Making of Los Cabos

Making of Los Cabos

Long before Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century, the southern Baja peninsula was inhabited by the Guaycura people, who were divided between the Pericú and Guaycura tribes. Far less technologically developed than the indigenous peoples of mainland Mexico, the Guaycura were hunters and gatherers who lived simply in caves or crude shelters, wearing little or no clothing. The harsh environmental conditions of the southern peninsula and the constant search for food determined their lifestyle, and their isolation kept them unconcerned with building grand monuments. There are precious few signs of southern Baja's earliest inhabitants, save the chipped arrow points found in remote areas. Unlike tribes farther north, the Guaycura living around Los Cabos created little of Baja's famous rock art. Some rock paintings have been discovered in remote inland areas, but the majority of the peninsula's famous petroglyphs are in central Baja.

Spaniard Fortún Jiménez is credited with the first sighting of La Paz in what is now the state of Baja California Sur in early 1534, but Hernán Cortés is the officially recognized discoverer (May 1535). Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the Pacific coastline from the tip of Baja to Santa Barbara in the mid-1500s, and his expedition team made it as far as Oregon. But the peninsula was not claimed by the Spaniards until 1663. The groundwork for the development of Los Cabos was really laid by Jesuit priests. Up to the time of their expulsion from Spain in 1768 by King Carlos III, the Jesuits had set up 17 missions north of Cabo San Lucas, including a small settlement in 1730 that was to become San José del Cabo. Nicolás Tamaral, a Jesuit priest, worked diligently to build up his mission, going into the mountains to find and convert the Pericú and other tribes; he is said to have baptized more than 1,000 Indians in his first year. Tamaral's efforts to convince the traditionally polygamous Pericú to become monogamous led to one of the largest uprisings in southern Baja. When Tamaral punished a Pericú leader for his sexual activity, the tribe revolted, killing and beheading Tamaral.

The Iglesia San José, across from the town's central plaza, was originally built in 1735, one year after Tamaral's death. The original church fell into ruins, and a new church was built on the site in the 1940s. A tile mosaic over the church entrance depicts Father Tamaral being dragged to his death. The Pericú and other indigenous groups were nearly wiped out by syphilis and smallpox, which had been introduced by waves of European settlers.

San José reached the 20th century as a successful settlement, largely due to its production of sugarcane, tomatoes, avocados, mangos, and other fruit, as well as cattle farming. At one time, more than 25,000 head of cattle roamed the countryside. From 1920 to 1930, a period known as the golden decade, large adobe homes were erected, Ford Motor cars rolled down the streets, and a dirt road was built connecting San José with Cabo San Lucas. Over the ensuing years, the town's prosperity gradually declined, due to new restrictions on shipping, bad management, and competition from other countries. San José was nearly bankrupt by the mid-1960s.

Cabo San Lucas was, for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, just a laid-back little fishing village with few inhabitants. During World War II, pilots flying over Baja California Sur sighted large game fish in the waters around El Arco, and word of these fertile fishing grounds soon spread. In the mid-1950s, two prescient Baja aficionados constructed handsome fishing-lodge hotels with private airstrips in the Corridor. The Palmilla (rechristened the One & Only Palmilla) remains one of the most impressive resorts in Los Cabos. But the other original resort, the Hotel Cabo San Lucas, is now closed. By the mid-1960s the region had gained a reputation as one of the hottest fishing destinations in the world. A small building boom followed, attracting yacht owners and wealthy fishermen, including Hollywood celebrities Bing Crosby, Desi Arnaz, and John Wayne.

In the early 1970s, the Mexican government's tourism agency, Fonatur, acknowledged Los Cabos as a potential tourist destination. It began developing Cancún around the same time. Fonatur laid the infrastructure for Los Cabos in San José, building a hotel zone with paved streets and lighting and a nine-hole golf course. Entrepreneurs and developers saw more potential in Cabo San Lucas and the Corridor and began a building boom that has yet to end.

Preparations for the 2002 Asian Pacific Economic Conference (APEC), held in Los Cabos, included massive infrastructure improvements. A toll road was constructed between the airport and the Corridor, bridges over arroyos were built, and lines were put in for high-speed Internet access. As a result, Los Cabos has moved far into the 21st century, becoming perhaps the most modern resort area in Mexico.