A Space Brimming with Cultural Life
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All year long, this Magical Town delights residents and tourists alike with a broad variety of cultural events that go from culinary to religious in nature. Come and check them out!
Anniversary Festivities
A festive spirit invades the city every October, as activities are organized to commemorate the founding of the city in 1885. Celebrations include countless cultural and gastronomic events throughout the month.
A major annual event is the coronation of the Queen of the Festival, after which a big dance is held, with no entrance fee and a slate of music groups to perform for the crowd.
Another popular event, held prior to the festivities, is the presentation of candidates hoping to wear the crown. It takes place every July 7 in the Benito Juárez public square and also features artistic performances that make for a wonderful evening.
Back to the October events themselves, the traditional Cavalcade is an essential part of the anniversary festivities, so much so that even outlying communities and villages join in.
Baja California Sur ranchero culture is a definite fusion of the customs and lifestyle of the Jesuit missionaries and the peninsula’s indigenous peoples.
While the cavalcade, which covers close to 6.5 miles, starts very near the entrance to the town of Santa Águeda, the horseback riders are blessed by the parish priest from the Santa Bárbara Doncella Church before they ride through the major avenues in Santa Rosalía.
The Cultural Market
As a way to spur the local economy, since 2022 groups of local producers from Cachanía, as well nearby communities such as Bahía Tortugas, Heroica Mulegé, Valle del Vizcaíno, San Ignacio and others, set up at various spots around the city to sell their produce and wares.
This is the place to go to admire the work of artisans who make costume jewelry and aromatic candles, coffee, date bread and wine. There are also empanadas, coyotas (pastries filled with unrefined piloncillo sugar), tamales, machaca and cheese, and the scrumptious list of treats, for yourself or to take home as gifts, goes on.
After the tastings and shopping, how about rounding out the visit with one of the cultural offerings on the monthly Santa Rosalía arts schedule. The street market (tianguis) takes place once a month.
Celebrating Saint Barbara, Patron Saint of Cachanía
The traditional feast day celebrations, in honor of Saint Barbara, are held in the city on December 4. They include a mass, of course, and an outdoor fair with stands selling corn-based Mexican snack food, otherwise known as antojitos.
Before the feast day itself, a novena for the miners’ patron saint is organized among schools, companies and other types of organizations, and participants make daily pilgrimages through various neighborhoods in the city.
Hot Dog with a Cause Festival
And finally, this unique festival has been held every April since 2022, with a range of different culinary proposals, all based on frankfurters. With at least ten carts to choose from, hotdog lovers have an array of ways to satisfy their craving.
Since Children’s Day is in April, a costume competition is organized for children 12 and under.
The festival includes an assortment of folk dance and musical numbers, and best of all, absolutely all of the funds collected are donated to the municipal shelter run by the National System for Integral Family Development (Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, DIF).
So, delve into the cultural side of Santa Rosalía. You’re going to love it!
