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Events

Candlemas Day

Marking the end of the festive season, 40 days after Christmas, Candlemas Day (Candelaria) is a citywide and nationwide traditional celebration, partly religious and partly pre-Hispanic. A chosen member of each family hosts a party, offering tasty tamales and atole (a beverage made from corn). There are numerous street parades with groups carrying representations of Baby Jesus to church where special masses are held, markets and fiestas in the streets and important bullfights at the Plaza de Toros Monumental.

Venue: Streets and churches throughout the city
Date: 2 February, annually

Independence Day

Mexicans celebrate the anniversary of their independence from Spain with great gusto, particularly in Mexico City where the day before the event the Zocalo fills with throngs of people from early morning, awaiting the appearance of the president on the balcony of the National Palace. At 11am the president duly appears to shout ‘the Cry’, a re-enactment of the 1810 call to independence by Father Hidalgo. The emotional crowd replies with ‘Viva!’ and the city erupts with excitement, abuzz with street parties and fireworks. The following day a three-hour military parade begins at the Zocalo and ends at the Angel monument on the Paseo de la Reforma.

Venue: Zocalo and city streets
Date: 15-16 September, annually.

Day of the Dead

A Mexican tradition with Aztec roots is the honouring of the departed with traditions that nowadays closely resemble those of Halloween celebrated to the north. In Mexico City markets and stores are liberally stocked with flowers, candy skulls, paper skeletons and candles. Processions are made to cemeteries, where vigils or even parties are held. Visitors to Mexico City who want to make the most of the celebration head for Mixquic, a mountain pueblo south of the city, which hosts an elaborate street fair and solemn processions to the town cemetery.

Venue: Various
Date: 1-2 November 2008

Festival of Mexico

The 'Festival del Centro Historico' (Festival in the Historic Centre) was inaugurated in 1985 as an exercise in aid of rescuing and restoring the historic art and architecture of Mexico City's degenerating town centre. The event has now earned a reputation as one of the most vibrant celebrations of art and culture in Latin America. During the two-week festival each year more than 100 performances take place from opera and chamber music, through jazz, folk and pop to theatre, and classical ballet. In addition there are exhibitions, gourmet food, master classes and workshops, conferences and lectures by renowned artists, authors and poets.

Venue: Various
Date: March 2010 TBA
Website: www.festival.org.mx

Xochimilco Festival

The lakeland area of Xochimilco, just over 10 miles (16km) south of Mexico City, with its canals, colourful barges and floating gardens, provides a fitting setting for an annual festival honouring the ancient Aztec goddess of flowers and the goddess of dance. A lucky girl is chosen as 'La Flor Mas Bella del Ejido' (the most beautiful flower of Ejido) and leads a floating parade of flower-bedecked barges through the canals. The four-day festival includes canoe races and horticulture contests, and takes place two weeks before Easter every year.

Venue: The canals of Xochimilco
Date: April 2010 TBA

Cinco de Mayo

Every Fifth of May (Cinco de Mayo) in the state of Puebla, the famous Battle of Puebla is commemorated with traditional music and dancing and general festivities. The Battle saw a smaller Mexican army defeat a larger and more equipped French army on 5 May 1862. Ironically the day is probably more celebrated in the United States than it is in the rest of Mexico, in a similar fashion to the celebrations of St. Patrick's Day.

Venue: Puebla, east of Mexico City
Date: 5 May annually