Los Cabos has been consciously rebranded as a luxury destination in recent years, welcoming iconic luxury brands like Waldorf Astoria, Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and Nobu, and increasingly spotlighting its wealth of pampering spas, championship golf courses and world-class cuisine.

That’s the Los Cabos of today, a place of both beautiful beaches and exclusive high-end amenities.

But as anyone who is a long-time visitor to the area can attest, it wasn’t always this way.

During the 1960s and 1970s, when cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo were developing as tourist destinations, there were very few resorts in the region and a limited array of amenities. The peninsular highway connecting Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas wasn’t completed until 1973; the Cabo San Lucas Marina wasn’t finished until the early 1980s; and the first 18-hole golf courses didn’t appear until Jack Nicklaus arrived on the scene in the early 1990s.

It was still a spectacular destination, mind you, but one marked by a more rugged beauty and a more rugged disposition. Back then, people typically came to Los Cabos (a name that wasn’t even invented until 1981) for one of two reasons: to fish or to race.

Well, there was actually a third. Hollywood stars like John Wayne and Bing Crosby used to fly into nearby Santiago to go white-winged dove hunting. But mainly there was fishing and there was off-road racing. People came to the region to bag a marlin or to test their nerves in one of the most challenging races on the planet. The latter would be the famed Baja 1000, which for over 50 years now has been the standard bearer for its sport.

The roots of this legendary race are important because there are now two 1000 mile races that take place each year in Baja, the second being the NORRA Mexican 1000. It’s held every April while the SCORE Baja 1000 is always run in November.

NORRA and SCORE. Those are the two signature off-road sanctioning bodies in Baja and their history is a fascinating one, because at varying times both have been associated with the Baja 1000.

Here’s how it happened:

When Baja’s off-road endurance challenge premiered in 1967–as a race from Tijuana to La Paz–it was under the auspices of the National Off-Road Racing Association, formed the year before by a group of racing enthusiasts led by Ed Pearlman and Don Francisco. It was Francisco, a veteran of the Carrera Panamericana, that flew all around Baja to chart a viable course for the first race, Pearlman who handled press and promotion. This was the beginning of the Baja 1000.

NORRA backed out of the race following the OPEC Oil Crisis in 1973, and there was no race at all in 1974. In 1975, eager to continue the tradition, Baja California governor Milton Castellanos convinced promoter Mickey Thompson and his SCORE (Southern California Off-Road Enterprises) organization to take over the race, which they did in 1975. The Baja 1000 has been run under the SCORE banner ever since.

But it was the first few years under NORRA that set the standard for modern off-road racing, and drew celebrity contestants like Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones, as well as Hollywood movie stars like James Garner and Steve McQueen.

In order to honor that heritage, NORRA restarted the Mexican 1000 in 2010 as a fun, vintage-style rally race. Dubbed “The Happiest Race on Earth,” the current version of the Mexican 1000 features a mix of restored motorcycles, cars and trucks from the glory era of the Baja 1000, as well as modern desert rally cars. Classes are divided by eras to keep it fun and competitive for all, with high-speed off-road stages linked by controlled-speed highway portions.

There are eight technology eras or classes for this year’s race, for instance, including Pioneer (1967 – 1975), Legend (1976 – 1982), Challenger (1983 – 1988), Vintage (1989 – 1997), Historic (older than 1997) and Evolution (modern vehicles), as well as motorcycles/ATVs and modified stock vehicles.

The 11th edition of the NORRA Mexican 1000 will take place April 17th to the 24th, with a traditional race course that starts in Ensenada and then winds down the peninsula through San Felipe, Guerrero Negro, Bahia de Los Angeles, Loreto, and La Paz before concluding with a finish line fiesta and awards ceremony in San Jose del Cabo.

But don’t let that 11 fool you. NORRA has been a force in Baja off-road racing for well over 50 years.

For more information about events, activities and villa rentals in Los Cabos, call us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.

Photo credit:  NORRA Mexican 1000

Upcoming Events Calendar

February

Todos Santos Writers Workshop – Feb. 1 – 8

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27

Todos Santos Artists’ Open Studios Tour – Feb. 7 – 9

Los Cabos Half Marathon – Feb. 9

Biker Week Los Cabos – Feb. 13 – 17

San Jose del Cabo Jazz Weekend – Feb. 14 – 15

Rock Fest in Cabo San Lucas – Feb. 15

Carnaval in La Paz – Feb. 20 – 25

March

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Mar. 5, 12, 19, 26

Baja Shakespeare Festival – Mar. 6 – 8, 11 – 14

Sabores de Baja in Miraflores – Mar. 8

East Cape Arts Festival – Mar. 15

Todos Santos Film Festival – Mar. 26 – 29

El Triunfo Arts & Crafts Festival – Dates Not Yet Announced

April

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Apr. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Semana Santa – Apr. 5 – 11

NORRA Mexican 1000 – Apr. 17 – 24

Warren Hill’s Los Cabos Jazz Festival – April 30 – May 3

Gala de Danza at Viceroy Los Cabos – Dates Not Yet Announced

May

Warren Hill’s Los Cabos Jazz Festival – April 30 – May 3

485th Foundation Festival in La Paz – May 3 – 5

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – May 7, 14, 21, 28

El Dia de la Madre – May 10

Gastrovino Food & Wine Festival – Dates Not Yet Announced

White Party at ME Cabo/Blue Marlin Ibiza – Date Not Yet Announced

June

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – June 4, 11, 18, 25

7th Cabo Summer Slam/Pelagic Triple Crown of Fishing Tournament – June 11 – 13

Los Cabos Open of Surf – Dates Not Yet Announced

Fiesta de la Musica in San Jose del Cabo – Date Not Yet Announced

24th Stars and Stripes Golf and Fishing Tournament – June 24 – 28

July

Pitahayas Harvest Fair in Miraflores – Dates Not Yet Announced

Los Cabos Open of Tennis – July 20 – 25

Mango Festival in Todos Santos – Dates Not Yet Announced

August

Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore – Aug. 4 – 8