The best time to visit Mexico

One of Latin America’s biggest celebrations of the year is Carnaval and, naturally, Mexico doesn’t miss out on the action. While the whole country parties hard during this period, our attention is primarily focused on its biggest celebration, which takes place in Veracruz. Expect spectacular costumes being paraded down the streets, piles of delicious Mexican snacks and music floating along the airwaves until the early hours.

A celebration of all things Latin, this music festival, which takes place in Mexico’s sprawling capital city, is an amalgamation of genres from various Latino artists. The purpose of the event is to promote an awareness of Latin culture and, of course, to have a good time whilst doing so. There is also, usually, an emphasis on environmentalism with organisers taking care to neutralise their carbon footprint as much as possible and encouraging audience members to do the same.

Oaxaca is famous for a number of different reasons and not least for its Mezcal production, so it only makes sense to have a festival in honour of Mexico’s national tipple. This event brings together artisanal and industrial Mezcal makers who come to show off their wares. Visitors to the festival will have the chance to try samples of different brands and purchase some to take home. If you are looking for an authentic Mexican souvenir, you might just find it here.

Perhaps Mexico’s most famous musical export, mariachi gets its very own festival in the enormous city of Guadalajara. With a healthy mix of culture, colour and camaraderie, the iconic musicians perform in venues across the city, from the streets to the hallowed halls of churches and cathedrals. Over 500 performers come from far flung countries around the world to celebrate their passion for mariachi music.

Originally created to celebrate the famous writer Miguel de Cervantes, who authored the renowned Don Quixote, the Festival Internacional Cervantino has now become one of the best arts festivals in the country. Opera, theatre, music and much more takes place throughout the duration of the event and performers come from all over the world to take part. Previous years have seen drumming groups from Japan, orchestras from Russia and jazz singers from Norway. Despite its expansion in recent years, the focus of the festival is still heavily based on Cervantes.

Possibly one of the most internationally famous Mexican festivals, the Dias de los Muertos festival (Days of the Dead) celebrates the spirits of the deceased with feasts, music and dancing. Offerings of food and flowers are placed on altars where lay loved ones who have passed away. Typically, children are remembered on the first day of celebrations and adults on the subsequent day.

The BPM festival is a ten day electronic music event that sees people from around the world come together to enjoy a cold beverage in the golden sunshine of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The events are spread out across numerous venues throughout Playa del Carmen and this year’s edition expects there to be over 375 artists. If you are looking for a bit of fun in the sun, this is a festival not to be missed.