Cercle Festival had chosen a site under the old cranes at Marina Puerto Los Cabos for November 14 and 15. The plan was two stages, one by the ocean and one in a palm garden, with twelve hours of electronic music each day. Presales sold out. On June 24 the Paris-based company announced on Instagram that the festival was canceled because of financial difficulties, and that ticket holders would be refunded.
That leaves a hole in mid-November. Elsewhere, the fall calendar for Puerto Los Cabos looks much as it would have with Cercle on it. The season's dated events are run by hotels, restaurants and a film festival that already work inside the community. One of them prices its Día de Muertos dinner with a discount for Puerto Los Cabos residents.
What the Cancellation Actually Removed
The festival was a notable booking. Coverage of the May announcement called the San José del Cabo date Cercle Festival's first edition outside France. Founder Derek Barbolla wrote that the event could no longer run "under the same conditions it was designed and planned for."
The host venue remains. CRANIA traces its start to 2021, when a group of artists began rebuilding abandoned cranes on raw desert ground facing the ocean, using recycled materials. Its grounds now include:
- The Shala, an open-air space for yoga, wellness and workshops
- The Centro Comunitario, which CRANIA calls the social and cultural hub of Puerto Los Cabos, with workshops, art projects and youth programs
- POPAIR, a space for pop-ups, tastings and private dinners
- CATE, the main nightlife stage for DJ sets and live acts
- AIRDISCO, an open desert area beneath the cranes
- The Junkyard, an industrial arena for large concerts and festivals
CRANIA runs in seasons. Its most recent ticketed event was "CRANIA Season Closing: Tomas Station" on Saturday, July 4. As of early October, the official agenda lists no upcoming dates. The cranes are standing and the next season's program hasn't been announced. With the Cercle weekend gone, November will look like CRANIA's own season instead of a borrowed one.
The Dates Still on the Calendar
The fall schedule fits in one table. All of these events are held at Puerto Los Cabos or use it as a stage.
| Date | Event | Where | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8–10 | Los Cabos Billfish Tournament morning checkout | Offshore of Puerto Los Cabos Marina | Tournament based in Cabo San Lucas |
| Mon, Nov 2 | Día de los Muertos at El Barrio | Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve | Zadún |
| Every Sat and Sun | Rooftop DJ sets, 1–7 p.m. | Hotel El Ganzo | El Ganzo |
| Dec 6–12 | FICC Writing Lab, first edition | Hotel El Ganzo | El Ganzo and FICC LosCabos |
| Dec 9–13 | FICC LosCabos, 14th edition | Marina Puerto Los Cabos, El Ganzo, JW Marriott Los Cabos and others | FICC LosCabos |
| December onward | Whale-watching departures | Puerto Los Cabos Marina | Local tour operators |
The billfish tournament is the only entry that belongs to someone else. Registration, weigh-ins and awards are at Playa Grande and IGY Marina in Cabo San Lucas. The rules use the water off Puerto Los Cabos Marina as a morning checkout point on the fishing days, Thursday, October 8 through Saturday, October 10. That puts the boats in view at dawn next week, even though the tournament is headquartered elsewhere.
Every other row is programmed by a venue with an address inside Puerto Los Cabos.
One Line on a Flyer
Zadún's Día de los Muertos evening at El Barrio runs Monday, November 2, from 6 to 10:30 p.m., with live music, cultural rituals and a menu built around the holiday. Tickets are MXN 2,850 for adults and MXN 950 for children, tax and service included. The Puerto Los Cabos homeowners' association posted the event on September 13. Near the bottom of the flyer is the line that matters most for a resident: "Residents of Puerto Los Cabos 20% off." At that rate, an adult ticket comes to MXN 2,280.
Reservations are taken by phone at +52 1 (624) 172 9000, extension 5439, or by email at [email protected].
Zadún has done this before. In the spring, the HOA promoted Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve culinary takeover at Zadún's Equis restaurant from May 8 to 22, with Bali-inspired cooking by Chef Eka Sunarya. Both events were sent through the residents' own association, so the hotel is reaching the community directly.
November 2 is crowded across Los Cabos. Flora Farms holds its 10th annual Altar Competition from 6 to 9 p.m., and Agua at One&Only Palmilla serves a family-style Mexican menu from 5:30 to 10 p.m. El Barrio is the only one of these inside the gates with a resident price.
Weekends Run on Repetition
The weekly schedule depends on steady programming more than dated events. Hotel El Ganzo's rooftop has live DJ sets every Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m. Below the lobby is the Underground Studio. El Ganzo's music residencies include recording sessions there, and each residency ends with a recorded El Ganzo Session. The hotel describes its artist residency as ongoing and open-ended, with more than 120 artists so far.
Down the shore, Veleros Beach Club is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Chef Ángel Camarena leads the kitchen, which focuses on regional ingredients, fresh seafood and simple cooking drawn from Baja's sea and land. After dark, HUMO serves from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Between the beach club's closing time and the rooftop's Sunday hours, a weekend at the marina is booked before any special event is added.
Art also stays in place. The Puerto Los Cabos arts page lists Gabriel Macotela's "Cross by the sea" and Leonora Carrington's "Fisherman King by land," along with a sculpture garden and a marina Art Circuit lined with Carrington bronzes.
December Turns the Marina Into a Venue
The 14th FICC LosCabos, the Los Cabos International Film and Creativity Festival, runs December 9 to 13. It is the season's biggest event, and its venue list reads like a directory of the neighborhood. Hotel El Ganzo, JW Marriott Los Cabos and Marina Puerto Los Cabos appear alongside Cinépolis San José del Cabo, Hotel Tropicana, Suelo Sur, Zado and Casa Ballena. According to Cabo News Today, organizers say each venue will be an "active participant" in the programming instead of a rented room.
Each venue has a defined role. El Ganzo hosts activities tied to the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund. JW Marriott Los Cabos holds the Frequencies of Now gatherings. Cinépolis is the main location for screenings. El Ganzo and the festival also launch their first Writing Lab, December 6 to 12, with mentors Carlos Cuarón, Fernando Frías and Gibrán Portela. The lab is capped at 12 participants. The festival will pay tribute to Dolores Heredia, an actress born in La Paz, and on December 10 it hosts "Beyond DeScreen – Women in the Industry" with Girls At Films and ELLE.
The full program and ticket sales haven't been released yet, according to the festival's official site. The marina's own events haven't been announced either. What is set is the list of venues, and three of the names on it, El Ganzo, JW Marriott Los Cabos and the marina itself, are inside Puerto Los Cabos.
The same month brings boats back to the marina for whales. Operators departing from Puerto Los Cabos Marina offer snorkeling, sunset cruises, sportfishing and San José Bay trips, and they list whale watching as a December through April outing. In practice, the film festival's opening week and the first whale departures are scheduled for the same stretch of December, from the same marina.
If the fall calendar has you thinking about time at the marina or a home closer to it, Corcoran The Baja Real Estate Co. knows Puerto Los Cabos well. We're glad to talk through which residences put El Ganzo's rooftop, the Art Circuit and the December boats within walking distance. Explore Baja Properties.
