"We've had a low season in which, unfortunately, we have closed some restaurants. I don't have the figure right now, but there are already several." Óscar Morando Villa, president of CANIRAC Los Cabos, said that to Tribuna de México on October 8. In the next breath he described a "positive mentality" for the season ahead.
On Sunday, November 1, you'll see that mentality downtown. His chamber, the local branch of Mexico's national restaurant industry association, organizes the Catrin@s Parade, now in its third edition. The floats are vehicles decorated by member restaurants and bars, and their staff ride along dressed as catrinas and catrines. The people waving from the trucks work in the same dining rooms that just got through one of the hardest summers the local industry can remember. For those restaurants, the parade is their public opening of a high season they badly need.
The floats come from the dining rooms that lost the summer
The August numbers explain why. Gringo Gazette reported on August 11 that restaurant sales across Los Cabos were down 25 to 35 percent, and that CANIRAC had confirmed at least 28 permanent closures. Other restaurants closed temporarily, shutting for weeks or months to cut losses through the slowest stretch.
Those 28 closures sit inside a much larger industry. Morando put the municipality at roughly 2,500 restaurants, of which only about 140 belong to CANIRAC. The Catrin@s floats therefore come from a small, organized share of the local food scene. The losses hit hardest among micro and small operators, who have little margin to absorb a long drop in traffic.
The squeeze runs in two currencies. Commercial rents in Los Cabos are still mostly set in dollars, while many operators earn in pesos. On top of that come higher prices for ingredients, electricity and wages, along with new labor and tax obligations taken on in recent years. "Every day it's more expensive," Morando told the Gazette.
That's why a costumed staff on a decorated truck is a serious investment for a restaurant coming off a down summer. Each one is spending time and money to get in front of the crowd on the first weekend of the season.
Even the hopeful forecast lands below last year
By October the tone had changed, but the math hadn't fully caught up. In the same Tribuna interview, Morando estimated that Los Cabos restaurants could reach 90 to 95 percent of their activity from the same period last year over the coming months. That's the optimistic case, and it still leaves the season short of last year. He also said the chamber had no precise count yet of how many businesses closed.
Hotels are the restaurants' supply line, and their October numbers mark the turn. Here is how the figures have moved this fall:
| Source and date | What it reported |
|---|---|
| Gringo Gazette, Aug 11, 2026 | Restaurant sales down 25–35%, at least 28 permanent closures |
| Meganoticias, Oct 7, 2026 | Hotel association forecast of 70% occupancy in October, 80% in November, 90% in December |
| Tribuna de México, Oct 8, 2026 | CANIRAC expects restaurants at 90–95% of the same period last year |
| Tribuna de México, Oct 18, 2026 | Hotel occupancy at 60% in October, with more than 90% expected around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's |
The two October hotel figures don't match. Meganoticias credited Los Cabos Hotel Association president Lilzi Orcí Fregoso with a 70 percent forecast for October. Eleven days later, Tribuna quoted her saying October was at 60 percent. The later figure is the one measured closer to the month itself. She described a downward trend in occupancy that began in March, with August and September at the bottom.
So the restaurant summer was more than a typical seasonal dip. It came at the low point of a slide that ran for about six months, and the recovery is building through the holidays. The parade comes right at that turning point.
Sunday, November 1, hour by hour
The parade closes out a full day of Día de Muertos events in and around town. In order:
- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Día de Muertos Candle Bazar. The Cape hosts it at Carretera Federal Libre Transpeninsular km 5, Col. Misiones del Cabo. The Visit Los Cabos listing gives admission as MXN 300.
- 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Rock-A-Thon VI. Five bands play at Latitude 22 The Roadhouse in El Tezal, in a benefit for Feeding Los Cabos Kids, according to Gringo Gazette's listing.
- 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Viva La Plaza. A free Día de Muertos edition at Plaza Amelia Wilkes, per Gringo Gazette.
- 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., Catrina del Desierto. Amara Baja marks its first anniversary at Parcela 139, Sección del Fin, Villa Serena, with live music, guest chefs and tasting stations, per Visit Los Cabos.
- 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Catrin@s Parade. Free. It runs from the Pabellón Cultural de la República to Campo de Yenekamu in downtown Cabo San Lucas, and the listing gives Blvd. Paseo de la Marina and Lázaro Cárdenas as the event address. The Cabo San Lucas Volunteer Fire Department and the Los Cabos municipal government support it.
Out on the water, the Torneo Marlini 2026 runs October 31 and November 1, with Plaza Puerto Paraíso and El Pancake House listed as the venue and registration open as of mid-October.
CANIRAC's event page shows float registration closed September 4. It doesn't publish a list of participating restaurants, a float count or prize categories. You'll find out which kitchens signed up when their trucks roll past. Each one is a restaurant that decided in early September, at the bottom of the low season, to commit to November 1.
The week after the parade tests the forecast
What follows November 1 is the first real test of the 90 to 95 percent estimate. Visit Los Cabos lists the World Wide Technology Championship week for November 2 through 8, with tournament play November 5 to 8 at El Cardonal at Diamante Cabo San Lucas. That brings a week of visiting golf crowds right behind the parade.
The same Thursday play begins, Zuma Cabo opens at Anima Village in Cabo Del Sol. Gringo Gazette reported that the Japanese restaurant brand, with locations from London to Dubai to Miami, chose Los Cabos for its first Mexico outpost. The space includes open-air terraces, a bar, and an event room that holds 400 standing or 200 seated. The Gazette placed it within a broader wave of upscale dining moving into the Cabo Del Sol corridor.
Put next to the August report, Zuma's arrival shows two things happening at once in the local restaurant market. Global brands are signing leases in the corridor for the coming season, while micro and small operators, most of whom are outside the chamber, absorbed the summer losses. The 28 closures and a 400-person event space opening the same autumn are both part of Cabo's fall 2026 dining scene.
Further out, Meganoticias reported in September that a direct Los Cabos to Cancún flight is due to start in December. The report gives no seat capacity.
Downtown is getting ready too
The municipality is also getting downtown ready for visitors. On October 14, the Ayuntamiento de Los Cabos signed an agreement with Plaza Puerto Paraíso to install a bilingual municipal tourist-information module there, according to the city. No opening date or hours have been announced.
Recent rains left some cleanup work. As of October 20, OOMSAPAS had three sewer-repair crews working in Cabo San Lucas. Crews had addressed three of four blocked points in Tierra y Libertad and were locating buried manholes in Chula Vista. The water utility has given no completion date.
The Catrin@s Parade starts at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 1, at the Pabellón Cultural de la República. The restaurant crews on the floats are starting a season their own chamber expects to finish slightly behind last year.
At Riviera Maya Homes, we track Cabo's seasonal swing because it shapes everything from rental calendars to which restaurants are still open on your street come September. If you own in Cabo San Lucas or are weighing a place here and want a clear read on how the high and low seasons play out in day-to-day life and in rental demand, schedule a personalized consultation.
