Fiesta de San Mateo Tlaltenango

It's a party in honor of St. Matthew the Apostle and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The festival lasts three days, during which regional dances are organized, dancers and workers participate, artists sing, a fair is established with fireworks and dancing in the open field.

This event is held every year on 21 September, the feast of Saint Matthew the Evangelist, in San Mateo Tlaltenango, an original pueblo of Cuajimalpa.

The pueblo. Tlaltenango sits in the wooded west of the city, on the way up towards the Desierto de los Leones, in a belt where Mexico City still looks like forest and small town rather than capital. It keeps its community structures, its communal land and its calendar of feasts.

What happens. Nine days of masses before the date, the principal mass on 21 September, and the procession carrying the image of the saint through the streets. Dance groups, a band, an atrium dressed with flowers and papel picado, a fair with food and rides over several days, and fireworks at night.

Practical notes. Cuajimalpa has no Metro: the route is a bus or taxi from Tacubaya or Observatorio, or from Santa Fe. It is cooler and wetter up here than in the centre and September is the end of the rainy season, so take a jacket and expect afternoon rain. Entry is free; the fair runs on cash.