While all of Mexico celebrates the feast of Epiphany on January 6, no place does so with greater fervor than the rural village of Cajititlán, set on the shore of Chapala’s little sister lake.
From December 30 through the first week of January, more than a million pilgrims pour into the town to honor its spiritual patrons Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, better known as the Wisemen of the Orient.
The festivities are marked by street processions, troupes of colorfully costumed ritual dancers and Shephard’s Play actors performing in the atrium of the old stone church, and a steady stream of devotees going inside to pray and give thanks to Los Reyes Magos (Magician Kings) for good health and other divine favors. The adjacent plaza and neighboring streets are filled with mechanical rides, food stalls and vendors hawking religious trinkets and other merchandise.
The best date to catch colorful daytime action is January 7, when the life-size figures of the Magi are toted out of the central church at 10 a.m. for a long parade through the streets, followed by a nautical parade around the lake.
Cajititlán lies about ten kilometers off the Guadalajara-Chapala highway, accessed from the well-marked turn-off located about halfway between Chapala and the Guadalajara airport. Visitors should anticipate leaving their vehicles at one of the many provisional parking lots set up on the village outskirts. Sturdy walking shoes are recommended for safely hiking into the center of town.