Who made the altar you'll stop in front of on Plaza Mijares this Monday night? In San José del Cabo, the answer is close to home. Prize money pays for the plaza altars, and neighbors enter to win it. Out in Las Ánimas Bajas, local businesses build the farm altars, and each entry fee goes to a local charity. Many of those business-and-charity pairs have come back year after year.
For anyone who wants to take part, the first deadline arrives today.
Thursday at 2 p.m., the plaza's entry window closes
The Instituto de la Cultura y las Artes de Los Cabos, or ICA, runs the Festival de Día de Muertos San José del Cabo 2026 for November 1 and 2 under the H. XV Ayuntamiento de Los Cabos. It includes contests for altars, catrinas and catrines, pan de muerto, and talent, plus arts programming, film, and a parade.
Tribuna de México reported that entry to all three main contests is free. You register in person at the ICA offices on the second floor of the Casa de la Cultura Prof. Alfredo Green González in Centro, and registration closes Thursday, October 29, at 2 p.m. If you're reading this on the morning of the 29th, you still have a few hours.
The prize tables show what the town asks of each kind of entrant:
| Contest | Who can enter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altar de muertos | High school students, university students, and the general public of the municipality | 15,000 MXN | 12,000 MXN | 9,000 MXN |
| Catrinas y catrines, youth and adult, 14+ | Los Cabos residents | 9,000 MXN | 7,000 MXN | 4,500 MXN |
| Catrinas y catrines, children 5–13 | Los Cabos residents | 7,000 MXN | 5,000 MXN | 3,500 MXN |
| Pan de muerto | Bakers 18 and older, originally from Los Cabos, using traditional techniques | 5,000 MXN | 3,000 MXN | 2,000 MXN |
The altar prize is the largest, and first place in that category pays three times what first place pays a baker. The altar rules also ask the most of entrants. Each altar has to include traditional Mexican elements, and each entry needs participants who can explain what those elements mean. Knowing the tradition counts toward the entry along with building the altar. The catrina contest also asks for public work. Entrants need a classic Mexican character concept, and they walk in both the parade and a runway in the plaza.
Two nights on Plaza Teniente José Antonio Mijares
The schedule follows the calendar. The festival opens Sunday, November 1, at Plaza Pública Teniente José Antonio Mijares with film screenings and performances, and the traditional parade follows on Monday, November 2. ICA director general Tanya Covarrubias told Tribuna de México how the institute thinks about the two days:
"We know that Día de Muertos is a deeply emblematic celebration for the country. Truly, it's a very beautiful, very magical night that makes us remember all those loved ones... The plaza is going to look beautiful, and on Monday, November 2, we'll have the traditional parade. Last year the public's response was very beautiful."
The ICA says the full 2026 lineup will be announced on its social channels. Last year's municipal program, "Mictlán en el Desierto," gives a sense of the usual pattern. On November 1, 2025, it began at 4:30 p.m. at the Panteón Municipal de San José del Cabo with a walk among the graves of historic figures. Programming on November 2 started at 5 p.m. at the plaza with music, dance, art exhibitions, and the contests. That was the 2025 order of events. The 2026 schedule will be confirmed when the ICA posts it.
At Flora Farms, the same altars come back
The plaza contests reward individual neighbors. The 10th Annual Day of the Dead Altar Competition at Flora Farms on Monday, November 2, works on a different model. Each altar is built by a local business paired with a charity the business chooses. The business's entry fee goes straight to that charity, and event sponsors fund the prizes for the top three altars. Flora Farms hasn't announced this year's participants yet. The past three years show how much the roster repeats, though.
Escuela Primaria Ricardo Flores Magón has placed every year since 2023, each time with a different business:
| Year | Business partner | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | La Escocesa | Most Traditional |
| 2024 | Eclectic Array | Most Traditional |
| 2025 | Pina Cate | Honorable Mention |
Other pairs have simply stayed together. Fine Wine M built for Bomberos Voluntarios de San José del Cabo in both 2024 and 2025, and the 2024 altar won Judge's Favorite. Leo Salon & Spa partnered with Casa Hogar Una Luz en Mi Vida in both years and won Most Traditional in 2025. The Wine Shop built for Proyecto Ángeles in both years as well.
The community center has drawn more than one partner as well. In 2023, Fine Wine M won Judge's Favorite with an organization listed as Centro Comunitario La Playita. The La Playa community center then partnered with James Perse in 2024 and with Puerto Los Cabos in 2025, when that altar won Judge's Favorite. The 2025 roster also included Mezcal Creyente with Club de Niños y Niñas, VVR Production House with PET Los Cabos, Del Cabo Events with Los Cabos Children's Foundation, and Tequila Herradura with Escuela Ánimas Bajas, the school down the road from the farm. VVR and PET Los Cabos won Most Original.
Walking the altars at Flora Farms is like reading a map of who supports whom in town. You see the volunteer fire brigade, a children's home, the community center, and the neighborhood schools, each paired with a business you probably already know.
The practical details are below. Flora Farms lists the event as 6 to 10 p.m. Visit Los Cabos lists it as ending at 9 p.m., so go by the farm's own page. The altars are set up throughout the farm. A dinner reservation that day doesn't include the private cocktail party, which needs its own ticket. According to the event FAQ, a ticket covers food and entertainment in the party area but not drinks, which come from a cash bar. Tickets for children ages 3 to 12 cost 525 MXN, and children under 3 get in free.
How the two days fit together
Monday is the busiest day, so plan it before you head out:
- Sunday, November 1, Cabo San Lucas. The Catrin@s Parade, organized by CANIRAC Los Cabos, runs from 5 to 7 p.m. from the Cultural Pavilion to Yenekamu. It's the main event across the corridor if you want a second parade.
- Sunday, November 1, Plaza Mijares. The ICA festival opens with screenings and performances. Times will be in the ICA's program.
- Monday, November 2, from 5 p.m., Acre. The Acre Día de Muertos Celebration runs from 5 to 10 p.m. Visit Los Cabos lists a Catrinas parade, a Shaman's welcome ritual, live music, and special dishes. Its Day of the Dead guide adds a traditional ofrenda, seasonal pan de muerto and hot chocolate alongside the regular à la carte menu, and a Catrina contest.
- Monday, November 2, from 6 p.m., Flora Farms. The altar competition opens.
- Monday, November 2, Plaza Mijares. The traditional parade, with the catrinas and catrines who entered the municipal contest. What's in Cabo lists the hours and parade route as not yet published.
Fitting all three Monday events into one evening will depend on the parade time once the ICA posts it. The plaza is the one event whose schedule isn't public yet.
After the marigolds, Thursdays pick up
The holiday leads straight into the gallery season. Visit Los Cabos notes that the San José del Cabo Art Walk runs every Thursday evening from November through June. Its guide also lists Secrets of the Catrinas workshops in San José del Cabo for anyone who wants to learn the face painting behind the parade. The first Thursday of the season falls three days after the parade.
An ofrenda is the most personal piece of design many households put together all year, with marigolds, candles, photographs, and objects chosen for one person. If you'd like help giving your own home a setting that suits those traditions, Barrie Livingstone would be glad to talk it through. Book a private design-forward consultation.
