

Possibly no other country in the world has as many festivals, fairs and feast days as Mexico. National holidays, religious holidays and people's santos (saints' days) are all celebrated with gusto, as are the observances of the patron saints of virtually every city, town and pueblito. The santoral, or calendar of saints' days, is so crowded with names that nearly every day brings a reason for a fiesta in any given neighborhood, and one of the most essential elements of these festivities is food. So important is the cultivation, preparation and consumption of nature's bounties that there are ferias (fairs) dedicated solely to the local harvest.The feria is a regional celebration, usually of a particular town or village. Fireworks, games, rides and food stalls offering local specialties are all featured at a feria. There is music and folk dancing, as well as verbenas - the night time dances that are held in the town plaza.
The following is a list of festivals throughout Mexico which feature culinary creations made with the food being honored, as well as other traditional dishes. This calendar is by no means a list of all ferias, but rather a month-by-month rundown of those devoted to particular foods.
If you happen to be visiting the area while a fair is going on, by all means participate. Taste the food, enjoy the music and dancing, and check out the artesania - every region has it's special handcrafts.
| JANUARY
ENERO Jan.6 |
Malinalco, State of Mexico, Three Kings Bread
Fiesta.
The traditional Rosca de Reyes, in some of the most elaborate forms seen in the country, is the highlight of this celebration in the town which contains the remarkable Pre-Hispanic Malinalco ruins. A fantastic temple cut into the side of a mountain has 430 steps leading up to the inner sanctum of eagle and jaguar effigies. |
| FEBRUARY
FEBRERO Feb.12-14 |
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexican National Chili Cook-off
Championship.
An internationally known Championship with entries from many countries. Exhibits, entertainment and superb chili. |
| Feb.16-18 | Xochimilco, D.F., Festival del Amaranto
- Amaranth Festival.
In this southernmost part of the Federal District, known for its
ancient floating gardens, which the visitor may see from colorful punt
boats, a festival dedicated to the pre-hispanic grain features amaranth
in its many forms, some of which are moles, hot drinks, the sweet
snack bars called alegrías, and many cereals and noodles.
|
| Feb 23-26 | Canelas, Durango, Feria Regional del Café
y del Guayaba - Coffee and Guava Fair.
Sample different java blends and guava preserves, conserves and marmelades, as well as regional comidas and antojitos in the rugged, wildly beautiful mountains of north central Mexico. |
| MARCH
MARSO March 11 |
Dzula,Quintana Roo, Traditional Mayan Food
Fiesta.
Enjoy the tasty specialties of the Maya of the Yucatan peninsula in an indigenous village that was chosen for inclusion in the Mexican Photo Archives of the Beatrice Trueblood Studio in Mexico City. |
| APRIL
ABRIL April 15-30 |
Aguascalientes, Aguas., Wine Festival.
Dedicated to San Marcos, this fair in the state capital features
local food and beverages, as well as cockfights, bullfights, and a lavishly
decorated plaza. Said to be the largest fair in Mexico, there is a constant
schedule of dances, processions, and exhibits.
|
| April 29-30 | Tlaxcalancingo, Puebla, Festival de Nopales
- Nopal Festival.
This pueblito is just a few miles from downtown Puebla, but looks
like a painting from an antique Mexican calendar. Set against a backdrop
of snow-covered volcanos, amidst fields of nopal cactus, this town
celebrates its spiney harvest with a food fair featuring nopal salads,
stews, stuffed nopales and even nopal ice cream, as well
as other delicious regional specialties, grilled meats and barbeque.
|
| MAY
MAYO May 1-10 |
Rosario, Sinaloa, Regional Fruit, Vegetable
and Salsa Fair.
This town, which produces some of the best hot sauces in Mexico,
celebrates its bounty with a fair displaying the wide variety of produce
grown in the area, as well as several regional food stalls and many locally
produced salsas.
|
| May 15-31 | Escárcega, Campeche, Feria del Arroz-
Rice Festival.
This is the gateway to the Maya Route, and where authentic Yucatecan
food really begins.
|
| May 20-28 | Tequisquiapan, Queretaro, National Wine and
Cheese Fair.
Taste Mexico's best wines and cheeses, and try some delicious local
dishes, in this charming little town, 12 miles from San Juan del Rio and
easily accessible from the Mexico-Queretaro toll highway. Cheese making,
an honored tradition here, has expanded in recent years to include some
gourmet varieties.
|
| May 22-30 | Loma Bonita, Oaxaca, Feria de la Piña-
Pineapple Festival.
Located in an area of lush tropical vegetation 20 miles from Cosamaloapan,
Veracruz, in the fertile agricultural region of the Playa San Vicente River,
this town is known for its very sweet and juicy pineapples, and is a center
for processing the fruit for worldwide exportation, as well as distribution
all over the Mexican republic.
|
| JUNE
JUNIO June 18 |
Papantla, Veracruz, Festival de Vainilla,
Vanilla Festival.
Built on a hill overlooking the bright green plains of northern Veracruz,
Papantla is the center of the Totonac culture and one of the world's largest
vanilla producing zones.
|
| JULY
JULIO July 17-23 |
Oaxaca, Oax., Feria del Mescal - Mescal
Fair.
Attractive wooden cabins are constructed near the Zocalo - main plaza
- for the purpose of displaying the best of Oaxacan mescal, currently
a popular, upscale beverage in both foreign and domestic markets.
|
| AUGUST
AGUSTO Aug. 3 |
Ensenada, Baja California, Fiesta de Vendimia
- Wine Grape Harvest Festival.
Taste wine from Mexico's largest and most famous vinyards of the
Santo Tomas Valley in this delightful coastal city on the Bahia de Todos
Santos. The festival also offers a variety of comida corridas, traditional
Mexican main meals.
|
| Aug.15 | Tala, Nayarit, Fiesta de Elote - Corn
Festival.
This event features the wide variety of Mexican antojitos
- appetizers and snacks - based on the corn tortilla. There are bullfights,
cockfights, games and processions.
|
| Aug.
20-
Sept. 5 |
Gomez Palacio, Durango, Feria del Algodón
y de la Uva - Cotton and Grape Fair.
Located in the highly productive La Laguna farming district, just on the other side of the Nazas River from Torreón, Coahuila, Gomez Palacio pays tribute to its two most important crops with commercial and agricultural displays, food stalls, entertainment and beauty contests. |
| SEPTEMBER
SEPTIEMBRE Sept. 14-16 |
Sirutato, Sinaloa, Feria del Durazno
- Peach Fair.
The delicious and versatile peach is a natural for preserves and
baked goods, and they are available in abundance to be sampled at this
fair. Regional dancing and a traditional verbena - town dance -
are highlights of the feria.
|
| OCTOBER
OCTUBRE Oct. 1-21 |
San Pedro Actópan, State of Mexico,
Festival
del Mole - Mole Festival.
Literally thousands of mounds of mole paste of every type
fill the stalls set up for the preparation, tasting and sales of this quintessentially
Mexican dish. Eat your fill at the many impromptu restaurants, and by all
means take some home; mole paste keeps for several months in the
freezer.
|
| Oct. 1-12 | Cuetzalan, Puebla, Feria del Café
- Coffee Festival.
Cuetzalan is located on the western slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental,
where some of the best coffee beans in Mexico are grown. The aroma of the
freshly roasted beans beckons aficionados from other parts of Mexico and
the world to come to the feria and taste the coffee, local fruit
liquers, and antojitos in abundance.
|
| Oct. 14-17 | Cholula, Puebla, Feria del Pan - Bread
Fair.
A huge brick oven is constructed in the main plaza and bakers from
Cholula and neighboring towns give demonstrations of traditional Mexican
breadmaking. There is plenty for tasting, and over 150 different kinds
of bread for sale, fancifully displayed in various forms, including those
for the upcoming Days of the Dead.
|
| NOVEMBER
NOVIEMBRE Nov. 1-14 |
Chignahuapan, Puebla, Christmas Bread Fair.
Beautifully shaped loaves, including the famous pan de hilo,
which is made into little animal forms to decorate the statues of the Virgin
on Candlemas, are for tasting and for sale at the fair.
|
| Nov. 28-Dec. 28 | Gomez Farías, Tamaulipas, Feria
del Maíz - Corn Fair.
This month-long fair highlights corn in many forms: soups, stews,
pozoles,
and the multitude of enchiladas and antojitos based on the
corn tortilla.
|
| DECEMBER
DECIEMBRE Dec.23 |
Oaxaca, Oax., Radish Festival.
Huge radishes are carved into grotesque shapes and fanciful forms, including entire nativity Buñuelos are traditionally sold and eaten and the plates smashed afterward. The next night there is a parade of floats through the center of town. |
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