The third Monday of November is marked on Mexico’s holiday calendar as the official day off to commemorate the 1910 outbreak of the Mexican Revolution.
Government agencies, consulates, banks and many businesses will close on Monday, November 17.
Although the official date of the commemoration is November 20, parades and celebrations will take place in towns and cities across Jalisco and the rest of Mexico, with some parades scheduled for November 17.
The parades typically feature hundreds of student and sports groups performing choreographed athletic routines, as well as motorized floats depicting historical scenes. Many participants, especially children, dress as revolutionaries and notable figures from the era.
One notable absence during these celebrations is any participation by Mexico’s armed forces. This is because the decade-long Mexican Revolution was a major catalyst in reducing the military’s role in political life. The depoliticization of the armed forces began with President Álvaro Obregón, who took power in 1920, and continued under his successor, Plutarco Elías Calles, the founder of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR), which later became the Partido Revolucionario Institutional (PRI).