What this section covers. The religious calendar of Mexico City — patronal feasts, pilgrimages, Holy Week and the two dates that stop the city, 12 December and 1–2 November.
The fixed points of the year. 12 December, the Virgin of Guadalupe, brings several million pilgrims to the Tepeyac over two days and is the largest Catholic pilgrimage in the Americas. 1 and 2 November, Día de Muertos, fills the cemeteries of the southern pueblos with candlelit vigils. Holy Week in Iztapalapa has staged the Passion since 1843 and draws hundreds of thousands. 16–24 December are the posadas, nine nights of processions and neighbourhood parties.
The rest of the calendar. Every original pueblo in the city keeps its patron saint's day with a novena, a procession, a fair and fireworks, organised and paid for by the mayordomía — the families who take on the year's feast. Something is being celebrated somewhere most weeks of the year.
Going respectfully. These are acts of faith, not performances. Entry is free, nothing is ticketed, and the host is the neighbourhood. Ask before photographing people, and dress as the congregation does.
