The International Cervantino Festival, the most anticipated celebration of the year in Guanajuato, takes place each October for two to three weeks.
Plazas, theaters, parks, churches and other spaces throughout Guanajuato serve as stages and showcases for the jam-packed schedule of events.
The International Cervantino Festival is a cultural buffet of music, theater, art, folklore and more! The festival is celebrated each year throughout Latin America, but Guanajuato has been officially designated the "Cervantes Capital of America."
The three-week festival, now Latin America's biggest celebration of the arts, had quite humble beginnings when you compare what it was then to what it is now. It stemmed from the University of Guanajuato's student performances of short works - known as "entremeses" - penned by Miguel de Cervantes in the city's plazas and open spaces. This time-honored tradition, which began in the 1950's, officially became the International Cervantino Festival in 1972; since then, it's been unstoppable!
While in its early days Guanajuato's festival was an homage to Miguel de Cervantes, the extravaganza now celebrates all sorts of artistic creations - dance, music, film, theater, visual arts - and nationalities. In fact, it welcomes over 2,400 artists and performers from nearly 30 countries! This cultural exchange has, in recent years, welcomed everything from Chinese modern dance troupes to puppet theater, local jazz groups, and of course - in the name of tradition - Cervantes' "entremeses."
Official website: www.festivalcervantino.gob.mx
