Preparations are in full swing in Aguascalientes for the traditional Feria Nacional de San Marcos, a three-week spring fiesta the city of natural hot springs is best known for. About seven million revelers are expected to descend upon this central colonial city between April 17 and May 9, for the festival that promises to entertain […]
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The majority of people who visit the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico will visit Cancún, Cozumel or Mérida. All these places have an established tourist infrastructure, are modern and contain every convenience necessary for tourism. However, in close proximity to these well known tourist destinations, exist the villages of Yucatán. In the villages there is almost […]
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In December in Oaxaca there’s a fiesta almost every day, which makes this colonial city one of the most popular holiday destinations for both foreigners and Mexicans. We describe below the main celebrations. For details on other events which are sure to pop up, check with the tourist office at García Vigíl and Independencia across from the […]
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Christianizing their way around Lake Chapala in the early 1500s, taking the path of least resistance, Franciscan missionaries left each well-established settlement of Indians with their centuries-old community name. As the Franciscans were moving from village to village, they were selecting a Patron Saint for each new congregation, then adding the Saint’s name to the […]
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Sunday afternoon, at about ten minutes before 4 p.m., local time, in bullrings all over Spain and Mexico, matadors kneel in arena chapels and pray to La Virgen de la Macarena to protect them. For precisely at 4 p.m., a bugle will blow and they will go forth to meet their destiny. Moments later, a […]
Continue ReadingThe Vanilla Festival is held in early summer every year in Papantla, Veracruz. The origins of the festival pre-date the Spanish conquest. Its timing is now tied to the Catholic celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ), sixty days after Easter. Papantla is the heart of Mexico’s vanilla-growing region. Vanilla, surely one […]
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Masked dancers take to the streets on July 25 to reenact an age old battle fought in Spain long before the conquest. The ceremonial tastoan (sometimes spelled tastuan) rituals come from the 12th century and were originally known as the dance of the Moors and the Christians. In Spain’s version, the dance symbolizes the expulsion of the Moors […]
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In Mexico, May seems much shorter than it does north of the border. There are so many holidays that the country seems to call a halt to the normal workweek and honor almost everyone. It actually begins on April 30 with the Dia del Niño, when children are honored with gifts and treats, and classes are […]
Continue Reading Holy Week — from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday — is observed throughout Mexico. However San Miguel de Allende’s fervor and pageantry are some of the most powerful and beautiful. The image of El Señor de la Columna is carried in a procession from Atotonilco on the Sunday before Palm Sunday, and visits churches in […]
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In Mexico, Christmas decorations stay up though January 6. The holiday celebrates Epiphany, when the Three Kings or Wise Men visited the baby Jesus with precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. El Día de los Santos Reyes is celebrated throughout Mexico. Yet nowhere is Three Kings Day more festive than in Cajititlan de Los […]
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