Residents and visitors in the Lake Chapala region can expect plenty of activity to keep themselves entertained throughout the coming month with a wide variety of religious celebrations, secular festivities, national holidays and special events listed on February’s calendar.
February 2: Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas) marks the end of the extended Christmas season. Religious services commemorating the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple feature blessings bestowed on household figures of El Niño Dios dressed up in new outfits, babies and toddlers carried by their parents, devotional candles, family Bibles, jars of holy water, and seeds for planting spring crops. Also, as a follow-up to Three Kings Day, persons who plucked baby dolls from a Rosca de Reyes on January 6 are obliged to host a pay-back tamale feast for family and friends with whom they shared slicing up the Epiphany bread.
February 5: Día de la Constitución (Anniversary of the 1917 Constitution) is a statutory national holiday. Government offices, financial institutions, diplomatic missions, schools and some businesses close; salaried employees get the day off with full pay, plus double time if they do work. Many metro-Guadalajara inhabitants will take advantage of 2024’s first puente (three-day weekend) for getaways to lakeside, the Pacific coast or other tourist destinations.
February 8-13: Carnaval (Mardi Gras) celebrations in Chapala open with the traditional Entierro del Mal Humor (burial of bad humor) parade and inaugural party at the Cristianía Park fairgrounds. Ajijic unwinds with Carnaval festivities set for February 4 and 10 through 13. See next week’s Guadalajara Reporter for details.
February 9-18: Nuestra Señora de Lourdes is a novena (nine days) of religious services, processions and festivities centered at the chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes on the west side of Chapala.
February 11-24: Festival de Febrero, the 20th anniversary of the Northern Lights Music Festival, offers a series of 15 concerts and recitals with more than 30 guest musicians performing diverse genres, scheduled at the Centro para la Cultura y las Artes auditorium and other Ajijic venues. Tickets on sale at the auditorium box office, Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Contact for information and reservations: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.." style="font-size: 12pt;">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
February 14: Miércoles de Ceniza (Ash Wednesday) is the first day of Lent, the 40-day period of prayer, abstinence and spiritual reflection in preparation for Easter. Faithful Christians go to church to have their foreheads marked with ashes in the shape of the cross.
February 14: Día del Amor y la Amistad (Valentine’s Day) is the day spouses, romantic couples and friends exchange floral bouquets, chocolates and other tokens of appreciation; many go out for cozy dinners.
February 24: Día de la Bandera (Mexican Flag Day) is the date local governments hold public ceremonies in tribute to the national banner and the civic ideals it represents.