A walk around Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico

Todos Santos is a desert oasis with a reliable freshwater spring. Founded as a mission and later transformed into a sugar capital, it is now celebrated as one of Mexico’s premier "Pueblos Mágicos" (Magical Towns).

All these street scene photos are from my family albums. I used various websites and Ai to research the history of this 'Pueblo Magicos' which is a Mexican government initiative to promote smaller towns and to encouragie tourism.

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The town was ​founded In 1723, when Jesuit Father Jaime Bravo established a small farming outpost to supply the mission at La Paz.
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Like many Baja missions, the native population was nearly decimated by European diseases (smallpox)

​The abundance of water allowed for massive cane plantations. At its peak in the late 1800s, the town hosted eight sugar mills. Much of the beautiful brick architecture you see today in the historic district—including was funded by the immense wealth of the sugar trade.

​On March 30, 1848, the town was the site of the Skirmish of Todos Santos, which was the final engagement of the Mexican-American War.

​By 1950 a combination of falling sugar prices and a catastrophic drought. the town's freshwater spring dried up, the sugar mills closed, leaving Todos Santos to become a ghost town.

​Miraculously, the spring began to flow again in 1981.

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Hotel California has never been visited by the Eagles.....Lyrics-Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year)
You can find it here

In the 1980s and 90s, the town was "rediscovered" by American surfers and artists. They restored the historic ruins into the galleries and boutiques that define the town today.