The Proposed Plaza de la Banda in Mazatlán
The proposed Plaza de la Banda was originally envisioned as a dedicated cultural and civic space celebrating Banda Sinaloense—the world-famous, brass-heavy regional music that originated in the state of Sinaloa.
The grand municipal concept, championed by former mayor Luis Guillermo Benítez Torres, aimed to create a vibrant musical plaza modeled after Guadalajara's famous Plaza de los Mariachis and Mexico City's Plaza Garibaldi. The blueprints featured a central performance pavilion, open-air dining tables, regional snack vendors, and massive, eye-catching monument installations celebrating local music legends.
However, due to significant shifts in municipal leadership and changing public infrastructure priorities, the development of the dedicated single plaza has been put on hold. Rather than building a commercial music park at the base of the lighthouse, the local government has transitioned to preserving and regulating live banda where it naturally belongs: right along the sunny public beaches.
Chronological Project Updates & Current Status
The Proposed El Faro Location
The original municipal plans designated the site of the old El Crestón sewage treatment plant, sitting right at the southern base of the iconic Cerro del Crestón (El Faro Lighthouse Hill), as the location for the plaza.
The state-funded decommissioning of the treatment plant was completed to clear the way for public development, presenting an ideal, spacious oceanfront footprint safely removed from the nearest downtown residential neighborhoods.
The Transition to a Recreative Park
When Mayor Édgar González Zataráin stepped into office, he officially announced that the city would not proceed with the Plaza de la Banda project.
Citing the high cost of construction and urgent infrastructure needs across Mazatlán's residential neighborhoods, the municipal government chose to design a quiet, eco-friendly recreational park and botanical walking garden on the old plant lot. This park integrates directly with the surrounding El Faro natural park and the modern cruise ship terminal developments.
Proposed Property Location Coordinates:
Avenida Capitán Joel Montes Camarena S/N, Playas del Sur, 82000 Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico (Base of El Faro Lighthouse).
Location Image Gallery
The 2024 Political Shifts
During the high-profile beach noise controversies in early 2024, the Governor of Sinaloa, Rubén Rocha Moya, briefly suggested reviving the concept of a dedicated space to help resolve spatial conflicts between local hoteliers and beach musicians. However, the state government eventually moved away from a single, centralized plaza. They reasoned that isolating musicians to a closed space would strip the local beaches of their authentic cultural charm, focusing instead on daily schedule regulations.