Each year the month-long festival of the cross ends in the neighborhood of Valle de Maiz with a big bang including, this year, your guide dancing on stage with two fans (the cooling devices, many more fans in the audience!). The cast of characters featured in the Valle de Maiz tour includes:
The Chichimecas and Conquistadors – how their Battle of the Barbicans in 1530 changed town forever
The Sacred Cross – why the oldest crosses around town host lavish parties
Locos – crazy folks known for their dancing
Mojigangas – the paper mache puppets that grace local weddings
St. Martha’s Dragon – or King Kong and Beauty and the Beast come to town
Retablos – appreciating miracles, including cyber-bulling and bad credit, in art.
A group of dancers from the town of Acambaro in the southern part of the state end the show by tossing out the bread their town is famous for. Left for a day or two, it forms the basis for great French toast.
Along with dancers the Valle de Maiz fiesta features food, games, music and battle reenactments between the Chichimecas and Conquistadors. Hard to say who will win!
The Valle de Maiz festival continues to be my favorite fiesta in a town well known for its parties! The tour is mildly strenuous taking about an hour and a half of uphill walking through our oldest neighborhoods and ending at Valle de Maiz’ fiesta. The cost is 500 pesos or 25 USD, whatever is easier for you and starts from in front of the Oratorio at 5PM, Saturday, June first.
For reservations contact Toone.Joseph@yahoo.com or visit JosephTooneTours.com
Joseph Toone is the Historical Society’s short-story award winning author of the SMA Secrets book series. All books in the series are Amazon bestsellers in Mexican Travel and Holidays. Toone is SMA’s expert and TripAdvisor’s top ranked historical tour guide telling the stories behind what we do in today’s SMA. Visit HistoryAndCultureWalkingTours.com, and JosephTooneTours.com.