The festivals worth planning a trip around. Dates follow their traditional pattern; confirm the exact days before booking travel.
The Day of the Dead is Mexico's most famous celebration: families build ofrendas (altars) with marigolds, food and photos to welcome back the souls of the departed. It is festive, not mournful, and UNESCO-listed as intangible heritage since 2008.
The most moving celebrations are in Patzcuaro, where the night vigil on Janitzio island draws thousands, and in Mixquic near Mexico City with its alumbrada candle-lighting.
The Guelaguetza is Oaxaca's great indigenous festival: delegations from the state's eight regions perform traditional dances in the hillside auditorium on the Lunes del Cerro (Mondays of the Hill).
The city fills for the whole month with concerts, craft fairs and mezcal events. Book accommodation well ahead.
The Cervantino, running since 1972, is Latin America's great arts festival: three weeks of theater, music and dance taking over Guanajuato's plazas, theaters and alleys.
The whole city becomes a stage. Hotels book out months in advance.
The Carnaval de Veracruz is one of Mexico's biggest: nine days of parades, concerts and dancing on the malecon, with the traditional burning of bad humor and the burial of Juan Carnaval.
It is the Gulf's answer to Rio, with son jarocho and danzon in the streets.
On the spring equinox, the afternoon sun casts a serpent of light and shadow down the staircase of El Castillo at Chichen Itza: the Maya calendar in stone.
Thousands gather to watch. Arrive early; the effect appears in the late afternoon.
The Night of the Radishes: Oaxaca's unique Christmas tradition where artisans carve giant radishes into nativity scenes and figures, displayed in competition on the zocalo.
It dates to the colonial era and draws crowds from across the country.
Mexico's great spring fair, running since 1828: weeks of concerts, bullfights, livestock shows, cockfights and fairground rides across the city.
The fairground (Isla San Marcos) becomes a city within the city.
The Carnaval de Mazatlan is one of Mexico's great carnivals, running since 1898: parades along the malecon, the coronation of the carnival queen, and the traditional burning of bad humor before Lent.
It is the Pacific coast's biggest party week. The 2026 edition ran February 12 to 17.
The International Balloon Festival in Leon is one of the world's great balloon events: hundreds of hot-air balloons lifting off at dawn over the city's parks, plus night glows and concerts.
The 2026 edition, the 25th, ran November 13 to 16. Book accommodation early; the city fills.
The Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) is the largest book fair in the Spanish-speaking world: nine days of publishers, authors, readings and concerts at the Expo Guadalajara.
The 2026 edition ran November 28 to December 6. It draws hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The Morelia International Film Festival is Mexico's most important film event: a week of Mexican premieres, competitions and retrospectives in the colonial center's theaters.
The 2026 edition, the 24th, ran October 16 to 25 with 96 Mexican films in competition.
Guadalajara's mariachi gathering celebrates Mexico's two UNESCO-listed traditions together: mariachi music and charreria (rodeo). Galas at the Teatro Degollado, a grand parade, and concerts across the city.
The 2026 edition, the 33rd, ran August 26 to September 6.
The parade of monumental alebrijes: giant fantastical creatures built by artisans from across Mexico, marching from the Zocalo down Paseo de la Reforma to kick off the Day of the Dead season.
The 2026 edition, the 18th, paraded on October 17, with the figures exhibited on Reforma into November.
The National Silver Fair in Taxco celebrates the town's silversmith tradition: the national silverwork competition, exhibitions, and concerts in the colonial center.
It runs about a week spanning late November and early December; the 2025 edition ran November 29 to December 6.
The Carnaval de Merida is the Yucatan's big pre-Lent party: a week of parades, concerts and dancing, now centered on the Ciudad Carnaval fairgrounds at Xmatkuil.
The 2026 edition ran February 11 to 18 under the theme Circo Carnaval.
Hanal Pixan, the Maya Day of the Dead, is the Yucatan's version of the national celebration: families build altars with mucbipollo (pit-baked tamales), and Merida hosts the Paseo de las Animas procession through the cemeteries.
It runs October 31 to November 2, with the Paseo de las Animas on the Friday evening before.
Independence Day: on the night of September 15 the president reenacts Hidalgo's cry for independence from the National Palace balcony, and the whole country celebrates through the 16th.
The Zocalo in Mexico City hosts the biggest gathering; every town plaza holds its own grito.