IMPORTANT NOTE: THE FESTIVAL BALLENA LOS CABOS IS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

IMPORTANTE: EL FESTIVAL BALLENA LOS CABOS HA SIDO POSPUESTO HASTA NUEVO AVISO.

[Para Español lee después de la imagen]

Los Cabos is proud to host “Whale Festival Los Cabos” (or Festival Ballena), which will take place between February 23 and 25, 2012. At the festival you will be able to learn about some of the marvelous marine species in our seas, especially about whales which come to give birth, mate, feed and play in the warm waters of Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean every year.

For three consecutive days Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo will present events of Artistic Expression – painting, photography, film, music, workshops and conferences with respect to the whales, so that all the visitors will have the chance to learn about these wonderful mammals, and have a pleasant learning experience.

Among marine mammals there are eleven the existing Mystiseti (baleen whale) species, eight can be spotted and observed on the coasts of this peninsula and, as incredible as it may seem, five of them are visible only in Los Cabos.

One of festival’s particular interests is the protection and care of marine life, not only for biological significance on the planet, but also for what this means to the local population in sense of the economic means.

At the event there are plans for a total of 11 parallel activities starting with a walk through the historical center of San Jose del Cabo, where you will be able to see the exhibition Visitantes Marinos, inspired by the whales, the sea & the  fishing an exposure of large format by photographer Alejandro Rivas, nature and tourism expo, a fair with over 30 exhibitors, which will let us know their programs for the conservation and tourism, photo exhibition of mammals, among others.

For daily festival program and more information please visit:
www.festivalballenaloscabos.com
www.facebook.com/festivalballenaloscabos
or send us an email to: info@festivalballenaloscabos.com

Main locations of the event:
- Cultural Pavillion, Cabo San Lucas.
- Marina, Cabo San Lucas.
- Art Walk, San José del Cabo
- Plaza José Antonio Mijares, Historic Center, San José del Cabo.

FESTIVAL BALLENA LOS CABOS.

Del 23 al 25 de Febrero se llevara a cabo el Festival Ballena Los Cabos, una festividad local e internacional, una convivencia familiar en donde podrás conocer y aprender acerca de las maravillosas especies marinas que habitan en nuestros mares, especialmente acerca de las ballenas que nos visitan cada año.

Durante tres dias consecutivos Cabo San Lucas y San José del Cabo presentarán eventos de expresión artística – pintura, fotografía, cine, música, talleres, conferencias – con relación a las ballenas, de manera  que todos los visitantes tendrán oportunidad de aprender, disfrutar y llevarse a casa un gran aprendizaje.

Entre los mamíferos marinos son once las especies de misticetos existentes; ocho pueden ser localizados y observados en las costas de esta península y tan increíble como parezca, cinco de ellos solo pueden verse en Los Cabos.

Es de particular interés del festival la protección y el cuidado de la fauna marina, no solamente por su importancia biológica en el planeta, sino también por lo que este recurso significa para la población local como derrama económica.

Se tiene contempladas un total de 11 actividades paralelas: empezando con un recorrido por el centro histórico de San José en donde visitaremos la exposición colectiva Visitantes Marinos, inspirada en las ballenas; el mar y la pesca una exposición de gran formato del fotógrafo Alejandro Rivas; expo naturaleza y turismo, una feria con mas de 30 expositores, que nos darán a conocer sus programas en pro de la conservación y turismo; exposición fotográfica de mamímeros, entre otros.

Para conocer la programación completa, información a dÍa y mas, te invitamos a visitar:
www.festivalballenaloscabos.com
www.facebook.com/festivalballenaloscabos
info@festivalballenaloscabos.com

Sedes:
- Pabellón Cultural de la República, Cabo San Lucas.
- Marina de Cabo San Lucas.
- Corredor de Artes San José del Cabo, Centro Histórico
- Plaza Pública José Antonio Mijares, Centro Histórico de San José del Cabo.

Did you know that wedding cakes came from a very non-romantic tradition? Back in the day, the Roman Groom would eat part of a loaf of barley bread baked specifically for his nuptials and break the rest over his bride’s head. Breaking the bread actually symbolized the ‘breaking’ of the bride’s virginal state. Scary.

Now a days we are much more romantic. A wedding cake is such a lovely tradition, Mr. & Mrs. cutting together for the first time… But more than tradition, it is also part of the décor of a wedding.

My clients ask me all the time ‘Do you think I should have a cake?, Will guests eat cake?’ My answer is always ‘Yes!’. I mean really, who says no to cake? But I also try to give them options that will make every guests mouth water. Though most people like cake, sometimes the flavor the Bride & Groom choose is not popular with their guests.

Consider a dessert or candy table for your wedding. If you are a traditional at heart, add the cake, but also add all sorts of fun desserts. Cupcakes, marshmallows, tarts, jelly beans, cookies, taffy, cotton candy, truffles, personalized chocolate bars, malted milk balls, sweet tarts, rock candy, popcorn boxes, petit fours… the sky is the limit.

Just remember that a dessert table done right needs the following to be wedding perfect:
- Make it color coordinated, so pick a theme and stick to your wedding colors.
- Choose containers that match and work well together.
- Give it some dimension with platforms so you have different levels.
- Remember to add a great linen that matches the general décor.
- Make it special to YOU – Add in your favorite childhood dessert or candy, personalize M&Ms with your names and wedding date, if you are in Mexico, add a Mexican dessert like “Arroz con leche”.

Happy planning and eating!

Leslie Bost,
Wedding Planner
ONE Happenings

For wedding ideas, tips, advice, follow me also at www.onehappeningsblog.com and read my Wedding Planner column on Escapes Magazine’s website biweekly.

Header photo by Principal Planner.

“Take A Walk In My Shoes”, A magnificent art exhibition brought to Cabo From New York.

Within the 5th anniversary celebration, Los Cabos Children Foundation is delighted to inform you about the event “Take A Walk In My Shoes”, a magnificent art exhibition with artist visiting from New York, which will be held on February 2nd – 3rd, 2012 at Plaza El Faro located in Palmilla. The exhibition is a fundraising event on behalf one of our most important programs: APLS “Academic of Pedriatric Life Support” which are seminars to our medical specialists.

In Los Cabos Children Foundation we recognize the importance of this vital training, as the majority of Baja’s medical specialist wouldn’t have access to those seminars due to our geographic location that isolate us from mainland. This is the reason why LCCF brings the seminars to them! Since this program creation, seminars has become a key element on the support and attention chain provided to the children and communities as well and that on 2010 we had more than 150 doctors, nurses and emergencies specialists.

EVENT DESCRIPTION
- Welcome cocktail: Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 from 6 – 9pm
- Exhibition (to admire and buy): From February 2nd – 3rd, 2012

EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION
Art collection is named “Step into my world”, a shoes painting collection. In life we are always so busy running that we do not see the world in someone else’s eyes. The shoes are a symbol of “stepping into”somebody else’s world… at least just for this weekend of February 2nd – 3rd, 2012. We invite you to be able to see the world how somebody else does: the artist, but most important, the children origin of this beautiful charitable cause.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
- Pedro Trueba Zepeda, in 2010 he created a majestic corporate art to Veracruz Rehab Center.
- Mikel Elam: just came back from Dubai where he worked in the murals for the internationally renowned Atlantis Hotel.

ABOUT LOS CABOS CHILDREN FOUNDATION
Five years ago we celebrated the formal start-up of the Los Cabos Children’s Foundation in recognizing the past three years of work with critically ill children and supportive organizations of Los Cabos. Since then, LCCF has provided millions of dollars in grants for local partnership programs and pro bono medical care both in Mexico and the United States. We aspire to create a comprehensive approach to addressing the urgent medical needs of the children in the Southern Baja. The following benefactors make an important difference in the lives of these children:

• Amigos de Los Niños
• LIGA MAC
• Mobilize Mandkind
• Red Autismo
• Santa Josefina Blood Bank
• Centro San Juan Diego
• Sarahuaro
• Vince & Amy’s Spirit of Joy Children’s Cancer Center
• YES (Youth, Educational & Sports)

Other benefiting organizations: APLS, Bookmobile, Casa de Carlitos, y La Villa de la Familia Walsh, Casa Hogar, Casa Valentina, DIF, La Fundación para el Bienestar de la Mujer, Los Niños del Capitán, Cruz Roja, SAFE, Escuelas Especiales de San José y Los Cabos.

Through the APLS training, our medical specialists are developing the following skills among others:

• Increase their confidence on performing basic support to save children’s lives
• Ability to respond to breathing crisis
• Confidence to apply advance techniques for children’s saving lives
• RCP properly application
• Ability to identify and treat severe children’s ills.
• Increase their knowledge to evaluate children with breath difficulties
• Increase awareness on how evaluating shock kids, convulsion causes in new born and children, as well on how treat them.

Besides this APLS training, LCCF brings specialist from the “Texas Children’s Hospital” from the famous “Kangaroo Crew” for important seminars like the S.T.A.B.L.E. no only for pediatrics but also rescue, paramedics, assistants and nurses. S.T.A.B.L.E. is the bigger educational Neo-natal program apply and distributed to focus exclusively on  post-resuscitation, pre-transportation and care to stabilize a new born baby. Luckily this has been already taught in Baja Sur.

S.T.A.B.L.E. program stands out from:
S ugar & safe care
T emperature
A irway
B lood presure
L ab work
E motional Support

Hundreds of times in a day, in hospitals and communities around the world, new born babies get sick in some cases and require attention and specialized care. Each element of the medical team: nurses, doctors and assistants must know what to do to help them.

THANK YOU!
A million of thanks to our “big heroes”, the doctors who care enough to share their passion, time, talent and treasure. We also thank to their fabulous and generous hospitals: Avera McKennan & University Health Center and Omaha Children’s Hospital. Without the support of these medial institutions and partners, LCCF copund not fulfill its mission of “world-class health care for children”:

• Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center
• Avera Heart Hospital
• Hospital Pediatrico de Sinaloa
• Children’s Hospital & Medical Center
• Mayo Clinic
• Amerimed
• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

A special thank to American Airlines who has assisted to LCCF in saving lives over the last eight years by transporting our “little patients” to the United States. We are delighted that they bring doctors and instructors to Cabo to teach APLS seminars to train specialists from different parts of Mexico, mainly from La Paz. We are happy that now our kids and their parents fly directly to Sioux Falls in South Dakota and American Airlines Latin America crew awaits them on the Chicago and Dallas arrival gates helping them on taking their flight connections to their final destination.

Thanks to companies such as INNovation Productions & Alo Enterntainment with Julian Mendez’s enthusiasm and courage. To Plaza El Faro, one of the properties of John Pentz represented herein by Patty Soto, his Marketing Director. And also EAT Palmilla and TISA advertising that are supporting us on this press conference.
But most important, we want to thank to you, our media fellows, because is through your diffusion labor that we are able to get the word out about this wonderful project, making possible that each day we get new volunteers and donations on behalf our children.

For more information or if you want to join us on the amazing experience of changing lives, contact our event coordinator JULIAN MENDEZ at email Julian@innproductions.com and/or innovationproductions.loscabos@gmail.com and his cell phone (624) 100.7892.

Juntos, estamos cambiando el mundo un niño a la vez. // Together, we are changing the world one child at a time.
Los Cabos Children’s Foundation

In an effort to create awareness of Breast Cancer, we invite you to be part of the biggest Human Pink Lace. Los Cabos Lazo Rosa 2010 is an event that aims to inform all women (and men too) about what breast cancer is and how important it is to do regular checkups in order to detect the symptoms early: an early detection can save a live!

To participate, join us on the beaches of Finisterra Hotel on Sunday, December 5th at 7.30 am. By creating the biggest human Pink Laze we will try to break a Guinness Record! There will be aerial and land pictures taken to show how Los Cabos is a community that cares about this important disease. The event will be hosted by famous TV personalities Monserrat Olivier and Barbara Coppel.

Please consider the following:

·         Transportation around the area will be restricted. Therefore, there will be free transportation departing from the MEGA Mall in San Jose at 6.30 am, and from 7.00 am from Plaza Sendero, Plaza San Lucas and Plaza Puerto Paraiso (all these in Cabo San Lucas).
·         The first 3500 persons to attend will receive a commemorative t-shirt of the event.
·         It is recommended to wear sunblock, bring water and wear a white or pink blouse.

Remember, information and early detection is a key factor against this disease.

Thank you for your cooperation, and we will see you there!

Next Tuesday, November 2 at 6 PM come to Puerto Paraiso in Cabo San Lucas Marina and see the exhibition of altars prepared in the celebration for the Day of the Dead.

The entrance is free, and the organizers Plaza Puerto Paraíso, Cabo Mil, H X Ayuntamiento de Los Cabos, Luxury Avenue y la Asociación de Relaciones Publicas de Los Cabos, A.C. are promising lots of surprises.

Sunday mornings have a new meaning to all Cabo San Lucas residents. It is an opportunity to enjoy quality time with friends, family and even with your pets by strolling along the beautiful streets of the Marina Blvd. The Ciclovia Recreativa Familiar Cabo San Lucas is a project that aims to have an open space for families and sportsmen to ride a bike, scooters or roller skates and to promote a healthier lifestyle in a clean environment.

What started as a project by the Club Cactus Bike, it is now a reality where everyone can enjoy a sunny morning in the streets of Cabo. And to complement the fun, people can bring their dogs and treat them for a long walk along with other kids and pets.

The Ciclovia was created for all the residents of Los Cabos by Club Cactus Bike with the help of Asociación de Amigos de Cabo San Lucas, and it is really important to acknowledge the support of Humane Society of Cabo San Lucas, Cabo Angels, Public Services, Civil Protection, Traffic Police, volunteer students and other private organizations. Everyone is welcome to participate! Just keep in mind that no motorized vehicles are allowed, dogs must always be with a leash and for the delight of everyone, you must clean after your dog at all time.

So instead of waking up late (as I usually do every Sunday), I took my friend’s dog Petey and enjoyed the many smiling faces past Sunday morning at the Ciclovia. I was personally delighted to see all the families congregated: many were sitting by the cafe’s enjoying the morning and having breakfast, others were proudly applauding their kids at how well they rode a bike without any help, while many were just walking their dogs. The ambiance was the one of a fiesta. Early-walker tourists were also part of the people enjoying another face of these streets, especially since the past Sunday’s event was to honor the Bicentennial of Mexico’s Independence. Attendants were asked to participate by decorating their bikes or dressing up their pets with the proud colors of the Mexican flag: green, white and red.

I also enjoyed seeing some of the dogs available for adoption by the Humane Society of Cabo San Lucas: they all were walked by a volunteer and had a really cute Mexican handkerchief around their necks!

Each Sunday there will be different activities open to the public, and this past morning was no exception. There was an invigorating spinning class, courtesy of High Evolution Gym, which the participants left with lots of energy feeling eager to enjoy the rest of their day.

It is important to stress the cooperation of anyone driving by the area when seeing some of the most important streets temporarily closed.

The hours of the Ciclovia are: every Sunday morning from 7.00 am to 11.00 am from Vicente Gerrero St corner with Marina Blvd (almost by the Diamonds Int store), and up to Paseo de la Gaviota St corner with Lazaro Cardenas Blvd (by City Club); it only comprehends a 2.5 km path.

My last note is to congratulate everyone behind this open space for children and grownups alike: their care for a better community is an example that we all should consider and support… and what a better way to support it than by attending or inviting friends and family to participate! Petey and I left with a big smile in our face; it was definitely a fresh start of our day!

One doesn’t arrive in El Triunfo as much as you stumble upon it. Only a few blocks long and even fewer wide, on the high winding road between the gulf and the main road between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz, you could be excused for missing it.

A collection of rustic brick facades, with cracked mortar and empty windows, stand perilously close to the narrow road asking to be noticed. It has that colonial feel – a faded glory. Further off, a few streets beyond those facades and over a cobblestone bridge, two testaments to a bygone era are less shy in grabbing attention. And if you’re fortunate enough to stop, and maybe listen, you’ll come to know this special town of music and minerals, of ivory and silver.

Silver was first discovered in El Triunfo in 1862. New fortune seekers and those who failed in the fabled rush of 1849 in California (so called “forty niners”) came in droves. English, Americans, Russians, Italians and Chinese all found their way deep into the peninsula and toiled in the hills hoping for redemption in this far away place. For the fortunate the hills opened up and shared their bounty. For others it was not so kind. Many ended their lives in El Triunfo and are laid to rest beneath simple stone markets in the ethnic cemeteries dotting the hillsides.

At about this time Francisca Mendoza – famed musician from California – came at the request of the well heeled and began hosting piano concertos in the shade of warm summer days. At one point El Triunfo boasted more pianos per capita than all cities in Mexico. The Piano Museum, on the main road and open for hosted tours, happily plays on your imagination.

When the pianos fell silent the great smokestacks played on. La Ramona – over ten stories high – was designed by none other than the famed Gustave Eiffel (yes, of Eiffel Tower fame).

In 1865 the population of El Triunfo was 10,000 people – the largest in southern Baja at the time. And now, with the mines largely silent (the largest mining company closed operations in 1926) the tall columns of a former glory stand silent over a quiet town of not more than 400. But stop. Take the time to listen. Walk quietly along the cobblestones. You’ll hear the music still.

Mark Edward

photos: Romana Lilic and Mark Edward

Multiple Airlines Add New, Non-stop Flights to San Jose del Cabo From Major U.S. Cities

The Los Cabos Convention & Visitors Bureau is pleased to announce the launch of several new non-stop flights to San Jose del Cabo International Airport (SJD) from Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT), Kansas City, Missouri (MCI) and San Francisco, California (SFO).

On June 29, Virgin America announced it’s intent to launch new non-stop service to Los Cabos from San Francisco, CA this winter. The airline filed its application for authority to fly to Mexico with the U.S. Department of Transportation. Once approved, Virgin America will offer five non-stop flights to San Jose del Cabo weekly from San Francisco.

US Airways’ new year-round flight service to Los Cabos from Charlotte, NC will be available five times per week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, with travel times of CLT-SJD 9:55am to 12:46pm and SJD-CLT 1:36pm – 8:09pm. This new service compliments the existing US Airways service from Phoenix (PHX) to Los Cabos and customers can begin booking travel for this new flight immediately.

Residents of Kansas City, MO and neighboring cities can take advantage of Frontier Airlines’ non-stop service from Kansas City International Airport (MCI) to Los Cabos International Airport (SJD). The 99-passenger airbus will fly once on Saturdays in each direction; MCI-SJD service will be en-route 9:55am – 12:32pm and SJD-MCI 1:30pm – 5:50pm.

WHEN:
US Airways launched the new service to Los Cabos on June 5 and Frontier Airlines will begin operating routes from December 18, 2010 through April 16, 2011, with tickets available for purchase as of Sunday, June 20. Virgin America has not announced specific dates for the launch of the new airlift at this juncture.

WHERE:
Los Cabos, located at the tip of the 1,000-mile long Baja Peninsula, is home to award-winning hotels and resorts, championship golf courses, rejuvenating spas, world-class sport fishing and much more. With a unique landscape of dramatic desert and white sand beaches, Los Cabos is an exotic escape within easy reach of most U.S. cities.

News via www.visitloscabos.travel

What is it about the urge to bask in a beautiful oasis that intrigues us so much? Is it the sway of palms dancing in the warm breeze, or the sun drenched days that never end? Maybe it’s the allure of the traditional Mexican food and music? For me it comes from a deeper inquiry into reality itself. Instead of living in life’s waiting room, dreaming about when life is going to start, I am wasting no time in living my dreams right now. In fact this moment is the evolution of “the dream”.

Visiting Cabo about 5 years ago for the first time, I remember feeling so in awe of the sunrise that turned the air purple and seemed so surreal. The cactus so unique, with a shape that makes you feel like you are on another planet. As a skateboarder in Vancouver, BC, I quickly took full advantage of the surf and the many beach activities that were seasonal in the “rain forest” that I was accustomed to.

Now I spend my days teaching functional exercise, kick boxing, and yoga on some of Baja’s most breath taking beaches. My focus is in drawing people towards a balanced state of mind while releasing stress and becoming aware of the beauty that is right here and now. I promote the health of the body and the mind to help my clients experience increased energy, self-discipline and the personal confidence to get what they want out of life. This is the most important part of being here, remembering that your dream has arrived and to give thanks each day by acknowledging your participation in your own happiness.

“All that we are is a result of what we have thought” Buddha.

On the “vision board” I created a few years back, I drew a picture of myself teaching yoga on a tropical beach. This reality that I live now was once just a thought that I gave my happy feelings towards. What is your dream feel like? Focus on it, because the statement that the Buddha made almost 3,000 years ago has proven true time and time again.
If you are still unsure of what your dream feels like, take a hike up one of Southern Baja’s many mountain peaks over looking “The Sea Of Cortez” and watch the whales jumping out of the turquoise water, it might be a good place to start…

Josh Smith, personal trainer

For private yoga classes in Los Cabos please contact: www.joshsmithtrainer.com

At the end of February ESCAPES team participated in an event on a yacht, sailing around Cabo San Lucas marina and landmarks. As yacht parties and events are quite often here at the South of Baja, I need to stress that this was a very special event – The Cabo Yacht Party.

The Cabo Yacht Party, this year in its 3^rd edition already, hosted by Mango Productions, was created to propose an alternative to Los Cabos Night life. The idea was to organize a magnificent cruise around the bay of Cabo San Lucas with unique European House music brought to you by the finest European DJs.

This time, the party hosted Dj Pepperpot from Paris, France. Pepperpot has been an unavoidable figure on the French electronic scene, and the response of the attendants of The Cabo Yacht Party 2010 proves that music has no limits. The crowd was dancing to the late morning hours.

Besides bringing lots of fun and entertainment, the event was a perfect place to share a unique experience and being a philanthropist as the event’s proceeds went to the Tres Deseos Foundation, assisting Los Cabos children teaching them, Paintings, Percussions, sports, Prehispanic & African Dance. At this year’s event they gathered $ 1,600 USD for the foundation, and the Foundation is receiving individual donations from guests who attended the event as well.

The wish of 3 Deseos Foundation is to form a social organization whose mission is dedicated to creating key opportunities that open doors to Responsibility, Opportunity, and Education through Artistic Expression for the youth of Los Cabos.

The full moon above the Land’s End and midnight cruise on CaboRey yacht, accompanied by great music created a beautiful ambiance at the event. And we enjoyed so much more, as we knew it is for the benefit of the children in need.

Thank you to Jerome and Cyril from Mango Productions for bringing this event to Los Cabos every year, we are already looking forward to the next one!

Links:

• Pepperpot: http://www.myspace.com/djpepperpot
• Mix to listen & download: http://soundcloud.com/pepperpot/hello-birthday-mix
• Mango Productions: http://www.mangoproductions.net/

Photography by Mango Productions.