Mexico through its festivities

The festivities and celebrations in Mexico come from pre-Hispanic times, but during the colonial period and after the centuries of struggle for the construction of national identity, the way of carrying them out converged in a unique syncretism that managed to create a very peculiar way of celebrating the different significant secular and religious moments.

Later the traditional festivities of each place and mass events became common in Mexican society.

One of the main civic celebrations held in Mexico is the commemoration of the acts that gave independence to the nation. The so-called national holidays, held since 1825, acquired their massive character at the end of the nineteenth century.

With the passing of time they have managed to bring together Mexican society in the main squares of the country and in private spaces to hold multiple celebrations to relive the emotions of the act of defiance to the colonial order of don Miguel Hidalgo's time.

It evokes the historic entry of the Trigarante Army into Mexico City in 1821, a symbol of discipline paired with the subversion of the previous agenda. It is not surprising that in 1911 there will be  a military festival with maneuvers, an equestrian show and the decoration of soldiers to months of armed uprisings that forced Porfirio Díaz to resign.

The roots of civic celebrations that account for the resistance of our political community have penetrated deep into our people, up to the local level. The Municipal Archive of Buenaventura de Coahuila allows us to look at the program made on May 4, 1882, with speeches by officials, the presentation of the dance called Elvira, the interpretation of the musical piece Manuelita played to the sound of mazurka and an act of fireworks.

Other events held in Mexico have been humanitarian actions regarding the reception of political asylees. This happened in 1939 when Spanish refugees arrived at the port of Veracruz after escaping the military dictatorship.

This image owned by the General Archive of the State of Veracruz highlights what that welcome was like with the landings full of union contingents: a general strike was declared to receive the expatriates and there was a great parade that led from the port to the municipal palace.

At the regional level, the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe has converged with those of the Virgin Mary in general in the patron saint festivities of various localities as shown in this poster of 1923 provided by the Municipal Archive of Tultepec, through which the program of activities dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Parish of Tultepec was presented in this town of the State of Mexico.

Other festivities implemented in the New Hispanic era were the shows of itinerant entertainment such as theaters, fairs and circuses. Especially the fairs were still rooted in religion, because outside the churches the celebrations of the Patron Saints were held, as this document of the Municipal Historical Archive of Izúcar de Matamoros allows us to know.

In 1911, Emiliano Zapata and his troops had taken this city from the state of Puebla, but that did not suspend the realization of public activities, since the Corpus Fair had great commercial and religious importance.

The two testimonies presented are communications from the municipal president to the political head of the district, where support is requested both for security issues and the care of the roads, as well as for the installation of the fair itself in the usual places.

This fair of historical importance for the region of Izúcar de Matamoros will be held again this 2022 after the suspension due to the covid-19 pandemic.

One of the most important carnivals in Mexico is Xalapa, Veracruz. Thanks to this poster kept in the General Archive of the State of Veracruz we can have an idea of how this event was announced in 1944.

By the time the carnival already had a massive character that needed to summon the population for a better control of the show.

With this poster the bases for the contests of allegorical cars, comparsas, costumes and ornaments of facades and commercial sideboards that would make up the event in 1944 were published. These bases were printed a month earlier so that participants could design and prepare their costumes, cars and facades.

Among the entertainment activities with animals, called livestock repairs, were bullfighting, acrobatic acts with horses and the riding of donkeys and bulls.

The circular presented by the Historical Archive of the Indigenous City Council of Coatetelco, a town in the state of Morelos where these festivities were formerly held, warns of the date on which the repair will be carried out so that the breeders of the surrounding communities that participated were prepared. Currently this bullfighting event is no longer held.

The large influx, youth rebellion and alternative cultural practices expressed at the festival shook conservative values in society and scandalized the authoritarian regime.

Among the reports presented by the national press and the authorities, such as the former General Directorate of Political and Social Investigations, acts labeled degeneration and attacks on good customs were condemned, which led to a long ban on mass events such as festivals of this nature for several years.