Like Brigadoon, the fictional Scottish village that comes to life once a century, the nearby real-life village of Cajititlan bursts into activity the first week of January during its annual celebration of “El Dia de los Tres Reyes” (Three Kings Day).
A mixture of carnival and holy day, the fiesta fills the central plaza with onlookers, amusement rides and even Santa with a sleigh and reindeer. It crowds the 16th-century stone church with worshippers making their way down the central aisle on their knees; and it packs the pueblo’s narrow streets with vendors selling everything from tangerines, tortas and nail polish to crucifixes, holy pictures and – just outside the church – large illustrated bibles.
The festivities traditionally run from January 1 through 8 with the culmination on Wednesday, January 6 (the Epiphany, on the actual day the Magi are thought to have arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts for the infant Jesus).
But this year, January 6 and 7 will be off limits to visitors, Tlajomulco de Zuñiga Mayor Salvador Zamora announced December 29, in order to abide by the Jalisco government’s Covid regulations restricting large gatherings.
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