My Creative Journey: Part 8 Todos Santos

It was 1998 and I was living in Santa Fe New Mexico. My best friends were artists; sculptors, painters, designers and art gallery owners. I had a pulse on the art scene and mixed with the "in"crowd. I attended Friday night openings and continued to collect art.

One outstanding addition was a large painting by Carlos Carullo which still hangs in my living room in Cambridge today. One summer night at an art soiree, while sipping wine, I mentioned to Carlos that I wanted to explore the Baja and he fondly recommended that I visit a tiny town near the tip where  dear friends of his had opened a restaurant.

Those friends are Ezio and Paula Colombo, the landmark restaurant is the Cafe Santa Fe and the town is Todos Santos. Frida Kahlo paintings hang in the lobby and the authentic Italian cuisine is as memorable as any dinner I've enjoyed in Milan, Venice or Bologna.

Needless to say I fell in love with this tiny little fishing village an hour north of Cabo San Lucas and bought some land. Once a thriving sugar cane capital today Todos Santos prospers from farming chilies, avocados, mangos and papayas.  Filled with handicraft shops, owner-operated art galleries,  upscale restaurants, boutique hotels and restored colonial buildings the town has been quietly gentrified but it retains its delightful Mexican charm.