El Centenario

El Centenario is a small seaside town located in the Municipality of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, approximately 15 km. from the capital city of La Paz. It was founded in the 1960's as an agrarian/fishing ejido by approximately 25 founding families. Each of the original families was delegated land to use for farming and on which to build a dwelling, while the land remained under the ownership of the communal ejido. During the 1990's, due to reforms associated with the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexican ejidos were granted rights to deliver legal ownership of ejido land to the members, thus changing from communally ownership to private ownership.

Unique in the La Paz area, El Centenario locals eat nopal cacti, prepared as tacos. This tradition was brought to El Centenario by the founding families, who had moved from the interior of the Baja peninsula near the town of Constitucion, Baja California Sur.

Since its establishment, El Centenario has grown as a suburb or satellite city of La Paz. As of November 2007, many El Centenario residents work at the San Juan De La Costa Mine and the Paradiso Del Mar Touristic Development on the El Mogote Peninsula, due the town's close proximity to those two locations.

In recent years, the hillside behind El Centenario has become a favorite location for United States and Canadian citizens to build new houses, either as a second vacation homes or as primary residences for retirement. The lower cost of living, when compared to the U.S., especially sunny California or Florida, plus the rapid modernization of Southern Baja, has made it an increasingly viable alternative to retiring in the southern United States.