MEXICAN EVENTS

JANUARY

JAN 1:
New Year's Day (Año Nuevo)--Nationwide. Mexico rings in the New Year with celebrations
featuring music, dance, food and fireworks. Streets are filled with revelers, and friends and families
congregate for parties that often last till dawn. One tradition calls for eating twelve grapes, one with
each stroke of the chiming bell at midnight, for luck during the next 12 months.

JAN 6:
Three Kings' Day (Dia de los Santos Reyes)--Nationwide. The Feast of the Epiphany recalls
the arrival in Bethlehem of the three wise men (reyes magos) bearing gifts for baby Jesus. This is the
day of traditional gift-giving for children in the central and southern regions of Mexico. Rosca de Reyes,
a crown-shaped sweet bread decorated with candied fruits with a small doll baked inside, is served on
this day. Whoever is lucky enough to find the figure in his slice of bread must host a party on February 2,
Candlemas Day, offering tamales (stuffed cornflour cakes wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves)
and atole (a hot, sweet drink thickened with corn flour) to the guests.

FEBRUARY

FEB 2:
Candlemas Day (Dia de la Candelaria)--Nationwide. Celebrated with candlelit processions and
dancing in many towns throughout the country, this holiday marks the end of the Christmas celebration.
On this national holiday, families and friends gather together to enjoy tamales and atole (a hot, sweet
drink thickened with corn flour). The musical events, parades and dances are especially memorable
in the port city of Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, where a bull is rafted into town and released.

FEB 5:
Día de la Constitución. An official holiday that commemorates Mexico's Constitution.

FEB 23 - 28:
Carnival (Carnaval)--Nationwide. Celebrations begin five days before Ash Wednesday and are
marked by parades, parties and dancing in the streets. Some of the most famous and festive
celebrations are held in the port towns of Veracruz, Campeche (www.webcampeche.com ), Mazatlan
(www.carnavalmazatlan.com.mx) and Ensenada, while carnaval in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas is
one of the most important indigenous celebrations in Mexico, involving purification ceremonies and
ethnic dances that depict Mayan legends.

MARCH

MAR 3 - APR 2:
International Nautical Festival Vallarta-Nueva Vallarta, Nayarit. Four-day event in the Bahía of

MAR 24 - 31:
Guadalajara Film Festival--Guadalajara, Jalisco. Now in its 21st year, this contemporary film
festival is the oldest and most important film festival in Mexico, offering the best selection of Mexican
and Ibero-American films of the year. The festival features a variety of films including feature-length
films, shorts, documentaries and children’s films. www.guadalajaracinemafest.com.

APRIL

APR 3-7:
International Guitar Festival of Morelia (Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Morelia)--Morelia,
Michoacan. Michoacan, with its rich musical traditions and home to one of the oldest conservatories in
Latin America, is the perfect host for this popular guitar festival. The program features recitals, contests,
conferences, seminars and expositions, with local as well as international artists participating from
Venezuela, Chile, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Cuba and the Czech Republic. For more information,
please visit: www.figmorelia.com

APR 8-15:
Polo Tournament “Gran Copa Agua Alta” Costa Careyes, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Costa Careyes is
located 2 and a half hours south of Puerto Vallarta and a little more than an hour north of Manzanillo
International Airport on the Mexican Pacific Coast, on the famous Costalegre. For more information
about this event, please visit: www.mexicopolo.com

APR 9-16:
Holy Week (Semana Santa)--Nationwide. Beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter
Sunday, the week's religious celebrations include reenactments of the events leading up to Christ's
crucifixion. The most renowned celebrations are held in Mexico City, Patzcuaro, San Luis Potosi,
Zacatecas, San Cristobal de las Casas and Taxco.

MAY

MAY 5:
Cinco de Mayo Parade (Desfile del Cinco de Mayo) -- Puebla, Puebla. The civic-military parade
takes place each year in the Blvd. Heroes del Cinco de Mayo. Many elementary schools participate in
this event where the young students march representing their schools. As part of the parade, there will
also be an exhibition of motor vehicles leaded by the specialized police force, and military forces marching
such as the infantry regiment. Many of Puebla’s government authorities will be present at this Parade.

JULY / AUGUST

JUL 29 – AUG 12:
International Chamber Music Festival (Festival Internacional de Musica de Camara)--San Miguel de Allende,
Guanajuato. A classical music festival to bid farewell to the summer, featuring award-winning international
ensembles, guest musicians and local artists performing in the city’s beautiful open gardens and the grand
gothic cathedral.

AUGUST

AUG 28-SEP 7:
International Mariachi and Charro Festival (13° Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charreria) -
Guadalajara, Jalisco. Annual celebration of mariachi music in the mariachi capital of the world, gathering
musicians from Mexico and around the world. www.mariachi-jalisco.com.mx.





SEPTEMBER

SEP 15–16:
Mexican Independence Day (Dia de la Independencia Mexicana)--Nationwide. Mexico celebrates its declaration
of independence from Spain in 1810. The night of September 15, marks "El Grito," a dramatic reenactment of
revolutionary Father Hidalgo's call for his fellow Mexicans to join the uprising, which takes place at city halls
across the country. On September 16, military parades are held in almost every Mexican city.

OCTOBER

OCT 17 – 26
Tradicional Palenque. All State of Jalisco. Traditional festivals, cockfighting and artist, commercial
handcrafts exhibition where you can meet the great culture of Guadalajara http://www.jalisco.gob.mx/.

From last Saturday of October until the second Sunday of November: All Saints Fair. Colima, Colima. Must
important fair of the state and of the bordering zones of Jalisco and Michoacán. It dates from the year of
1826 and in 1934 was instituted like Agricultural, Regional Fair, cattle Raiser, Commercial, Craft and Industrial.
At present functions in own installations, you enclose to the Park of Niños Heroes better known as "The Detour" -,
in the Kilometer 4 of the highway Colima-La Estancia, with open spaces for restaurants, rooms of varieties,
theater al air free and stockade. Recreational and cultural events are organized daily.

NOVEMBER


NOV 2:
Day of the Dead. All over Mexico. Local markets burst with preparatory activities, and playful skeleton
imagery adorns storefronts and home windows. The festival formally begins on October 31st, where families
pay honor to their ancestors or deceased loved ones with the careful and sometimes elaborate construction
of an in-house altar. Over the years, the altars have evolved into objects of art, making this celebration a true
exhibition. Typically, homes are open to those interested in paying homage to their dead.

DECEMBER

DEC 12:
Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe (Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe)--Nationwide. One of the most
important holidays in Mexico during which millions of travelers converge on the Mexico City Basilica of the
country’s patron saint in a pilgrimage to pay tribute to Mexico’s patron saint. The square in front of the Basilica
is a stage for singing, dancing and celebration.

DEC 16-24:
Posadas--Nationwide. Processions recreating Joseph and Mary's journey to Bethlehem, in which
people holding candles go door to door to seek shelter. Festivities include piñatas, Christmas caroling and
special foods and sweets.