Carnavales de Iztapalapa

Several of the native towns maintain tradition of the carnival days before Ash Wednesday. The most symbolic and joyful things in Iztapalapa are the villages of San Lorenzo Tezonco, Culhuacán el de Santa Cruz Meyehualco, Santa María Aztahuacan, San Sebastian Tecoloxtitlan and Santa Martha Acatitla. The people arrange dances and parades through the streets with their floats; generally, the authorities are offering food to the inhabitant participants.

This event is held every year. The carnivals of Iztapalapa fall in the days before Ash Wednesday, which means they move with Easter: late February or early March, depending on the year. The parish and the borough publish the exact dates a few weeks ahead.

Which pueblos hold them. Several of Iztapalapa's original pueblos keep the tradition. The largest and liveliest are San Lorenzo Tezonco, Culhuacán, Santa Cruz Meyehualco, Santa María Aztahuacán, San Sebastián Tecoloxtitlan and Santa Martha Acatitla.

What happens. Residents organise themselves into comparsas, dance and parade through the streets with floats, costumes and bands. The local authorities traditionally provide food for the participants. Each pueblo runs its own, so the carnival is not a single event but half a dozen neighbourhood ones on overlapping days.

Going. These are community festivals rather than tourist spectacles: the streets belong to the comparsas, the crowd is local, and the day is long. Metro line 8 and the Cablebus serve Iztapalapa. Carry cash and little else, and ask before photographing.