels and resorts, where chefs frequently source many of their ingredients from organic farming communities like Miraflores, or from their own onsite gardens. Yes, you can binge on tacos. But processed foods will be minimal to nonexistent in that case, too.

The most famous ingredients aren’t fruits or vegetables, though, but freshly-caught local seafood. Those who go out fishing can have their catches prepared “you hook it, we cook it” style. But you don’t have to catch your own to enjoy delicious, Omega-3-rich tuna or dorado (aka mahi-mahi or dolphinfish) at almost every seaside restaurant in the area. 

Sleeping better

Every time I’m invited to spend a night or two at a local resort, I marvel at the quality of my sleep. That’s not an accident. They work at it, from king-sized beds to temperature control to blackout curtains.

It helps, of course, if you’ve spent part of your day swimming, hiking or biking. But local properties, already masters of wellness (more on this soon), have increasingly been rolling out programs and initiatives aimed at better sleep. Thus, just as your fitness and food consumption are apt to improve while on vacation in Los Cabos, so too is your sleep. 

Taking better care of your mind and body

Good physical condition and mental health are inextricably linked. As the ancient Roman writer Juvenal once pointed out, the goal is mens sana in corpore sano, a “healthy mind in a healthy body.”

The idea that you’re beach walking in shorts while your friends are freezing back home is certain to make you feel a little better about the start of a New Year. But there are many more amenities designed to improve both physical and mental health (such as eliminating schadenfreude). Foremost among these is the area’s world-class collection of pampering wellness spas, which offer everything from hydrotherapy to meditation and mindfulness programs. 

Most of all, there’s the power of blue spaces. Meaning, the restorative power of being near the ocean, which more than any other landscape, has been shown to relieve stress. In Los Cabos, with its 125 miles of coastline featuring spectacular views of two major bodies of water — the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California (or Sea of Cortés as it’s known locally — blue spaces abound. So too does restfulness and relaxation. 

The cherry on top

If all of the above hasn’t convinced you that Los Cabos is actually where you need to be to start 2026, and a resolution to be added to your New Year’s list, let me add another interesting tidbit. The cost of accommodation for rooms at Los Cabos hotels and resorts is the lowest in recent memory. In January 2024, for instance, the average daily room rate in Los Cabos was US $533. By January 2025, that number had dipped slightly to $508. 

According to the most recently released figures from November 2025, the average rate is now $421, and in some parts of the municipality, even less. In Cabo San Lucas, it’s only $280, in San José del Cabo, $283. 

Chris Sands is the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He’s also a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.

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San Diego International Airport, just 24.7 miles north, has limited room for expansion due to its proximity to the city on one side and the bay on the other, making it the busiest single-runway airport in the country. By 2006, the U.S. Navy had also stated unequivocally that potential expansions for San Diego International Airport using Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Naval Air Station North Island were not acceptable. That left a bi-national airport as the only viable solution — maybe.

Supporters and early efforts

Various entrepreneurs from both sides of the border had tried for years to develop plans to make airport cross-border travel work. These have included businessman Ralph Nieders, real estate magnate and civic leader Malin Burnham and Luis De La Calle, a Mexican economist and consultant, among others.

There were previous attempts to develop a cross-border airport called Twin Ports, utilizing San Diego City-owned Brown Field on the U.S. side and Tijuana International Airport in Mexico, but these failed due to financing as well as problems with land acquisition on the U.S. side. In addition, presidential permits would be required from both the U.S. and Mexican governments to make a new border crossing between Tijuana and San Diego.    

Meanwhile, there was increased interest in the project by Guadalajara-based Grupo Aeroportuario Pacifico (GAP), operators of a dozen airports in Mexico, including the one in Tijuana. Instrumental with GAP was the enthusiastic support of Enrique Valle Alvarez, Director of the Tijuana airport. Also supportive were the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the South County Economic Development Corporation.

Partners in developing the project

The key to success was the acquisition of land on the San Diego side, which was completed along with the required presidential permits in August 2010. However, an anticipated problem was the estimated US $8 million annual budget for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which CBP insisted be paid by the developer, since, according to its reasoning, the development was a private venture.   

Led by Alan Bersin, the previous chairman of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and later U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs, as well as the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agreement was reached that the operators of a cross-border terminal would fund the costs of CBP. 

GAP strategic partners Eduardo Sanchez-Navarro, Carlos Laviada Ocejo and his wife, Laura Díez Barroso Azcárraga, were joined by Sam Zell of Chicago-based Equity Group Investments to fund the project. Land was then purchased on the San Diego side for the terminal as well as for parking spaces.

The Cross Border Xpress becomes a reality

There was some concern about what might happen to the cross-border terminal should Mexico ever close the border, making the planned San Diego terminal a white elephant.  Ironically, it was the U.S. that closed the border during the COVID pandemic.

With all objections overcome, construction began in June 2014. The distinctive terminal was designed by its architect, the late Ricardo Legorreta. Special arrangements had to be made to permit the primary contractor, Turner Construction, to build the bridge that would cross the border and construct the connections on the Tijuana International Airport terminal.     

After more than a decade and all real and potential issues solved, the cross-border terminal, renamed Cross Border Xpress (CBX), opened on Dec. 9, 2015. Grateful passengers began using the 390-foot secure skybridge crossing between Mexico and the U.S., eliminating long waits at the other land border crossings. The San Diego Terminal even has its own airline code designation: TJC. Access is available to 40 destinations within Mexico and two in China (Beijing and Shenzhen), as well as Phoenix in the U.S.   

10 years later

Since opening, 25 million ticketed passengers have used CBX, contributing to a 1.4% annual growth rate of Tijuana International Airport. There are 8,500 spaces available for short- and long-term parking. Uber and Lyft, as well as car rental companies, have designated pickup locations. Under the leadership of Jorge Goytortúa, Chief Executive Officer and his team, CBX and its facilities on both sides of the border continue to expand and make travel from California to Mexico seamless and easy.

Today’s air passengers take for granted the ease of accessing Tijuana International Airport from the CBX San Diego Terminal. Most have no idea how hard it was for the many players who made “the impossible dream” a reality 10 years ago.

James Clark writes for Mexico News Daily.

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So noted Víctor Castro Cosío, governor of Baja California Sur, recently regarding a project to help keep infrastructure in line with Los Cabos’ unprecedented growth. 

No, the subject was not the Fonatur roundabout upgrade in San José del Cabo, a massive 469 million peso project aimed at improving traffic flow in the municipality’s busiest traffic node (an estimated 60,000 plus vehicles daily). Although work was recently suspended for the holidays, that project is 62% complete and scheduled to finish on time this summer. 

Rather, what the governor was referring to, per Peninsular Digital, was the official December launch of “Unidos por Los Cabos.”

United for Los Cabos

The new project is actually a comprehensive master plan that combines several other programs and projects under the larger banner of improving mobility and urban image in Los Cabos. Announced just last month, Unidos por Los Cabos has many ambitious goals — and 300 million pesos with which to tackle them. 

One of the goals, for example, is to significantly reduce traffic accidents in the municipality. There were 8,000 of these in the five years between 2018 and 2023 and Unidos por Los Cabos is aiming to reduce this number by 20% and improve mobility generally through 200 new safe pedestrian crossings and rehabilitated sidewalks, 120 new well-marked bus stops, and, perhaps most importantly, the remodeling of “critical nodes” to help traffic flow more safely and efficiently through busy intersections. 

More green spaces and benchmarks to reach

However, this is only one of many objectives Unidos por Los Cabos is targeting, along with the creation of sports facilities and 20 parks to provide the municipality with more green spaces, and the beautification of the historic downtown centers of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. 

“This program is designed to involve all sectors,” affirmed Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez Gómez. “The combined efforts will improve the urban landscape and strengthen mobility. Los Cabos belongs to all of us, and through coordinated work, we can move toward the municipality we want.”

What the governor and the mayor desire can also be glimpsed in the benchmarks they’ve set for Unidos por Los Cabos, which include not only a 20% reduction in traffic accidents but also a 15% improvement in travel times for local drivers.

Makeovers for downtown centers — and why they’re necessary

The rehabilitation, or beautification, promised to the downtown centers of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo is certainly needed … in Cabo San Lucas. The Land’s End city has seen nightclub sales plummet in recent years. They were down 20% in 2023 and a very concerning 50% in 2024. Much of this has been credited to the so-called “all-inclusive effect,” in which visitors largely eschew the region’s many attractions to take advantage of their chosen property’s all-inclusive amenities — including accommodations, food, beverages, and sometimes even onsite nightclubs.

This type of traveling certainly isn’t good for downtown business owners, but it must be noted that the problem is different in Cabo San Lucas than it is in San José del Cabo, for reasons that go well beyond the popularity of all-inclusives. The former’s downtown has never received anywhere near the attention lavished on the latter, and as a consequence, has languished in recent years due to problems generally related to poor aesthetics and a lack of infrastructure. Nor are bar owners the only ones hard hit by declining sales.

“Rehabilitation” clearly is needed. The 140 million pesos earmarked for this project in downtown Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo will be paid for through the hotel tax that funds FITURCA (the Los Cabos Tourism Board), and is expected to begin in early 2026 as part of the overall Unidos por Los Cabos master plan. 

How police and firefighters kept Los Cabos safe on Christmas Eve

Fifty-three people in Los Cabos spent Christmas Eve in jail as a result of the aptly named Operation Guadalupe-Reyes — holiday revelry in Mexico peaks between the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 and El Día de Reyes (Three Kings Day) on Jan. 6. Police set up mobile checkpoints and administered breathalyzers as part of an overall goal to reduce traffic accidents and keep roads safe during the holiday season. 

It was also a busy holiday for Cabo San Lucas bomberos, who responded to seven separate calls between the evening of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. One was to put out a house fire. Perhaps the most dramatic, however, was a call in which they prevented a local man from committing suicide. Several other calls were for medical assistance or minor fires.

Firefighters in San José del Cabo, meanwhile, also had a busy Christmas Eve, thanks to a head-on collision between a motorcycle and a pickup truck that saw one man (presumably the motorcyclist) transported for additional medical attention. 

Hopefully, local first responders were able to enjoy the holidays themselves at some point. Los Cabos saw nearly 90% occupancy rates at local hotels and resorts during late December, a number that translates to a very Merry Christmas for the destination as a whole. 

Chris Sands is the former Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook. He’s also a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.

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