Mexicans love a party. Urban families watch the calendar for midweek national holidays that create a puente or “bridge” to the weekend and allow them to squeeze in a three- to five-day minivacation. Visitors should likewise watch the calendar. Such holidays (especially Christmas and Semana Santa, pre-Easter week) mean packed buses, roads, and hotels, especially around the Puerto Vallarta region’s beach resorts.

Campesinos, on the other hand, await their local saint’s or holy day. The name of the locality often provides the clue. For example, in Santa Cruz del Miramar near San Blas, expect a celebration on May 3, El Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross). People dress up in their traditional best, sell their wares and produce in a street fair, join a procession, get tipsy, and dance in the plaza.

The following calendar lists national and notable Puerto Vallarta–region holidays and festivals. Local festival dates may vary by a few days; check with a local travel agent or government tourism office if you’re planning to attend. (However, if you just happen to be where one of these is going on, get out of your car or bus and join in!)

Jan. 1: New Year’s Day (¡Feliz Año Nuevo!; national holiday)

Jan. 1–5: Inauguration of the Cora governor in Jesús María, Nayarit (Cora indigenous dances and ceremonies)

Jan. 6: Día de los Reyes (Day of the Kings; traditional gift exchange)

Jan. 12: Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in El Tuito, Jalisco, an hour’s drive south of Puerto Vallarta (local festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe one month after Puerto Vallarta: parade, music, evening Mass, and carnival)

Jan. 17: Día de San Antonio Abad (decorating and blessing animals)

Jan. 20–Feb. 2: Fiesta of the Virgin of Candelaria, in San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco (hundreds of thousands, from all over Mexico, honor the Virgin with parades, dances depicting Christians vs. Moors, rodeos, cockfights, fireworks, and much more)

Feb. 1–3: Festival of the Sea in San Blas, Nayarit (dancing, horse races, and competitions)

Feb. 2: Día de Candelaria (blessing of plants, seeds, and candles; procession; and bullfights)

Feb. 5: Constitution Day (national holiday commemorating the Constitutions of 1857 and 1917)

Feb. 24: Flag Day (national holiday)

Late Feb.: During the four days before Ash Wednesday, usually in late February, many towns stage Carnaval (Mardi Gras) extravaganzas

Mar. 11–19: Week before the Day of St. Joseph in Talpa, Jalisco (food, edible crafts made of colored chicle, or chewing gum, dancing, bands, and mariachi serenades to the Virgin of Talpa)

Mar. 18–Apr. 4: Grand ceramics and handicrafts fair, in Tonalá (Guadalajara), Jalisco

Mar. 19: Día de San José (Day of St. Joseph)

Mar. 21: Birthday of Benito Juárez, the revered “Lincoln of Mexico” (national holiday)

Late Mar. or Apr. (the Sunday preceding Easter Sunday): Fiesta de Ramos (Palm Sunday) in Sayula, Jalisco (on Hwy. 54 south of Guadalajara; local crafts fair, food, dancing, mariachis)

Apr. 18–30: Big country fair in Tepatitlán, Jalisco (on Hwy. 80 northeast of Guadalajara; many livestock and agricultural displays and competitions; regional food, rodeos, and traditional dances)

Apr.: Semana Santa (pre-Easter Holy Week, culminating in Domingo Gloria, Easter Sunday national holiday)

May 1: Labor Day (national holiday)

May (1st and 3rd Wed.): Fiesta of the Virgin of Ocotlán, in Ocotlán, Jalisco (on Lake Chapala, religious processions, dancing, fireworks, regional food)

May 3: Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross, especially in Santa Cruz de Miramar, Nayarit, and Mascota, Jalisco)

May 3–15: Fiesta of St. Isador the Farmer, in Tepic, Nayarit (blessing of seeds, animals, and water; agricultural displays, competitions, and dancing)

May 5: Cinco de Mayo (defeat of the French at Puebla in 1862; national holiday)

May 10: Mothers’ Day (national holiday)

May 10–12: Fiesta of the Coronation of the Virgin of the Rosary in Talpa, Jalisco (processions, fireworks, regional food, crafts, and dances)

June 24: Día de San Juan Bautista (Day of St. John the Baptist; fairs and religious festivals, playful dunking of people in water)

June 28–29: Regatta in Mexcaltitán, Nayarit (friendly rivalry between boats carrying images of St. Peter and St. Paul to celebrate opening of the shrimp season)

June 29: Día de San Pablo y San Pedro (Day of St. Peter and St. Paul)

Sept. 14: Charro Day (Cowboy Day, all over Mexico; rodeos, or charreadas)

Sept. 16: Independence Day (national holiday; mayors everywhere reenact Father Hidalgo’s 1810 Grito de Dolores from city hall balconies on the night of September 15)

Oct. 4: Día de San Francisco (Day of St. Francis)

Oct. 12: Día de la Raza (national holiday, commemorating the union of the races; known as Columbus Day in the United States)

Oct. (last Sun.): Día de Cristo Rey, especially in Ixtlán del Río, Nayarit (Day of Christ the King, with “Quetzal y Azteca” and “La Pluma” indígena dances, horse races, processions, and food)

Nov. 1: Día de Todos Santos (All Souls’ Day, in honor of the souls of children; the departed descend from Heaven to eat sugar skeletons, skulls, and treats on family altars)

Nov. 2: Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead, in honor of ancestors; families visit cemeteries and decorate graves with flowers and favorite food of the deceased)

Nov. 20: Revolution Day (anniversary of the revolution of 1910–1917; national holiday)

Dec. 1: Inauguration Day (National government changes hands every six years: 2000, 2006, 2012, etc.)

Dec. 8: Día de la Purísima Concepción (Day of the Immaculate Conception)

Dec. 12: Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron of Mexico; processions, music, and dancing nationwide, especially celebrated around the church in downtown Puerto Vallarta)

Dec. 16–24: Christmas Week (week of posadas and piñatas; midnight Mass on Christmas Eve)

Dec. 25: Christmas Day (¡Feliz Navidad!; Christmas trees and gift exchange; national holiday)

Dec. 31: New Year’s Eve