September 2026 in Mexico: Regional and Cultural Highlights

September belongs to Independence Day in Mexico, we’ve covered the Grito ceremony, the parades, and the rest of the national celebration in our overview of September in Mexico. But travel beyond the headline event and you’ll find the month is packed with regional festivals that don’t get nearly as much attention, and several of them are worth planning a trip around in their own right.

Zacatecas

This UNESCO-listed colonial city usually runs its National Fair (Feria Nacional Zacatecas) for about three weeks in September, roughly the 5th through the 23rd, though exact dates shift a bit year to year so it’s worth confirming locally before you book anything. Expect concerts, mechanical rides, livestock shows, theater, charrería rodeo, and no shortage of regional food.

San Miguel de Allende

The Fiesta de San Miguel honors the town’s patron, Saint Michael the Archangel. The actual feast day is September 29, but most of the celebrating happens on whichever weekend falls closest to it. Look for “La Alborada,” the pre-dawn kickoff with music and fireworks, plus parades, traditional dance, and concerts through the historic center. We go into much more detail, including the fireworks and bull-running history, in our dedicated guide to the Feast of San Miguel Arcángel.

Mexico City

The capital doesn’t slow down for anyone, and September brings its own packed calendar on top of the Independence Day festivities.

• Pulque and Mezcal Gastronomic Festival: typically held in the first week of September, with tastings covering traditional dishes, dozens of pulques, and a serious range of mezcals.
• Medieval Roast Festival: chefs and grill specialists gather annually alongside Mexican snacks and desserts.
• Plant Fest: a periodic bazaar celebrating national floriculture, sometimes showing off more than 400 plant varieties.
• Other things worth knowing about: free concerts in the Zócalo (Fito Páez played one on September 7 in a recent year), Lucha Libre Élite shows at Parque Aztlán, a Chiles en Nogada Festival that runs from mid-August through the end of September in the Historic Center, the Festival del Terror at Six Flags, the FM/AM Music Fair, and Expo Café at the World Trade Center. The city’s French Film Tour also tends to land here around this time of year.

Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato

Known as the “Cradle of Mexican Independence,” this is the actual town where Hidalgo’s cry happened in 1810, and it marks the anniversary with its own civic parade and local festivities. If the history behind the Grito interests you, there’s something worthwhile about seeing it commemorated at the source.

Puebla

The San Pedro Cholula Fair generally runs from late August into mid-September, with regional dishes and artisan crafts on full display. The Huey Atlixcáyotl Festival, a major celebration of indigenous tradition, also falls in this window.

Guadalajara, Jalisco

The International Mariachi and Charrería Festival (Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charrería) usually lands in late August or September, bringing mariachi performers from around the world to the genre’s spiritual home.

Chichén Itzá, Yucatán Peninsula

The Autumn Equinox Festival here marks the change of season in a genuinely striking way. As the sun sets, the Pyramid of Kukulcán casts a shadow down its steps that looks like a serpent descending, an effect that draws a real crowd every year.

Nuevo León

The Santa Lucía International Festival, the state’s biggest cultural event, typically gets underway in mid-September.

Mexico City’s short film scene

The International Festival of Mexican Short Films runs throughout September across all 16 of Mexico City’s boroughs, a good option if you’re after something a little different from the usual festival fare.

Between the national celebration and everything happening region by region, September might be Mexico’s single most concentrated month for culture, and there’s genuinely more going on than any one trip could cover.