S. frigate Portsmouth briefly occupied the city. A bloody siege ensued and the Mexicans prevailed under the leadership of Mexican Naval officer Jose Antonio Mijares. Plaza Mijares, San Jose's town Plaza is named to commemorate his victory. As mining in the Cape Region gave out during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, San Jose del Cabo lost population along with the rest of the region. A few farmers and began trickling into the San Jose area in the 30s and in 1940 the church was rebuilt.
San Jose del Cabo remained largely a backwater until the Cape began attracting sportfishers and later the sun-and-sand-set in the '60s and '70s. Since the late 1970s, FONATUR (Foundation Nacional de Fomento del Turismo or National Foundation for Tourism Development) has sponsored several tourist development projects along San Jose's shoreline. Fortunately, the developments have done little to change San Jose's Spanish colonial character. Local residents take pride in restoring the towns 18th century architecture and preserving its quiet, laid back ambiance.
In November of 1993, a severe storm wreaked havoc on beachside condos near San Jose del Cabo but the town itself suffered little damage. Today, San Jose del Cabo provides a welcome respite from the busy, fiesta atmosphere found twenty miles south in Cabo San Lucas.
