History of Cabo San Lucas - page 2

Shortly after World War II, a group of Southern Californians learned that they could fly to La Paz and then travel by rutty roads to the shores of the Mar de Cortes. "Why?" people asked. Little by little word leaked that the Sea of Cortes was teeming with fish, was protected from prying eyes, and possessed weather "as good as God will allow" in the Baja. There were no roads there. Only long range pleasure yachts and private aircraft need apply. It was exclusive. The names of the shakers and movers were exclusive: Bing Crosby, Phil Harris, Desi Arnaz, and The Duke. About 1948 they pooled their coins and built hotel Las Cruces on the East Cape. The sign read:

"PROPRIEDAD PRIVADO"
PRIVATE PROPERTY

Ten years later the equally exclusive hotel La Palmilla was built near San Jose; Hollywood money was rumored at work there too. It didn't take long for W. Matt (Bud) Parr to figure out a road map to his future and build hotel Cabo San Lucas. Parr would eventually but the Hacienda and double its size. Cabo was definitely on the map.

Ex-U.S. Air Force pilot Luis Coppola put up hotel Finisterra near the very end of the cape and Luis Bulnes quickly countered with hotel Solmar; Cabo was in the thick of the race for the tourist dollars.

Los Cabos would slumber for a few years while adjusting to the sobriquet "Tourist Destination". A peninsular highway, completed in 1974, opened the Peninsula to Middle America. When Los Cabos International Airport was expanded in 1986, Los Cabos' lure reached deep into the United States and Canada and triggered the imagination of every citizen. Marlin fishing tournaments were drawing international acclaim by this time and non-fishermen and their ladies were discovering the sun, the beaches, and romantic star-bright nights while stroling "las playas del Mar de Cortes".

The past five years have witnessed the trebling of populations in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas and has beheld a burgeoning growth in tourism as well. Condominiums Cabo Bello, Marina Sol and Terrasol, and hotels Melia Cabo San Lucas, Melia Cabo Real, Fiesta Inn, Howard Johnson, Calinda, Posada Real, and Plaza las Glorias were operational by 1990. Meanwhile in excess of 3,000 private residences were built for foreign vacationers and retirees.

Currently, four major golf course designers have finalized their fairway and green schematics and all courses are playable. International tournaments are scheduled and a number of airlines frequently service the area. Los Cabos, as a "Destinational Resort Area: with world wide impact, is NOW.

Hernan Cortes, a Conquistador, saw no profitable future in California. The modern day Conquistadors, on the other hand, conquers not with sword and musket, but with world class accommodations and service. Hernan plundered and ran. The modern Conquistadors reinvest. It's evident they've been doing just that in Los Cabos.

As you stroll down the beach and wonder at the magnificent seascape surrounding you, take a moment to remember Hernan; the short, short sighted fellow. . .who let the "big one" get away.

© C.W.Ferguson

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