La Paz has been associated with pearls for all 492 years of its recorded history. Rumors of gold and pearls inspired Hernán Cortés to send repeated expeditions to explore the destination in what was then known simply as California. No gold awaited but pearl beds filled with the region’s twin treasures — madre perla (Pinctada mazatlanica) and concha nácar (Pteria sterna) — certainly did.
The only question was who would profit? Expeditions led by mutineer Fortún Ximénez and Cortés were unsuccessful. The former arrived in 1533, and the latter in 1535. But Cortés’ attempts at a settlement foundered in under a year, as did the effort mounted by Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1596. It wasn’t until 1740 that anyone got rich from the pearl trade, and then only by a stroke of enormous good luck farther up the coast in Mulegé.
The birth of a legend
The first rich man in California was a soldier named Manuel de Ocio. After a chubasco unexpectedly threw pearl shells onto the beach in Mulegé, Indigenous inhabitants (likely Cochimí) traded the knowledge to Ocio, stationed at a presidio nearby. Ocio harvested 400 pounds of pearls in the years afterwards, retiring from the proceeds to become a miner and rancher, later helping to fund the expedition to settle the modern state of California.
In La Paz, small boats arrived annually between May and September to hunt for pearls. But due to the primitive diving conditions — Indigenous divers dove nude with only a stick to pry open shells and fight off the occasional shark — there was little profit in this trade for most.
The golden age of pearls in La Paz
It wasn’t until after the invention of the modern diving suit and helmet in 1874 that riches began to be reaped by local pearlers, despite side effects of the suit like partial deafness, rheumatism and even paralysis. This was the era during which the enormous pearl dubbed “the Great Lemon” was found in La Paz and became part of the English crown jewels, joining the 400-grain pearl that’s part of the Spanish crown jewels to burnish the city’s pearling reputation. By 1903, The New York Times would write that La Paz furnished the “finest jewels of this kind found anywhere in the world.”
Gastón Vives was the most dedicated of the pearlers during this golden age. After years of studying local tide and current conditions and experimenting with prototypes for protecting nascent pearls until they reached maturity, he determined that the uninhabited offshore island Espíritu Santo was the ideal place to base his operations. The island’s concession belonged to acclaimed pearler Don Antonio Ruffo. But Vives sold him on his innovative ideas and in 1903 they founded Compañia Creadora de Concha y Perla (CCCP), the company that would revolutionize the pearling industry.
At the height of its operations, the CCCP was harvesting between 200 and 500 high-quality pearls each year, and turning out some 10 million oyster shells per year for the nacre trade. A staggering 10% of the local population was working in Espíritu Santo at its peak and Vives doubled as the mayor of La Paz. However, after a revolution of a different sort rocked Mexico in 1910, Vives, a Díaz supporter, was ultimately forced into exile and a bitter rival, pearler Miguel Cornejo, destroyed his beloved pearl beds.
The end of one era and the start of another
To make matters worse, all the traditional pearl beds began dying in the 1930s, likely because the opening of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in 1936 caused changes in the salinity content of the Sea of Cortés. By 1940, the pearl oyster fishery was officially closed. Deprived of its trademark gem, the leading lights of La Paz decided to create another, and in 1940, the first modern hotel in Baja California Sur opened overlooking the malecón. Its name? Hotel Perla, of course.
It’s not an exaggeration to say Hotel Perla was a communal creation. Many of the city’s most prominent people, including top pearling families, bought shares in the fledgling enterprise. No, the name wasn’t entirely original. Ruffo had opened a long-running department store called La Perla de La Paz where the first bottles of a local liqueur, Damiana, were sold in the 1860s. However, as the age of tourism arrived in the early 1950s, and new hotels like Hotel Los Cocos and Luis Cóppola’s Hotel Los Arcos opened, the Hotel Perla emerged as the landmark that seemed to embody the history of La Paz while pointing toward its future.
The rebirth of a legend
For over 80 years the Hotel Perla and its onsite nightclub were the place to be and be seen in La Paz. It appeared this history was in jeopardy when ownership changed in 2020. But no, despite a massive US $10 million makeover currently underway, Hotel Perla will continue to represent La Paz’s rich and colorful legacy, albeit now under the imprimatur of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection.
The boutique 90-room Perla La Paz, Tapestry Collection By Hilton will open its doors in November 2025 with a colorful pink exterior and pink and green tinted decor, warm wood accents, and classical deco-style touches like checkered tiles. Lest one thinks it has forgotten its pearling roots, the second-level lounge El Mechudo should dispel any doubts.
Named after one of the most legendary stories of La Paz, El Mechudo was a diver who took one dive too many, not for a tribute to the Virgin of Guadalupe, as was customary at the end of a day, but out of greed. He found an enormous pearl, the so-called “Devil’s Pearl” after a boast he had made mocking the Virgin. But he never made it back to the surface. His hair and beard are said to have kept growing after his death and he can still be seen floating in the current somewhere in the Sea of Cortés.
So the city’s shiniest new (yet historically old) pearl will help to keep the city’s pearling culture alive. Rates for the historic lodging will start at US $269 a night for standard rooms, and $326 for doubles, with suites fetching $533 and up.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
