Nuestra Señora Merced de las Huertas

Adoration of the image of the Virgen de Nuestra Señora de la Merced de las Huertas (Our Lady of Mercy of Huertas). It is usually celebrated with one or several masses that day, and the church is decorated with flowers on the altar, and there is a fair and fireworks outside the religious grounds.

This event is held every year. The feast of Nuestra Señora de la Merced de las Huertas falls on 24 September, the day of Our Lady of Mercy, and is kept by the pueblo of Santa Fe in Álvaro Obregón, in the church of the same name.

What happens. One or several masses are said for the image during the day. The church is dressed with flowers around the retable, and the celebration moves outside the building afterwards: a small fair, food stalls, music and fireworks in the atrium and the surrounding streets. The intensity depends on the year and on the mayordomía organising it.

The context. The pueblo of Santa Fe predates by four centuries the corporate district that now carries its name: it was founded as one of Vasco de Quiroga's hospital-towns in the 1530s. The parish and its patronal feast are the surviving thread of that community.

Practical notes. The area has no Metro; buses run from Tacubaya and Observatorio, and an app taxi is the simple option. The feast is a parish occasion: entry is free, nothing is sold to visitors as a ticket, and photography inside the church should be discreet.