2013 was an incredibly exciting year for festivals in Todos Santos, with truly great bands playing at the Music Festival, thrilling films and directors showing at the Film Festival, fabulous vintners and restaurants delighting at the GastroVino Festival, incredibly talented riders dazzling at the Horse Festival, and terrific artisans, artists and musicians entertaining at the Arts Festival. 2014 is shaping up to be an equally exciting year of celebration in Todos Santos, and following is a list of festivals currently planned for 2014. For more in-depth coverage of these events, their organizers and other Todos Santos happenings, be sure to check out Wendy Rains’ weekly radio program Todos Santos Tonight, as well as Janice Kinne’s magazine, Journal del Pacifico. Please be sure to confirm dates for festivals before you book your tickets as organizers sometimes must change dates.
Details: Confirmed bands include the Twin Tones, Dream Syndicate, Minus 5, Torreblanca, Kev’n Kenney’s Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, El Gallo Negro. All shows will be in the Hotel California with the exception of the show on the 25th, which will be in the town plaza.
Why It’s Fun: Peter Buck of REM conceived of and curates this event. Not only does he play with the Minus 5, he invites his musician buddies from the US and Mexico to come play to raise money for the Palapa Society and other Todos Santos charities. It’s a lot of great music flowing through the streets for nights on end – nothing but fun!
Why it’s fun: It’s a week-long celebration of Mexican culture that typically features live music, dance and theatre performances, painting and drawing exhibitions, lectures on local environmental and social issues, piano and poetry recitals and lots more. Artisans from different parts of Mexico also set up shop next to the church to sell their crafts. Diverse, fun and engaging.
Inception: 1997
Special Note: The Todos Santos Open Artist Studio Tourwill be held on February 9, just after the art festival. 35 studios participated in 2013 and mediums included oils, pastels, watercolors, mixed media, encaustic, ceramics, sculpture and photography. Proceeds go to the Children’s Art project of the Palapa Society.
Organizer: Sylvia Perel, director of the San Francisco Latino Film Festival and the Latino Festival of Redwood City, California.
Benefits: Youth in Video program, teaching the children of the Todos Santos area about film making.
Why it’s fun: This fantastic festival brings together a terrific selection of feature films, documentaries and shorts from across Mexico and Latin America that many folks would otherwise never have the opportunity to see. Many well-known film directors attend to present their films and lead audience discussions. Great event!
Benefits: Environmental education for the children of Todos Santos
Why it’s fun: We’ll be celebrating both the endemic and migratory birds of Baja California Sur! There will be workshops by non-profit environmental organizations and local artisans and craftsmen, as well as a photo contest, children’s art contest, lots of great food and plenty of good music. We will be presenting the results of our citizen scientist hummingbird study, and Dr. Esmé F. Hennessy M.Sc., Ph.D., F.L.S. a published botanist from University of Natal, South Africa,will be the keynote speaker at the festival. Other speakers will include local ornithologists from CIBNOR, UABCS, and CICESE.
Benefits: Silent auctions of previous years have benefitted the local orphanage and the Todos Santos fire department.
Why it’s fun: It’s a wonderful celebration of the food and wines of Baja California – and you get to indulge in plenty of both! It’s a great opportunity to get to know local chefs from Todos Santos (and their food) and wine makers from both Todos Santos (yeah, we got that!) and Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe wine-growing region (and their wines). Terrific live music performances throughout the day. It’s fabulous!
Mango Festival y Fiestas de San Ignacio en Todos Santos
Date: July 31-August 3, 2014
Organizers: Todos Santos Pueblo Magico
Why it’s fun: Ripe, juice mangoes everywhere! There’s also dancing in the town square, polka bands, a parade of horsemen (cabalgata), folkloric ballet, artisan products, coronation of the Mango Festival Queen and much more. Lots of fun for the family.
Festival del Dia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar / Todos Santos Foundation Festival
Date: Our saint’s day is October 12, and there are usually 5 days of celebration around then. Details when available.
Why It’s Fun: It’s a celebration of the founding of Todos Santos and our patron saint, Pilar. Lots of music, dancing, regional foods, arts and more. There is typically a parade of horsemen and a wonderful horse show October 13 and 14. Great time for the whole family.
Why it’s fun: The organizers are promising “movies, champagne, food, fashion and luxury”, and what’s not fun about that?! Movies by great film makers such as Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Lelouch, Christian Vincent, and Jane Campion will be featured, with stars such as Brigitte Bardot, Anouk Aimee, Fanny Ardant and Sophie Marceau gracing the big screen at Teatro Manuel Márquez de León. Champagne tastings, French food explorations, and fashions shows are all part of the 4 days of festivities.
Organizer: WildCoast / Costasalvaje Todos Santos Chapter
Why It’s Fun: It’s a celebration of the natural patrimony of Todos Santos and Baja California Sur, and environmental organizations from across the state will be hosting fun and interactive programs for local kids on conserving Baja’s ecosystems.
There is also an annual Chili and Strawberry Festival in late March/early April in Pescadero, an annual Baja Reggae Festival at Los Cerritos Beach in April (or so), and there’s even a Shark Festival in November. And that’s just the festivals! Please feel free to contact us to learn more about the many interesting/exciting/engaging events organized in town each year – and to plan your adventures to accompany them. Todos Santos Eco Adventures.
Imagine a fellow mammal with a body so magnificent, so enormous, so dominant that it takes a heart the size of a Mini Cooper to power it.
Imagine a fellow creature with a voice so commanding, so forceful, so potent that it can be heard up to 1,000 miles away.
Click to compare the size of a blue whale to the space shuttle, dinosaurs and more.
Imagine the bone structure of a fellow vertebrate so long an NBA basketball court can’t hold it, that weighs so much 8 DC-9 aircrafts can’t lift it, and that is so loud it drowns out the noise of a jet engine.
Imagine arteries so large that an adult human can swim through them; imagine a heart beat so powerful it can be heard two miles away; imagine a tongue as large as an elephant!
If you can do all that then you’re able to conceive of the largest animal ever to inhabit the earth, the blue whale. And as so often happens here in Baja, you don’t have to visit your imagination to encounter some of the planet’s most remarkable beings – you can see them right here. Please enjoy this video of our blue whale encounter on a recent outing in the Sea of Cortez, video courtesy of our guests the Moffats: [youtube=http://youtu.be/DxdFOCTCM5A]
With this enormous size you can well imagine that blue whales have few predators, but it doesn’t mean that they’re not under attack. To learn more about how ship strikes are harming blue whales and what you can do about it, please click here and visit the Great Whale Conservancy website.
The blue whale fun facts in this article are all part of National Geographic Channel’s Kingdom of the Blue Whale video program. They have a great interactive piece comparing the size of the blue whale to various animate and inanimate objects that you can reach by clicking on the blue whale image above.
Charles Scammons is the whaler cum naturalist who hunted the gray whales of Baja’s lagoons nearly to extinction in the 1850s and ‘60s. Stories from that time abound of the lagoons running red with the blood of the slaughtered mammals, and of mother gray whales attacking boats in a futile effort to protect their young. Scammons later regretted his slaughter of the whales and, partly as tribute to them, wrote a book that is now considered a classic, The Marine Mammals of the North-western Coast of North America.
Chris Scammons with Mario and Sara in Guerrero Negro during his 2011 visit.
But guilt continued in the Scammons’ bloodline and in 2011 a great, great grandson of Charles Scammons came to Laguna Ojo de Liebre, or what foreigners call Scammons Lagoon, to apologize to the now-protected whales. Eye witness accounts indicate that four pairs of mother and baby gray whales surrounded his boat and, as he apologized for the actions of his ancestor, the whales stayed with him for an hour, exuding forgiveness and grace. The younger Scammons returned home, filled with the peace he had long sought.
The story of Chris Scammons visit was relayed to us by Rebeca Kobelkowsky, the former director of the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve and current Ph.D. student at UABCS. We thank her for the story and also for so graciously allowing us to use this photo.
We are giving away a free spot at our May 26-June 1, 2013 Surfari! Baja Surf Camp for Women! To win, all you have to do is click on the photo below, “like” our page, then hit “Click to Win!” Just like that you’re entered in the contest!
The trip includes:
• Six nights in lovely Los Colibris Casitas with the most stunning views in Todos Santos
• Daily expert surf and yoga instruction
• Two post-surf massages with our marvelous Mexican masseuses
• Baja adventures including swimming with sea lions, horseback riding on the beach, and cooking class with local Mexican chef
• All breakfasts, all lunches, and all dinners in great local restaurants; nutritious daily snacks
• Expert guides with extensive local knowledge, who go above and beyond to cater to your every need
• Complimentary Todos Santos Eco Adventures / Baja Surf Camp for Women rash guard and water bottle
If you have any questions about the full details of the prize do not hesitate to contact us at
The sexual revolution may have reached humans in the fairly recent past, but the gray whales in the lagoons of Baja California Sur have been free thinkers on the subject of sex for millennia. Females in estrus commonly take several different lovers throughout their winter respite in the lagoons, and the males actually appear to be quite relaxed about the situation. In fact, when two males vie for the affections of the same female, the “loser” willingly assists the “winner” in consummating the relationship. Seriously. When the winner is chosen in his romantic bid, he typically waves his 12-foot long penis – affectionately known by Baja guides as “Pink Floyd” – in a victory lap through the air while the object of his affection sidles up to him through the water. Once the lovers are floating belly-to-belly, the winner’s new wingman – AKA the “loser” – braces the female from the back with his pectoral fins, helping her to maintain a good position (consider the logistical issues of two 40-ton mammals propagating the species in water). The trio can maintain this pattern for up to an hour, during which time the female and her consort-of-the-moment mate several
“Whale Celebration” photo by Kaia Thomson
times with the aid of the second male. All parties then swim away, the “winner” likely satisfied with his contributions to the gene pool and the “loser” probably pondering how to be on the other side of the equation next time. No fighting, no brawling, just that cool gray whale demeanor. And the female? Likely as not casting an appraising eye on the other males hanging about the lagoon. After all, she’ll be pregnant for the next 12 to 13 months with the duties of motherhood to follow so she’ll want to enjoy this time of carefree romance in Baja as much as she can, while she can. Clever girl.
The Baja peninsula has long been famous for its remote and beautiful islands, most of which we are accustomed to visiting via water craft. But there is an island near Todos Santos that is readily accessible by car that we can easily explore on foot: the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve. Part of an island off the coast of Baja some 10 million years ago, the incredible diversity of plant and animal life of the Reserve still reflects the island isolation the area once enjoyed – over 23% of plants and 10% of animals found in the Reserve are endemic to the area. Nestled between Todos Santos to the west and Los Barriles to the east, La Paz to the north and Los Cabos to the south, it is truly an island of lushness surrounded by shores of desert and sand.
Biosphere Reserves in Mexico
The Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve was created by presidential decree in 1994 by Carlos Salina de Gortari. To be designated a biosphere reserve in Mexico a place must meet 3 basic criteria:
Photo by Craig Ligibel
Have an endemic or threatened species. And we’ve got that in spades! The Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve boasts an astounding 79 endemic plant species, 8 endemic reptile species, 4 endemic bird species and 4 endemic mammal species. A total of 59 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, 31 species of reptiles and 61 species of insects have been recorded in the Reserve. Over 900 species of plants have been observed. It’s truly extraordinary.
Cover an area greater than 10,000 hectares. There’s plenty of room to spread out! The Biosphere Reserve covers 11,600 glorious hectares (~28,665 acres), while the Sierra de la Laguna area itself, including the Biosphere Reserve, encompasses 112,436 hectares (roughly 277,835 acres).
Have one ecosystem that is not substantially altered by human contact. The Sierra de la Laguna is one of Baja’s most beautiful but least explored areas, with plenty of wild spots that have largely escaped the impact of human civilization. In addition to animals such as mountain lions, mule deer, gophers and badgers, a wonderful array of birdlife inhabits the reserve, including the endemic cape pygmy owl, Xantus hummingbird and Belding´s yellowthroat, making the area a bird-lover’s paradise.
Biosphere reserves in Mexico are created with three main objectives in mind: conservation, training and sustainable human development compatible with conservation. Unlike national parks, biosphere reserves allow people to continue to live in the protected areas – although new population centers are prohibited – and our reserve has 35 private properties and 6 ejidos. That result is that the Sierra de la Laguna retains a thriving ranchero culture that is great fun to explore.
Hiking the Sierra de la Laguna
There are a variety of ways to explore and enjoy the Sierras on foot and in all these hikes the diversity of terrain is amazing. At the base is San Lucan Xeric Scrub, also known as Mezquital, which merges with the dry forest. These areas feature a large number of plants that have adapted well to life with limited water including palo zorillo (skunk trees), torotes (elephant trees), lomboy trees and ironwood. The dry forest extends up to about 800 meters (~2,600 feet) and is remarkable in the juxtaposition of plant life, with mosses and other plants that thrive on water co-habiting with more arid types like cardon and biznaga. If you’re still hiking at this point you’ll experience the wonder of moving up through an unexpected oak forest in Baja then on into lush preserves of pine and oak from about 1,400 meters (~4,600 feet). It’s a remarkable transformation of terrain.
Photo by Craig Ligibel
If you’ve made it this far chances are you’ll be camping in the high valley and at this point you may start to ask yourself, “If this is the Sierra de la Laguna, i.e., Mountains of the Lagoon, where the heck is the lagoon?” Well, there was indeed once a lagoon in the flat meadow between the highest peaks but that drained away around 1870 after years of supporting local agricultural and mining operations, leaving only the name behind. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t water in the Sierras. Indeed in normal, non-drought years the Sierras can receive over 100 centimeters (39 inches) of rain and serve as a key water source for Todos Santos, Pescadero and other coastal communities. If you have a few nights to camp you should take a day to explore the beautiful waterfalls near the high valley created by this relative abundance of rain.
And of course, if you’ve come all this way you must take a day to explore El Picacho, the incredible 2,161 meters (~7,000 foot) peak from which you can enjoy sweeping panoramic views of the peninsula, with the Sea of Cortez on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. If you’re lucky enough to make it up to El Picacho you’ll see clearly that the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve is not only a literal island now rooted firmly in a landmass, but also a magical, magnificent island of the sky.
In the Know – Mauricio Duran, Head Guide with Todos Santos Eco Adventures. On the geographic scale the Sierras are mere youngsters, clocking in at about 138 million years old. By comparison, parts of the Appalachian Mountains in the U.S. are 650 million years old, while the Barberton Greenstone Belt in eastern Africa has mountains that are 3.5 billion years old, widely believed to be the earth’s oldest.
Hiking with Todos Santos Eco Adventures
We offer several different options for hiking and exploring the incredible beauty and diversity of the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve:
Day Hikes: We have 2 day hike options in the Sierras. One is called Reaching for the Sky and, as the name implies, we climb as far as we can before we have to turn around to make it home before dark. The other is the Riverbed Stroll, which is generally flat and easy and in which we encounter waterfalls at certain times of the year. There is magnificent flora on both hikes and excellent birding.
Overnight Hikes: We offer two 4-day/3-night hikes and a 2-day/1-night hike. The 4-day hikes include Sea-to-Sea in which we start at the Pacific Ocean, hike across the peninsula through the Biosphere Reserve, and end at the Sea of Cortez. The other 4-day hike is the Todos Santos Loop. The main difference is that the latter features an easier descent and less exciting logistics. On both 4-day hikes there are burros to carry all the gear, guides to lead the way, cooks to prepare the food and pour the wine, and warm sun showers to wash away the exertions of each day. Decidedly comfortable camping! The 4-day hikes are only for avid walkers. The 2-day/1-night hike is a terrific combination of Reaching for the Sky and Riverbed Stroll. All hikes are lead by experienced guides and naturalists who are certified Wilderness First Responders. www.tosea.net
Todos Santos Art Festival / 
Festival del Dia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar / Todos Santos Foundation Festival
EcoExpo 2014
