The Fiesta de Luces y Musica Zapotitlan, also known as the Castillos Gigantes festival, takes place twice a year in the Santiago Zapotitlán neighborhood of Mexico City — once in early February and again in late July.
Flying into Mexico City one of the first things you’ll notice is how the city seems to stretch on forever. In fact, Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world, though it was not always the large metropolis that it is today. The city’s explosive growth began in the 1960′s. Between 1960 and 1980 the city’s population more than doubled as people from towns and villages across Mexico poured into the city in search of work. With no available housing and few resources they took over lands surrounding the city creating huge shantytowns. Over time the city expanded to include these outlying towns. Today, the Mexico City metropolitan area is the largest in the Americas with 16 boroughs, hundreds of neighborhoods and a population of more than 20 million residents.
As a result of the growth patterns of the city, the outlying neighborhoods of Mexico City retain a very unique small town feel. The neighborhood of Santiago Zapotitlán in the southeast region of the city happens to be one of them. Twice a year Santiago Zapotitlán celebrates a festival unique to the neighborhood which, interestingly enough, attracts more people from the outlying areas and nearby towns than from downtown Mexico City. The summer festival takes place in late July and the winter festival takes place in early February. The Fiesta de Luces y Musica Zapotitlan is known for the giant firecracker towers (castillos gigantes) that are constructed and exploded as part of the celebration. The towers can reach heights of as much as 30 meters, and the impressive fireworks spectacular takes place literally right overhead.
Religious in nature, the festival’s main events center around the local church. The start of the festival is marked by a constant stream of firecrackers set off beginning as early as 6am and continuing through midnight daily for the duration of the festival. Giant outdoor stages are constructed in the plaza, market stalls take over the streets and special events including lucha libre matches are held outside the church.
Street festivals are one of my favorite types of celebrations anywhere in the world and the festival in Santiago Zapotitlán ranks high on my list. There’s an amusement park-style fair with rides, games and attractions, live bands take to the stage every afternoon and evening throughout the duration of the festival and dancing in the street is commonplace. The food (traditional breads and tacos), drinks (Micheladas) and music (regional) are all traditionally Mexican. Many of the men show up in cowboy hats, a far cry from what you’ll normally see in downtown Mexico City but not unlike what you might expect to see in smaller towns throughout the country.
It’s just another reminder that while Santiago Zapotitlán is part of Mexico City, its residents still retain their small town traditions despite having been swallowed up by this enormous city. On the last day of festivities costumed actors stage a reenactment in front of the church followed by an outdoor church service. Far from the city center, the festival in Santiago Zapotitlán receives very few tourists but the atmosphere is friendly and inviting. It’s perfect if you’re really looking to get off the beaten track in Mexico City.
Getting There
The neighborhood of Santiago Zapotitlán is located in the far southeast Tláhuac borough of Mexico City. It’s roughly a two hour commute outside the city center depending on traffic and time of day. A new metro line that will connect the neighborhood to the downtown area is currently under construction. Until its completion the best way to get there is to take the Mexico City Metro to General Anaya or Tasqueña and transfer to one of the green public buses heading to Zapotitlán. Continue on the bus toward the end of the route and exit when you reach Avenida Tlahuac. You’ll see the beginning of the festival street market. Follow the crowds up the hill to the church.
*Keep in mind that public transportation only runs until midnight – after that it may be difficult and/or expensive to find a taxi back to the city center.
More info on Facebook (updated 7/13/2011)
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Great post Laura! Love that these small neighborhoods retain their traditions in spite of being swallowed up in Mexico City’s growth! The pride really comes through and makes for some great celebrations. I would love to visit someday and see those firecracker towers…they are impressive!
Definitely! It’ll be great when the 12th metro line is finished and getting there from the center won’t take quite as long!
Laura, any more info on when this fiesta will be held?
Hi Ken, It’s scheduled to take place this month from the 22nd through the 31st. There’s info on FB (http://www.facebook.com/zapotitlan). Look for the Fiesta de Luces y Musica Zapotitlan event. Believe it or not, we used to live right around the corner (our first few months in the city) and could see when they were setting up the firework castles, but unfortunately I haven’t been back since we moved this past October. Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions and if you guys do decide to check it out I’d love to hear what you think!!