In 1981 a French director of music and culture, inspired by a statistic that claimed half the country’s children played a 
musical instrument, began dreaming of a way to engage this musical spirit en masse. Soon after, in 1982, the first Fete de la Musique was held in Paris, where it was scheduled to coincide with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
Flash forward 36 years, and the Fete de la Musique is no longer solely a French celebration, but a worldwide phenomenon that takes place annually in over 450 cities in 12o countries around the globe. For the past 10 years, that list of cities has included San Jose del Cabo, the oldest and most populous of the two cape cities (Cabo San Lucas is the other) that comprise the modern-day municipality of Los Cabos. In San Jose, however, the celebration is known by its Spanish name, La Fiesta de la Musica.
This summer symphony is free and open to all musicians who’d like to participate, from amateurs to professionals, across all musical genres. The only prerequisite for participants and spectators – for whom admission is also free – is a love for music, a passion that’s so pervasive internationally that music is often referred to as the universal language. The art form’s universality, in fact, provides the context for the event’s local motto: “la fiesta de todos y para todos” (“the party from all and for all).
Over the past decade, the Fiesta de la Musica has become so important and so beloved by the local community that it’s now considered the premier music festival in Los Cabos. Certainly, it’s the most robustly attended, drawing over 25,000 people annually. The 2018 edition is slated for Saturday, June 23 – 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. – with some 100 or more bands and musical acts expected to perform throughout the city’s historic downtown area.
For those who won’t be in the area for the Fiesta de la Musica in June, Los Cabos and its surrounding environs offer plenty of other opportunities to hear great music from acclaimed performers. San Jose del Cabo is also famed for its Jazz Festival, which draws huge crowds to the Plaza del Pescador each February; and its Patron Saint festival every March features five days of live music, as well as a parade and regional food and drink.
Cape sister Cabo San Lucas hosts its own kind of musical celebration in October, when rock star Sammy Hagar throws a series of birthday bashes at Cabo Wabo Cantina, the nightclub he founded with his former Van Halen bandmates back in 1990. The Land’s End city’s biggest food festival, Sabor a Cabo, also brings in big-name headliners each December, from Mexican rock gods Mana to funk-soul legends like Earth Wind & Fire.
Todos Santos, a one-hour drive north of Cabo San Lucas, boasts its own rock star pedigree. The town’s Tropic of Cancer Concert Series, which draws alt-rock bands from across the U.S. and Mexico each January, grew out of the Todos Santos Music Festival that was originally founded by former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.
To find out more about the performers at the 10th annual Fiesta de la Musica, or 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 courtesy of the Fiesta de la Musica.
Upcoming Event Calendar
April
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – April 5, 12, 19, 26
Chocolate & Cocktails Festival at Café des Artistes – April 5 – 15
Paws n’ Claws Golf Tournament and Dinner – April 8
Sabores de Baja Festival in Miraflores – April 15
NORRA Mexican 1000 – April 20 – 26
Los Cabos Culinary Awards at Sheraton Grand Hacienda del Mar – April 25
2018 Taco Fest Los Cabos at Casa Dorada – April 28
May
483rd La Paz Foundation Festival – May 3 – 5
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Cinco de Mayo – May 5
Día de la Madre (Mother’s Day) – May 10
Gastrovino Food & Wine Festival – May 19 – 20
White Party at ME Cabo and Blue Marlin Ibiza – May 26
Rancho Pescadero Yoga, Surf & Nutrition Retreat – May 30 – June 2
June
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – June 7, 14, 21, 28
Pelagic Triple Crown: 5th Annual Cabo Summer Slam – June 7 – 9
Los Cabos Open of Surf – June 11 – 17
Fiesta de la Musica – June 23
Stars and Stripes Golf & Fishing Tournament – June 28 – July 1
July
East Cape Dorado Shootout Fishing Tournament – Jul. 21
Los Cabos Open of Tennis – July 30 – Aug. 4
Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore Fishing Tournament – Jul. 31 – Aug. 4
August
East Cape Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot Fishing Tournament – Aug. 25
September
Día de la Independencia (Independence Day) – Sep. 16
October
Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – Oct. 14 – 18
Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Fishing Tournament – Oct. 18 – 21
Bisbee’s Black & Blue Fishing Tournament – Oct. 23 – 27
25th Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally – Oct. 28 – Nov. 10
Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 2
November
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Life Luxe Jazz Experience at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica – Nov. 1 – 4
IRONMAN 70.3 Latin American Tri Club Championship – Nov. 4
Adidas Golf Invitational at Cabo del Sol – Nov. 6 – 11
WON Tuna Jackpot – Nov. 7 – 10
SCORE Baja 1000 – Nov. 14 – 18
Día de la Revolución (Revolution Day) – Nov. 20
Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving) – Nov. 22
December
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27
Virgin of Guadalupe Feast Day – Dec. 12
Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) – Dec. 24
Navidad (Christmas) – Dec. 25
Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve) – Dec. 31
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