The Pioneros de Cancun (Cancun Pioneers Association) are preparing to celebrate the 48th anniversary of the founding of Cancun on April 20. This group is comprised of members of the founding families who came here in the 1970s to work on the construction of Mexico’s first master-planned tourist center.

Planners, architects, engineers, surveyors, builders and the first hotel workers settled in a paradise of deserted beaches and dense jungle. They forged the fledgling town from the forest and shared their space with wildlife such as spider monkeys, coatimundi, toucans, boas and even tarantulas. Cancun’s first children have great stories about growing up in the Mexican Caribbean.

Cancun’s anniversary celebrations include masses, processions, exhibitions and a dinner dance for the Pioneros Association. This annual gathering of the first settlers and their children, many of who were born in Cancun, is a chance to meet up again and remember the early days.