The Cabo San Lucas downtown business association, legally known as Empresarios de Los Cabos, was formed in 2009 when the redesign of the “Par Vial,” which includes the main drag and marina boulevard, was announced. The group’s goal was to participate, be involved and serve as a watchdog of good quality work, and minimum disruption of vehicle traffic and business entrances.
The group worked hard after Hurricane Odile (September 2014) and Tropical Storm Lidia (August 2017) hit Los Cabos, participating as volunteers in the cleanup of the downtown area with their employees and their own equipment. The association was supported by the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department and whatever the city could help with, as the damage was huge and overwhelming.
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These days, the association has launched another clean-up campaign in downtown, as the crisis in the city’s garbage pick-up service has worsened.
The first campaign took place on Wednesday, July 24, and is expected to continue every week until the city receives new trash pickup trucks and the situation gets back to normal.
Other groups have jumped to the challenge. The Mango Deck restaurant launched a clean-up campaign of the highway from the upper part of Cabo San Lucas towards Migriño. Led by Mango Deck and its garbage truck and several smaller pick-up trucks, the group has grown with more concerned citizens joining the efforts every Saturday. Then on Sundays, another group is doing the same, starting from “the Walmart bridge” towards Punta Ballena.
Gustavo Laborde, a downtown businessman, pointed out these actions are some of the first measures implemented to improve the image of the tourist area, which has been affected in recent months by the decrease in visitors.
Laborde stressed the urgency of carrying out a remodeling that improves cleanliness order and service, warning that if not done, businesses will continue to experience impacts on their income, some of which have decreased by more than 60%.
“We want to invite you all to join us. We ask all businesses and all entrepreneurs who are dedicated to areas such as pharmacies, crafts, and restaurants. We want everyone to go out and clean their area, paint it and wash it. It is important to receive our tourists with a clean house, it is time for us all to unite. And that is a big, big remodeling cleanup effort which is needed. That is what we ask of everyone, and we hope we will soon be able to work as a team and achieve that much-needed facelift of our city.”
“It is necessary for citizens to assume the permanent commitment to clean and preserve their spaces in good conditions. Only in this way will we be able to clean our city,” said outgoing Los Cabos Mayor Oscar Leggs during the start of the cleaning work carried out in the Marina area through the “Marina Clean-up” campaign. That campaign was implemented by the Administration of the National Port System (ASIPONA) along with the participation of non-governmental organizations.
Los Cabos City Council has been doing a cleanup every Saturday throughout the city. Led by secretary Jorge Sánchez, coupled with the support of the Public Services coordinator Gregorio Canales and the organized staff of the Government of Los Cabos, the group gathered at 7 AM in the Cerrito del Timbre. From there to Juventud Avenue and Morelos, Niños Héroes and Cabo San Lucas streets.
Volunteers help with sweeping, clearing, removal of branches and general waste pick up.
City Council member, Raymundo Zamora, highlighted the importance of carrying out these actions, which aim to improve the image of Los Cabos “Whether in the neighborhoods, in the city center or The Marina, it is the responsibility of all people to help keep our spaces clean, because it is where we live and it is the face that we offer to our tourists who express our paradise vacation destination as one of their favorites,” said Zamora.
The same cleanup efforts were also done in the Santa Rosa neighborhood of San José del Cabo, along the main boulevard of Miraflores, in the Matancitas neighborhood of Santiago and on 29 de Janeiro Street in La Ribera. With this clear objective, the community joined together to carry out cleaning campaigns along the tourist corridor located on the Transpeninsular highway.
Paloma Araos of the Mango Deck fame pointed out this citizen initiative was born with the need to give a better face to tourists.
“We started a few Saturdays ago because the truth is, the road is very dirty, and whether it is up to the SICT or up to our political leaders, the road is still dirty, and garbage continues to accumulate. We provided bags, garbage trucks, water, gloves, etc. We are sharing the information about the cleaning campaign with WhatsApp groups because I wish more people could join as the problem is very serious, and in the end, this issue does affect us all and is the image of Cabo people remember.”
Araos urged the population to join the cleanup actions from their colonia/neighborhood; cleaning the front of their houses and streets. The members who are part of the campaign emphasize this is not a political movement, the only thing it seeks is to keep the city clean.
“In the center of Cabo San Lucas, in the neighborhoods, everyone can do their own, inside their houses, cleaning the front, and painting if possible. If we wait for the authorities to do it, right now they are not going to do it. Then it’s time to get to work and start doing it ourselves. As I had told everyone, it is nothing political, it is simply cleaning up where we live; That’s all, cleaning,” added Wilkes.
Firefighters from Cabo San Lucas and both civic and business associations have joined the highway cleaning campaigns, which will continue every Saturday and Sunday.
Due to the inability of the city government to cope with the excess of trash, the Los Cabos hotel association has volunteered to “Adopt a Kilometer” of the fourlane. Each hotel will pick up trash, water the median and paint the curbs. They are just waiting for the Feds to agree to it, as the fourlane falls under their jurisdiction.
Mayor-elect Christian Agundez, who will take over the Los Cabos administration, has promised more trucks will be acquired. His father Narciso Agundez, former Baja California Sur governor, has also started a clean-up campaign in the northern part of San Jose del Cabo in the Santa Anita community.
If you live in and around the downtown area, or anywhere in Los Cabos, please do all that you can in restoring Cabo’s image, which lately, has been trashed.
