Mexico's food festival calendar for travellers

In Mexico there are dishes that exist for only a few weeks a year and festivals at which food is the centre of everything. For anyone planning a food trip, this calendar helps you choose dates: what is celebrated each month, where and what is eaten. We have written it with travellers in mind; if what you want is to cook each festival's dishes at home, see our guide to Mexican Independence celebrations and our summary of seasons for planning your trip.

A word of warning: fixed festivals keep the same dates, but fairs and festivals are announced each year and can move. Before you book, check the official programme from the municipality or state.

January to April: Epiphany, Candlemas, Lent and Cumbre Tajín

6 January: Epiphany (Día de Reyes)

All over the country people cut the rosca de Reyes, a crown-shaped sweet bread with candied fruit and one or more little figures hidden inside, served with hot chocolate. Whoever finds the figure promises to treat everyone to tamales on 2 February.

2 February: Candlemas (la Candelaria)

A day of tamales and atole in homes and markets. In Tlacotalpan (Veracruz), the Candelaria is the great celebration of the year, with son jarocho fandangos on the riverbank.

Lent and Holy Week (February–April)

The weeks before Easter change what is on the table: fish, dried-shrimp fritters, romeritos, chiles rellenos, nopales and, for dessert, capirotada. It is an interesting time to see a different side of market cooking.

March: Cumbre Tajín

Around the spring equinox, Papantla (Veracruz) holds the Cumbre Tajín, a festival of Totonac culture with the voladores of Papantla, music and regional cooking. We cover it in our guide to Veracruz.

May to August: the Guelaguetza, the grape harvest and chiles en nogada

July: the Guelaguetza (Oaxaca)

Held in the city of Oaxaca on the two Mondays after 16 July — the «Lunes del Cerro» — in the auditorium on the Cerro del Fortín, with dances from the state's regions. Around it there is a mezcal fair, a tejate and tamal festival and food shows. It is one of the times of year when accommodation in Oaxaca is most in demand. More in our mezcal route.

August: Fiestas de la Vendimia (Baja California)

In the Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California's winemakers organise tastings, meals and concerts for much of August, sometimes starting at the end of July. See our guide to Baja California.

August and September: chiles en nogada (Puebla)

The season for chiles en nogada coincides with the harvest of walnuts, around Calpan, and of pomegranates. A poblano chilli stuffed with a picadillo of meat and fruit, covered in walnut sauce, pomegranate and parsley: the colours of the flag. The most widespread tradition links it with Agustín de Iturbide passing through Puebla in 1821; historians treat this as legend. More in the mole route through Puebla and Oaxaca.

September and October: Independence, pasties and mole

15 and 16 September: Independence celebrations

On the night of the 15th the Grito de Independencia is given in squares across the country, and people eat pozole, tostadas, sopes, enchiladas and tequila. The squares fill with stalls selling antojitos.

October: Pasty Festival (Hidalgo)

In Real del Monte (Mineral del Monte), Hidalgo, the International Pasty Festival has been held since 2009 in honour of the Cornish miners who brought their pasty to the area in the nineteenth century. Since 2025 its official date has been the second weekend of October. We cover it in our day trips from Mexico City.

October: National Mole Fair (Mexico City)

Held every October since 1976 in San Pedro Atocpan, in the borough of Milpa Alta, with dozens of mole-paste producers.

October and November: mole de caderas (Puebla)

In Tehuacán, the mole de caderas season begins in October with the matanza (slaughter) festival and runs until the end of November. It is made only in these weeks.

November and December: Day of the Dead, posadas and radishes

31 October to 2 November: Day of the Dead and Hanal Pixán

Mexico's best-known festival, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. The altars fill with pan de muerto, tamales, mole, fruit, calabaza en tacha (candied pumpkin) and the favourite foods of the dead. Classic destinations: Oaxaca, Pátzcuaro and the island of Janitzio (Michoacán), Mixquic (Mexico City) and, in Yucatán, Hanal Pixán, with mucbipollo. Book months in advance. More in our guides to Michoacán and Yucatán.

12 December: Our Lady of Guadalupe

Millions of pilgrims arrive at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, and the surrounding streets fill with food stalls: tamales, atole, gorditas, buñuelos.

16 to 24 December: posadas and Christmas

The posadas re-enact Mary and Joseph's journey with songs, piñatas, fruit punch, buñuelos and tamales. On Christmas Eve people eat salt cod a la vizcaína, romeritos and roast leg of pork.

23 December: Night of the Radishes (Oaxaca)

In Oaxaca's Zócalo a contest of figures carved from giant radishes, grown specially for the occasion, has been held since 1897. It lasts only a few hours, because the radishes wilt quickly, and draws thousands of people.

How to use this calendar

• If you can only travel once, the Day of the Dead (Oaxaca, Michoacán) and the Guelaguetza (Oaxaca) are the dates with the most food interest, but also the busiest.
• If you prefer a quieter time, August and September in Puebla let you combine chiles en nogada with the rest of Puebla's cooking, and in the rainy season the centre of the country is green.
• If you want something off the tourist trail, try mole de caderas in Tehuacán or the Candelaria in Tlacotalpan.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mexico's most important food festival?

In terms of reach and meaning, the Day of the Dead, celebrated all over the country with specific foods in each region.

Can I eat chiles en nogada out of season?

Some places serve them all year, but tradition places them in August and September, when the walnuts and pomegranates are fresh.

Do you have to pay to see the Guelaguetza?

The performances in the auditorium are ticketed and tickets go on sale in advance; many of the surrounding activities are free to attend. Check the official programme.

Is the Night of the Radishes a food festival?

It is a carving contest, but it is part of Oaxaca's Christmas market and buñuelos and other seasonal sweets are sold around it.

Sources

• Spanish-language Wikipedia, «Guelaguetza» (Lunes del Cerro, mezcal fair, tejate and tamal festival), consulted on 25 October 2026.
• Wikipedia, «Noche de los Rábanos» (23 December, official contest since 1897).
• Spanish-language Wikipedia, «Feria Nacional del Mole» (San Pedro Atocpan, October, since 1976).
• Spanish-language Wikipedia, «Cumbre Tajín» (March, since 2000).
• English-language Wikipedia, «International Pasty Festival», and ADN40 (decree setting the second weekend of October).
• México Desconocido, «La historia del chile en nogada».
• Milenio and México Desconocido, the mole de caderas season in Tehuacán.
• Diario de Yucatán and Uno TV, on Hanal Pixán and mucbipollo.
• UNESCO, «Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead», Intangible Cultural Heritage.