On Feb 24, Diá de la Bandera (Mexican Flag Day), since 1937 there have been celebrations held at this monument to Don Vicente Guerrero in La Plaza de San Fernando, Mexico City.
Feb 1-6, Zihua Sailfest 2010 ,Zihuatanejo, Gro. This will be the 10th year of Sailfest which started because the boaters, stopping in Zihua on their way south, wanted to help the children and schools in the area. It has become an annual event where the boaters, joined by the local people and merchants, join in a week long festival to raise much needed monies and supplies for the local schools and children. All the proceeds from the events go towards the schools in Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa through Por los Ninos de Zihuatanejo a registered Mexican non-profit. Volunteers are always needed as well as items that can be used by the children and schools. Contact Lorenzo Marbut 755 554- 2115 or cell 755 102-4463 if you would like to become involved. www.zihuasailfest.com
Feb 2, Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas), Mexico. This holiday is a very popular event in all of Mexico. A major festival that bids adieu to the winter season, Candlemas is celebrated with pomp and gaiety. Otherwise known as Día de la Candelaria, Candlemas is primarily a religious and family celebration organized in the country of Mexico. This festival got its name- Candlemas because of the ritual of bringing the candles to the church to get them blessed there. The Candlemas in Mexico marks the end of the winter season and is celebrated in a very joyous manner. However, this festival is the continuation of another significant celebration held on January 6th every year known as King’s Day. On this day, the families catch up with each other and take meal together. Gifts are exchanged and the highlight is the cutting of the traditional Rosca de Reves– an Epiphany cake that has a figure of a baby hidden inside. Who ever finds that figure, plays host to the ensuing Candlemas providing guests with tamales (stuffed corn cakes wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves) and atole (a hot, sweet drink thickened with corn), which are the signature food items of this event. In Mexico, Candlemas celebrations include colorful parades, musical performances, dance and streets decorated with impressive lanterns. During it, the locals visit the church and also entertain family and friends with meals and parties. If you are in places like Tlacotalpan and Veracruz, you will get a bit different taste of the same festival. Here it is a grand fiesta with fun parades and bullfighting.
Feb 5, Katalina Guerrero and Miguel Angel Guerrero, Art Opening at Coconut’s Restaurant, Zihuatanejo, 7pm. Creating a visual dialogue between ancient and modern textile practices, Katalina Guerrero comes from a family with a strong artistic tradition, and has been immersed in a creative environment from a very young age. Both her father, Miguel Angel Guerrero Garro and her grandfather Jesus Guerrero Galvan (1910-1973), are important figures in the Mexican School of Painting.
Feb 7, Día de la Constitución, National. The first Monday in February is a public holiday throughout Mexico, in commemoration of the February 5, 1917 (Day of the Mexican Constitution). The Constitution of the United Mexican States remains the current constitution in Mexico. It was enacted by the Constitutional Congress on February 5, 1917, in the city of Queretaro, with General Venustiano Carranza, the first constitutional president of the country. His legacy is the dedication of many social principles of the Mexican Revolution.
Feb 3, Año Nuevo Chino, Chinese New Year in Mexico City. Red lanterns adorn Mexico City’s Barrio Chino (Chinatown) for Chinese New Year and shops offer food to revelers at the celebrations. Chinese children dress up as lions and dragons for the typical colorful street dances. People munch on fortune cookies and frantically buy small charms of the specific animal the year represents. 2011 is the year of the rabbit.
Feb 9-12, Expo Mueble Internacional Invierno (Internacional Winter Furniture Expo) Expo Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Jalisco. Furniture fashion reaches the largest furniture exhibition in Mexico and Latin America, featuring more than 500 national and international exhibitors with the largest collection of furniture in different styles, materials and designs. For more info: Expo Mueble Invierno
Feb 11-24, Ambulante Documentary Film Festival, Mexico City. (Also in Cuernavaca and Metepec/Toluca Feb 25-Mar 3) See social and cultural issues tackled on the big screen at the travelling Ambulante Documentary Film Festival every year. Documentaries from Mexico and beyond appear in Mexico City’s cinemas, cultural centers, universities and streets, before moving to other Mexican cities. Ambulante was started by the well-known Mexican actors, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, and producer Pablo Cruz. Tijuana, Oaxaca, Morelia and Puebla are just some of the other participating cities every year.
Feb 12-19, The Todos Santos Art Festival, Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. This festival is as much about Mexican culture and performing arts as it is about paintings, drawings and sculptures. Funded primarily by the government, the Art Festival brings folk dancing, music and theatre performance to Todos Santos. Guest speakers come to host conferences (including video) concerned with turtle conservation, fragile environments, fighting drug addiction and domestic violence, family relations, poetry appreciation, and Baja history. There are workshops teaching Latin music and folk dancing. There are recitals featuring piano and poetry. Not your average art festival. Typically, the festival is held at the end of January or the beginning of February. All week long in the Profesor Néstor Agúndez Cultural Center, there is an art and drawing and regional crafts exhibition. Mexican folk dancing is featured opening weekend, in the afternoons and in the evenings there is usually a music or dance show in the plaza. www.todossantosguide.com
Feb17-20, Expo tu bebe y tu (Your baby and you Expo) World Trade Center, Mexico City. This expo offers products and services to meet the needs during pregnancy and early years of your baby. Fashion and footwear, furniture and children’s games, or the food, hygiene and accessories, everything your baby needs at super prices. More than 100 of the best international and national brands will be present. And if you can not make it to Mexico City, this expo will be in Puebla on July 2-3. For more info: WTC Expos or Tu Bebe y Tu
Feb 18-20, Expo tu Boda (Your Wedding Expo), World Trade Center, Mexico City. Offering a wide range of products and services for the best prices, this expo is an event where you can put together the perfect wedding and reception in just a few hours. For more info: WTC Expos or Expo Tu Boda
Feb 21-26, Abierto Mexicano Telcel (Mexican Open), Fairmont Acapulco Princess, Acapulco, Gro. The eighteenth edition of the Mexican Open Acapulco tournament) takes place each year within the grounds of the Fairmont Princess Hotel. This clay-court tennis championship attracts many famous players from around the world. For upcoming matches go to: Mexican Open
Feb 24, Diá de la Bandera (Mexican Flag Day). This Mexican national holiday honors the Mexican flag. Since 1937, celebrations have been held in La Plaza de San Fernando, Mexico City, in front of the monument to the General Don Vicente Guerrero, the first Mexican military leader that swore allegiance to the flag in Acatempan on March 12, 1821.
Feb 25-27, Fifth Annual Alamos Silver Festival, Alamos, Sonora. Renowned Mexican silversmiths demonstrate and display their jewelry and art, and restaurants offer fine cuisine during this annual festival. For more info: www.alamosmexico.com
Mar 8-13, Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Gro. The Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival, now in its eight year, is a non-profit music festival that brings world class musicians from across the globe to beautiful Zihuatanejo, Mexico, each year for a week of live music in paradise. A percentage of funds generated go toward supporting art and cultural endeavors in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. This year’s event brings international musicians from across Mexico, the United States, Canada and as far away as South Africa. Tickets prices are from $100 pesos to $250 pesos per event and there are also two free to the public concerts. For more information go to: Zihuafest
