Many of us know Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas to be the center for spring break partying. In fact, US News And Report ranked it No. 4 on its “Best Spring Break Destinations list,” and it’s been famously visited by our favorite hot girl, Megan Thee Stallion. And while I love my girl Tina Snow, the party reputation that preceded her recent visit is one reason I never visited Cabo. However, on a recent trip, when I got the chance to experience Corazón Cabo Resort And Spa, I was pleasantly surprised to find that all my limited preconceived notions about this region were totally wrong.
Cabo presents opportunities for recharge, relaxation, and soul-feeding good eats. Here’s more on my transformative experience where the awe-inspiring desert meets the serene waters:
Courtesy, Corazón Cabo Resort and Spa
Where I Stayed
One major thing I loved about Corazón Cabo Resort and Spa is that it offered unique luxury amenities without sacrificing a certain cozy allure I crave when choosing a place to stay in a new destination. The property, which features sculptures and installations by local artists, has more than 300 guest rooms and suites. My room had an ocean view, with Cabo’s world-famous rock formations within the distance, floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors, plush bedding, a hot tub, and a spa-style shower. It was enough to make me never want to actually leave the suite, and there’s a signature scent that hugs as you walk down the property’s halls.
Corazón, located off of Medano Beach (one of the “most popular swimmable beaches in Cabo,”) has several towers, all featuring attractive, diverse options for almost any traveler— from spaces fit for families and small groups to oversized luxury suites with elegant decor, in-room kitchens, rooftop terraces, wet bars, and huge patios.
Courtesy, Corazón Cabo Resort and Spa
Where I Ate And Best Drinks
The resort has multiple signature restaurants, including Aleta, a waterfront space that offers dishes with fresh-caught seafood. My favorite lunchtime standouts were ceviche (a refreshing traditional Mexican dish made with fish or shellfish, marinated in citrus, cilantro, peppers, and other flavors) and, of course, an assortment of tacos on corn or flour tortillas. (I tried cactus, octopus, fish, beef, pork, and shrimp, and none of them disappointed.) The Caribbean spirit in me is adventurous when it comes to food and heat, so you can enjoy both when there.
At dinner, there was a plethora of fresh farm-to-table Mexican dishes, something I was excited about since Mexican cuisine is not limited to tacos. Their marinated steak, a divine Caesar salad, the smoked braised brisket, Yucatan pork empanadas, and crusted sea bass served with a creamy risotto were my favs.
Another hot spot for good food and cocktails is Rooftop 360, located on the ninth floor. The best time to go is right before sunset, where you can see all the meshing of pastel purples, pinks, yellows, and blues dancing across the sky in panoramic views of the Sea of Cortez.
Courtesy, Corazón Cabo Resort and Spa
Courtesy, Corazón Cabo Resort and Spa
It was whimsical, romantic, and awe-inspiring. At night there’s a live DJ, and the key food highlights were their varieties of freshly made sushi, their chips and guacamole, and their signature drinks made with mezcal, which takes tequila to a whole other level with its smoky undertones. Trust and believe I won’t be ordering my usual Patron margarita the next time I’m at my favorite bar in the States.
The property also has the Camaleón Café, where I skipped the coffee and enjoyed a refreshing green juice, more ideal (for me) when prepping to go on a food tour or other excursion. The Baja Brewing Co., touted as the “first and only microbrewery in all of Baja California Sur,” is also on the rooftop terrace and boasts a beer crust pizza. (And if you know anything about beer and dough-making, you know this is a next-level combo since it gives the crust a certain texture and flavor that’s simply chef’s kiss!) You can also enjoy one of the other on-site bars, including Draque, which gave sexy-chic city vibes in the middle of a seaside oasis. Again, mezcal wins here, so order anything they offer on the menu with it.
Fun By The Seaside
The Corazón Beach Club was my favorite chill spot on the beach, where I enjoyed bar food, including wings, sushi, nachos, and the usual grilled fare. One particular Mexican-flared goodie took my heart: Their “Beach Hot Dog,” an addictively good sausage wrapped in bacon and served with mayo and pico de gallo on a brioche bun. There’s a DJ nearby, and it’s great for enjoying margaritas while people-watching and buying mementos to take home from the beach-side vendors walking back and forth advertising their goods. (I bought a T-shirt for bae and a chic large straw bag with Mexican tapestry accents.)
There are also several infinity pools with great views, where you can lounge, swim, order drinks, and simply enjoy the breeze and views. If you’re adventurous, you can book activities including paddleboarding, snuba (a cross between scuba and snorkeling, and eFoil (basically electric surfing). Or you can book a boat ride to see El Arco (or “The Arc,”) and make a stop at Playa del Amor (Lover's Beach), a beautifully quaint seaside spot, one of several with folklore tales.
Healing, Meditation, And Reflection
Corazón Cabo also offers services like the chakra massage at Sparitual, as well as aqua yoga. Both were just what I needed after a very busy and challenging two quarters of constant work and realignment. I wasn’t familiar with the benefits of chakra-related remedies nor its credibility going in. I’m a Christian, so typically I’d stay away from those sorts of things, but what I took from the experience was an open mind to expand my spiritual palate within the context of what I already believe.
It was a good sign that the chakra massage session started with the affirmation, “I am important, I am healthy, and I rebuke negative energy.” I'd actually prayed and gone to church right before the trip, so this was no more than confirmation about things I’d already been talking to God about.
Other interesting moments during the massage session were the scent of cloves (or some sort of mint) that I was asked to breathe in— a soothing note— and a shot of Damiana Liqueur, an herb-based Mexican drink that came from a bottle shaped like a curvy seated woman. I left the session feeling not only like the kinks in my back were literally rubbed out but thinking more positively about myself and the challenges I’m overcoming in this season.
Courtesy, Corazón Cabo Resort and Spa
Courtesy, Corazón Cabo Resort and Spa
Doing aqua yoga was another first-time adventure that helped me get past my hang-ups about water, my need to control everything in life, and my constant anxiety. It forced me to focus on balance, a theme both metaphorically and literally super-relevant right now. The instructor was patient, as initially I struggled to even get on the mat (which was anchored by weights so that it wouldn’t topple or float away). At more than 200 lbs, I came to Mexico a bit weary and felt heavy in many respects. While the water wasn’t deep in the infinity pool where we did the activity, overlooking the sea, I just didn’t want to embarrass myself.
The instructor kept quietly affirming, “You can do it. Take your time,” and her assistant even came in to help hold the mat while I awkwardly mounted it. Soon, I’d flow into the positions, appreciate the deep breathing techniques, and release the pressures through my hips, back, and arms.
I’ll definitely be venturing back to Cabo to continue the healing work that was done, experience more fresh foods, and get better acquainted with the wonderful wonders of God’s creations in Baja California Sur.
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A Goddard College graduate, who earned an MFA from Pratt Institute and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Marymount Manhattan College, Mahogany offers unapologetic realness with a side of grace and empowerment. "I started touring locally. I started creating chat books so that those poems will go in the hands of the people who were sitting in the rooms," she shared.
"And then I started facilitating poetry workshops, so I used my chat books as curriculum. And that, in turn, allowed me to further invest in my art and show the community and people who were hiring me that it wasn't just a one-off, that it's not just, you know, a fly by night—that I am invested in this art as much as I am invested in your community, in your children's learning, in our growth."
Mahogany has a special way of moving audiences, and her superpower sparks shifts in perspective, post-performance introspection, and strengthening of community bonds, especially among Black women. (One can undeniably recognize her gift for arousal of the spirit and mind merely from her listening to her insights from the other side of a Google Hangout call. I can only imagine the soul-stirring, top-tier sensory encounter when watching her perform in person.)
In this chat with xoNecole, Mahogany reflects on sustaining a creative career, the aftermath of writing a banned book, and using poetry for both healing, community-building, and activism.
Anthony Artis
xoNecole: What are three key things that have laid the foundation for a sustainable creative career for you?
Mahogany L Browne: What has helped me is that I'm willing to go in being an expert at knowing poetry and knowing the way in which art can change the landscape of our lives, not just as a poet, but also as a poetry facilitator. How you move through classes, those things are mastered, right? So when I go into another space that's maybe tech-heavy, I don't mind learning and being, you know, a student of the wonder of how we can make this magic, work together.
Two, you’ve got to know how to pivot. Sometimes we say, ‘Alright, this is what my life is going to be. I'm going to be a New York Times best-selling author. I'm going to, you know, have an album that's Grammy-nominated. And then, say you get dropped from your record label. That doesn't mean you can't make an album anymore. You can also still create an album that can be submitted to the Grammys. So, what does a pivot look like as an artist who doesn't have an institution behind them? Pivot being a student of the wonder.
Relationships also really help. How do I serve the community? And in turn, that tells me how the community can show up. For me, I have long-standing ties with a community that will outlast my one life. So, what does it mean to create space where these relationships can develop, can be nurtured, can be rooted, can be cultivated? Creating space—it happens through relationships.
xoN: With today’s economic challenges, what does your current creative process look like, and what are you working on?
MB: I’m always thinking five years ahead. I just reviewed the pages for two children’s books and recently released a YA novel. I’m drafting an adult fiction manuscript now.
Anything I create is founded with the root of poetry, but it can exist in captions. It can exist in commercials. It can exist as a musical. So that's where I’m at now.
xoN: You started performing "Black Girl Magic" in 2013, had an acclaimed performance of it via PBS and the work went on to viral success shortly after. Talk more about the inspiration. And what do you think about the continued relevance more than a decade later?
MB: I wrote it as a rally cry for the mothers who had been keeping themselves truly in harm's way by, you know, being a part of the community right after the death of their child or their loved one. They are usually mothers of victims of police brutality—and just seeing how they showed up in these community spaces, they are devout to the cause but obviously still grieving.
"I wanted this poem to be just a space of reclamation, of joy and of you, of your light, of your shine, of your brilliance, in any which way in which you fashion. Every room you enter is the room you deserve to be in. What does it mean to have a poem like that that exists?"
And the first time I did the poem, the Weeping that occurred, right? It was like this blood-letting of sorts. The next time I performed it, I'm moved to tears because I'm seeing how it's affecting other women who have just been waiting to hear, ‘You belong. You deserve. You are good. We see you. Thank you, despite everything that they said to make you regret being born in this beautiful brown, dark-skinned, light-skinned, but Black body.’
Black women are the backbone—period. Point blank. And so, that that poem became a necessity, not just to the fortitude of Black women in the community, but like you know, in service of healing the Black women.
xoN: One of your books was banned at a school in Boston, and it was later reinstated due to parental and activist support. What was that experience like?
MB: Well, I think it happened because they were racist. That's it. Point blank. The reversal of it was empowering, right? I realized, oh, I thought we just had to sit here and be on a banned book list. But no, parents are actually the leaders of this charge.
So to see that, the parents said, ‘Nah, we're not gonna let you take this book out of my baby’s school just because it's a Black kid on the front saying, ‘Woke’ and they're talking about being a global citizen. They're talking about accountability. They're talking about accessibility. They're talking about allyship, and you don't want them to have compassion or empathy or have even an understanding, right? So no, we rebuke that, and we want this book here anyway.’ To see that happen in that way. I was, like, reaffirmed. Absolutely.
xoN: You recently organized the Black Girl Magic Ball at the Lincoln Center in New York. Honorees included author and entrepreneur Rachel Cargle and National Black Theater CEO Sade Lythcott. What impact did it have and what expanded legacy do you hope to leave with your creative works?
MB: I was really interested in not celebrating just the book, but celebrating the community that made the book possible. And so I gave out five awards to women doing that thing, like, what does it mean to be a Black girl in this world?
I just thought it was gonna be an amazing time. Everybody's gonna dress up—we're gonna celebrate each other. And boom, I then realized that it responded to like a gaping hole. There was a missing thing for Black girls of all walks of life, all ages, right?
"It's very intergenerational. That was intentional to come together and celebrate just being us."
You have all these instances where just being you is either the butt of a joke or it's diminished and not worthy of a specific title in these larger institutions. So what does it mean to just to be loved up on and celebrated?
It felt like a self-care project at first. You know, for the first couple of years, folks were coming and they were getting that sisterhood. They were getting that tribe work that they were missing in their everyday lives.
I love the Black Girl Magic Ball because we got us. If I go out with a bang, they'll remember that Mahogany worked her a** off to make sure all the Black girls everywhere knew that she was the light. We are the blueprint.
For more information on Mahogany L. Browne, her work, and her future projects, visit her website or follow her on IG @mobrowne.
Featured image by Anthony Artis
“I think for me, an all-American girl, for some reason, brings me back to when I was younger, and just like playing at my grandma’s house and just being outside,” Kennedy told xoNecole ahead of her attendance at the 2025 BET Awards.
“I just feel like when I was younger, you know, you don’t have as many responsibilities. There’s not as much weighing you down, and so I kind of go back to that mindset. Like, even now, being 27, I’m trying to get back to that younger girl.”
The 2025 BET Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, took place in Los Angeles at the Peacock Theater on Monday night (June 9). The star-studded event was filled with tons of surprises, including a trip down memory lane with a 106 & Park reunion, coupled with performances by artists that dominated the top spots during the music video countdown show’s reign from 2000 to 2014.
Kennedy, who received her first nomination alongside Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, and Beyoncè in the BET Her category for “Blackbiird,” the reimagination of the original The Beatles of the same title (minus the extra i), invited xoNecole to get ready with her as she prepared for her first-ever BET Awards.
Beauty Rituals Inherited From Her Mother.
Rather than booking her makeup artist ahead of the big night, Kennedy decided to go on a budget and do the task herself, something that isn’t too out of her norm. She noted how she incorporates some of the things she witnessed her mother do while growing up in her routine.
“I remember being younger and seeing all the makeup laid out on my mom’s counter,” the “I Look Good In That Truck” singer recalled. “I don’t even think she knows this, but there were moments where I would like to go and steal her makeup. She would have Mac. I think it was some kind of foundation powder, and I would go in there and I would put it on, and I’m like I hope she doesn’t see.”
She added, “My mom is very natural with her makeup, so even though I’ve got these big lashes on, I always gravitate towards just neutral looks… I don’t do anything too fancy.”
Tiera Kennedy’s Holy Grail of Products.
Kennedy took it upon herself to take a class to ensure that she’s prepared for nights like these, where she’s the one responsible for bringing her glam look to life.
“We are independent,” she said, reminding us that she is no longer tied to a big machine when it comes to her work as an artist. “We ball on a budget. I have to do my makeup for award shows, events, all the things, and so my makeup artist that taught me how to do all of this, Hailee Clark, she put me on to Nars, the foundation. I don’t know exactly what the name of it is, but I love it.”
“I don’t know all the fancy technicals, but I know that it makes me just look kind of airbrushed, and so I love it. Then, I always use this Laura Mercier [setting] powder because I get real shiny, so I’ve gotta reapply that quite often.”
“We are independent. We ball on a budget. I have to do my makeup for award shows, events, all the things, and so my makeup artist that taught me how to do all of this, Hailee Clark, she put me on."
Her Decision To Wear Hanifa For The Big Night.
Intentionality is essential for Kennedy, which is why she jumped at the opportunity to support Black designer Anifa Mvuemba with a dress from her fashion brand, Hanifa.
“Takirra on my team helped me pick out the dress. I really like to represent in country music, and being in Nashville, I like to represent Black culture through the things that I wear, and I was excited to get to wear a Black brand to the BET Awards,” said Kennedy.
“She was telling me about this brand, Hanifa, and we were on FaceTime just scrolling through the website, and she was like this looks like you. This feels very rooted, like fits those natural tones, and so she bought the dress and was like, ‘This is what you’re wearing.’”
The look was a Raven Knit Dress in Eggplant/Dark Brown Mesh from Hanifa.
Tiera Kennedy in her younger years.
Courtesy
Kennedy also nurtured her inner child for the look, taking it back to her roots with one small detail in her hair that she had her mother carry out before she hopped on the flight to LA.
“I had this vision of wearing beads in my hair because when I was younger, my mom would always do that, and I didn’t love it, but now I’m like, it would be really beautiful to tie all of that together, and the Hanifa dress just fit perfectly.”
“Just even in the past couple of days, I’ve had to take a second, and just look back at all of the awesome things we’ve gotten to do,” said Kennedy when asked what baby Tiera is feeling in this moment.
“I had this vision of wearing beads in my hair, because when I was younger, my mom would always do that, and I didn’t love it, but now I’m like, it would be really beautiful to tie all of that together, and the Hanifa dress just fit perfectly.”
“I dreamed of having a record and having this team that was doing all of these things for me, and now, being an independent artist, and being in control of my career, I’ve gotten to build an awesome team behind me that helps me get to where I am. It’s been a lot of hard work, and I think when I was younger, I would have never imagined that I could do all of these things, and so, yeah, to be here, I don’t even think I would believe it.”
Although “Blackbiird” didn’t win in the BET Her category during Monday night’s show, Kennedy’s future is brighter than ever, which she attests to her faith playing a huge role in guiding her next steps as she continues to rise to stardom.
“Thinking about the next thing, I think that can be really daunting when you’re an independent artist. It’s like you have to be thinking of what’s coming next, to prepare for that, but I think the way that I like to walk through life in general is letting the Lord lead,” Kennedy said.
“I know that a lot of time when I have a vision of what I want things to look like in my head, He always exceed my expectations. So, I think the plan is to continue to release music, and continue to show up as my authentic self. Getting to have these moments like the BET Awards is so awesome, but also, at the same time, that’s not what I do this for. I do it for the humans that are listening to my music, that are [having] fun and healing through my music, so I hope that I can just continue to do that.”
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