The 13th edition of La Pazión por el Sabor, the largest annual food festival in Baja California Sur, opened this week at the Paraíso del Mar resort complex on La Paz’s waterfront. Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío inaugurated the event alongside La Paz Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero. This year’s La Paz food festival brought together 136 restaurants, producers, wineries, and craft breweries from all five municipalities in the state.
CANIRAC, Mexico’s national restaurant and food industry chamber, organizes the festival each year. The group has run the event since its first edition in 2013, building it into one of the state’s flagship culinary gatherings. Tastings, cooking demonstrations, and cultural programming fill the schedule, with participants ranging from traditional home cooks to professional chefs and first-time food entrepreneurs.
Sudcaliforniano Cuisine Has Deep Roots and Growing Recognition
Baja California Sur’s culinary identity is distinct from the rest of Mexico, shaped by desert geography, a long coastline, and centuries of relative isolation. The traditional cooking of the peninsula, sometimes called cocina sudcaliforniana, relies on ingredients like machaca (dried, shredded beef), damiana (a native herb used in liqueurs and teas), pitahaya cactus fruit, and a wide variety of Pacific and Sea of Cortez seafood. Chocolate clams, known locally as almejas chocolatas, are native to the bays around La Paz and appear on menus across the city.
The festival showcases these regional staples alongside newer developments. BCS has seen a small but growing wine scene in recent years, with producers in the Santo Domingo Valley south of Ciudad Constitución planting vineyards in volcanic soil. The state’s craft beer movement has also expanded, with breweries in La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, and Todos Santos producing small-batch beers. At this year’s festival, both wineries and cervecerías artesanales were among the 136 participating vendors.
Governor Castro Cosío noted the event’s role in connecting producers across the state’s supply chain. “This gathering drives the economic growth and development of those who form part of the productive and tourism chain of Baja California Sur,” he said. “It also strengthens the identity and pride in our traditions.”
136 Vendors From All Five BCS Municipalities at Paraíso del Mar
The festival’s location at Paraíso del Mar places it on a peninsula jutting into the Bay of La Paz, about 15 minutes from the city’s historic malecón. The venue has hosted the event in previous years, and its outdoor layout accommodates dozens of tasting stations spread across landscaped grounds.
All five BCS municipalities sent participants: La Paz, Los Cabos, Comondú, Mulegé, and Loreto. That geographic spread is part of the organizers’ pitch. Visitors can sample food from the fishing towns of the Pacific coast, the ranch country of the Sierra de la Laguna, and the resort kitchens of the Los Cabos corridor, all in one place.
For anyone living in or visiting La Paz, the festival offers a compressed tour of the state’s food landscape. Vendors typically sell small tasting portions, so attendees can sample widely. Past editions have featured everything from ceviche and smoked marlin tacos to artisan cheeses, mezcal, and regional sweets made from dates grown in the oasis towns of the central desert.
La Paz Positions Itself as a Culinary Destination Beyond Los Cabos
La Paz has long lived in the shadow of Los Cabos as a tourist destination, but food has become a point of differentiation. The city’s malecón restaurants serve seafood pulled from the bay that morning. Neighborhood taquerías sell fish tacos for 25 to 35 pesos (roughly $1.25 to $1.75 USD). Several La Paz restaurants have earned recognition in national dining guides over the past five years.
The festival fits into a broader strategy by state and local officials to market La Paz as a culinary destination with its own identity. Castro Cosío said events like La Pazión por el Sabor help position La Paz and BCS as tourism destinations “recognized for the quality, diversity, and authenticity” of their food.
CANIRAC has not yet announced whether the festival will run additional days this week. Details on participating vendors and the full event schedule are available through the state government’s official channels. This story was reported using information published by the Baja California Sur state government.