Cancun was officially founded on August 10, 1971, but last week we celebrated its 48th anniversary, how’s that possible? Let’s focus on Cancun’s modern history, which started in the late 60s when Mexico’s government was developing a new tourist destination after the success of the Acapulco project.
Cancun was selected over other (more populated) places, such as Los Cabos, Ixtapa and Puerto Escondido, to become the first planned city and tourist destination of Mexico. Until then, Cancun was a fishing village and coconut plantation with around 100 people only. After contacting all the owners and buying the entire place, the first government settlements for prospection date from 1969. The heavy machinery came to start building the first street (now called Náder Avenue to honor Carlos Náder, the lawyer responsible of the project who died in a plane crash in Bacalar during the process) in the early months of 1970, now considered as the symbolic “first stone” installation. It took more than a year for the federal funds to be released to start the construction of the Hotel Zone in Isla Cancun (the coastal side of Cancun), which brought all the authorities and was considered the official city’s foundation. Nevertheless, most of the people who came in the first settlements considered April 20 as Cancun’s anniversary. Associations like Pioneros Quintana Roo and Fundadores A.C. agree with this version; they are the biggest authorities when it comes to Cancun and Quintana Roo history, they saw it happen!
Pioneros celebrated with a parade consisting of Cancunenses of all ages, some of them true pioneers of the city. Fundadores organized their annual celebration known as “The Biggest Picnic in Cancun” with live music and multiple exhibitions.
Celebrations will continue this weekend (May 5) with a massive art exhibition (10 hours and over 50 artists presenting their work) in the party center of Cancun (right in the club area of the Zona Hotelera), created by the Collective Artem Relicta. Follow them on Facebook to know more about the events and the history of this beautiful land that brought us all together.
