So much of what you can experience of a destination comes down to the timing of your visit, and the first 12 days of December are a great time to be in Mexico, as cities across the country celebrate the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Known in Spanish as El Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, this important religious and social festival commemorates the miraculous appearance of the Virgin Mary to an Indian peasant and converted Catholic named Juan Diego on December 12, 1531.
According to legend, Juan Diego was walking on Tepeyac Hill, outside modern-day Mexico City, when he saw a vision: A pregnant Indian woman, clothed in a turquoise robe with bright stars, with rays of sunlight emanating behind her, her hands folded in prayer. She identified herself as “The Virgin Mary, mother of the one true God.”
Mary reappeared to Juan Diego over three days and told him, even though it was December, to gather flowers on the hill. Juan Diego found a patch of Spanish roses, gathered them and dropped them before the bishop, revealing the image of Mary seared into his cloak. To this day, the cloth is on display in Mexico City at the Basilica of Guadalupe, which was constructed at the site of the miraculous appearance, the most visited Marian shrine in the world.
Here in Puerto Vallarta, the Virgin is honoured by the hundreds of local businesses, unions, neighbourhoods, and organisations that participate in the pilgrimage to the city’s most iconic landmark, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The candlelight processions generally start in front of Woolworth’s and go the 11 blocks down Juarez Street to the Guadalupe church. Indigenous pagan and Christian rituals as young warriors dance in the streets commemorating the miraculous apparition, and others carry banners or colourful floats that usually portray the Virgin Mary and Juan Diego. Once the last procession reaches its destination, a special mass in devotion to Puerto Vallarta’s revered patron saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe, is celebrated.
The celebrations come to a joyful end on December 12 with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of Puerto Vallarta’s most beloved and popular annual celebrations. Baptisms, Confirmations, First Holy Communions and even weddings take place within the local community to coincide with this special and blessed date.
December 12, 2025, also marks the 174th anniversary of the founding of Puerto Vallarta. After the religious ceremony, festive celebrations continue with parades, music, singing, dancing, fireworks and a plethora of street vendors selling everything from religious relics and traditional Christmas dishes to vacation souvenirs on the Malecón.
Fireworks decorate and light up the skies, folk dance groups perform, traditional parades entertain the crowds, people sing hymns and songs of praise in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and the central plaza is filled to the brim with street vendors selling fruits, food, souvenirs and other specialties.
A beautiful, religious and cultural event in Mexico, the Festival of Guadalupe is one of Puerto Vallarta’s most beloved celebrations, drawing crowds of many thousands each year. https://banderasnews.com/
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Did you know that Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, was awarded the #1 Destination in Mexico, by
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