Fiesta Patronal de San Miguel Amantla

The celebration in honor to St. Michael the Archangel starts with Las Mañanitas. The village streets are traversed and in the evening a popular festival with fireworks, greasy poles, food selling, dancing and burning of firework structures is performed. Each year brings an average of three thousand people who attend the celebrations for the rescue of pre-Hispanic traditions of this town. At the atrium of the church and the village kiosk artistic mats of sawdust are prepared, and a series of artistic performances for everyone are organized.

This event is held every year on 29 September, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, in San Miguel Amantla, an original pueblo of Azcapotzalco.

The history under it. Amantla was the barrio of the amantecas, the featherwork artisans whose craft was among the most prized in the Mexica world. Azcapotzalco itself was the seat of the Tepanec dominion before Tenochtitlan rose, and its pueblos keep community calendars with roots far older than the colonial parish that now organises them.

What happens. A novena of masses, the principal mass on 29 September, the procession with the image of the archangel through the streets, dance groups, a band, a fair with food and rides in and around the atrium, and fireworks after dark.

Practical notes. Metro Azcapotzalco and Ferrería, line 6, serve the borough; the pueblo is a short taxi ride from either. Combine it with the colonial parish and the historic centre of Azcapotzalco. Entry is free, the fair runs on cash, and photographs of people should be asked for.