Anaiz Miranda

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2021
• First Four Seasons Position: Assistant Landscaping Manager, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos at Costa Palmas

Employment History

• Frondoso, San José del Cabo, Mexico; Grupo Alego Ciudad Obregón Centro, Mexico; Unidad de Verificación ed Auditoria Ambiental, Los Mochis, Mexico; Distrito de Riego 038 Ríon Mayo, Navojoa, Mexico; Instituto Acatitlan, S.C., Tialnepantla de Baz, Mexico

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree, Biotechnology, and Master of Science, Natural Resources Management, Institute of Technology of Sonora, Mexico

Birthplace

• Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

Languages Spoken

• Spanish, English

Sandy beaches and parched deserts don’t lend themselves to lushness, so Anaiz Miranda has her work cut out for her fashioning a green scene in between at Four Seasons Los Cabos at Costa Palmas. She couldn’t be happier with the work. “What I like most about landscaping here is that I have a front row seat to the incredible changes in the plants throughout the seasons” she says of her role as Landscaping Manager. “The attention our team gives them is their daily care, and the details of keeping plants healthy are the result of research and weather watching we do year after year.”

From potted plants to tropical gardens to chef-friendly settings for ingredients, the seaside property has a lot of landscape to go around. Over here is Iris Grass sporting pretty white flowers. Over there is heat-resistant Plumeria with colourful, fragrant blossoms. Around this or that corner may be Pennisetum grass, sculptural Torote trees, or Biznaga agaves – aka Barrel Cacti, so don’t get too close – and much more.

While a distinctive desert air pervades the Resort during spring and summer, “magic happens” throughout the year, says Miranda. “Everything outside becomes green and beautiful, and we work to maximize their appearance and scents.” Whatever the season, her responsibilities suit her scientific background as she considers new plantings, updates the operation with new equipment, and maintains a demanding schedule for fertilizing, watering, maintenance, and the like.

Along the way, Miranda manages a team of 54 landscapers under the umbrella of the Engineering Department. The landscapers are as busy as bees, she says, noting plantings across the Resort’s 20 acres as well as throughout the hotel’s 80,000 square metres. They include 700 flowerpots within guest rooms and suites, and another 300 flowerpots arrayed in public areas from Oasis Spa to event spaces, as well as lounges and restaurants such as Zest, the smallest dining spot in Baja, with a single table for 12 surrounded by the chef’s private garden. Each private residence is also landscaped, with master baths displaying tropical gardens that, even indoors, require attention to prosper in the desert.

Miranda goes all out in training her team, growing their landscaping knowledge and skills for wherever their careers eventually lead. She keeps enthusiasm blossoming by reminding team members of their importance to the Resort. “They’re the first people guests see as they approach the property and walk out of their rooms in the morning. Their smiles are our best tools.”

Named for her mother’s preferred perfume, Miranda grew up in coastal Los Mochis across the Gulf of California from Los Cabos. She was always keen on science and hoped to become pediatrician but was put off by the study involved. “So, I became doctor for plants instead,” she recalls, adding, “They’re living beings but can’t tell you what they need. So, the enchantment for me has always been in figuring out how to get a positive response.”  

After graduate study in natural resources science, she pursued work in plant research and landscaping, first for government agricultural projects, then for the private sector, including developing cell modification to aid the survival of tropical plants in desert conditions.

While engaged in a project for a landscaping firm based in Los Cabos, she and some colleagues were invited for a walkthrough of Four Seasons. About halfway along, a manager told her if she was ever interested there could be spot for her on the Resort team. “I had never thought about hospitality as a backdrop for landscaping, but the tour satisfied my curiosity. The work fit right into my scientific background and left the door open for a lot of creativity.”

Six months after joining the Resort as Assistant Manager, Miranda was promoted and has led the landscaping operation since. The work can be “heavy,” she says, due to all the sunshine, which baths Los Cabos some 340 days a year. Then there are stormy days, as happens along the coast of a roaring ocean. In such cases, her team reliably works “like ninjas” to minimize damage, repair and replace injured plants, and maintain the beauty of the Resort that guests travel to experience.

When Miranda isn’t tending to plants for Four Seasons, she loves to discover them on her own travel. “I really enjoy seeing and smelling all the different flowers I can find. The farther afield I find them, the better.”