Historic Centre of Guanajuato hosts Day of Dead from 28 October
Published on 10/18/2026 at 05:04 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂĽller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
The Historic Centre of Guanajuato (Centro HistĂłrico de Guanajuato) will host the Festival of the Day of the Dead from 28 October to 2 November 2026, bringing processions, altars and performances to the historic city in Mexico. The six-day programme includes Bon Odori performances from Japan and events in underground streets, plazas and alleyways.
Day of the Dead festival fills Guanajuato from 28 October
The festival was announced by the Guanajuato Secretariat of Tourism and Identity on 13 October 2026. Its programme covers the Calle Subterránea, city plazas and alleyways, with catrinas, monumental altars, traditional sawdust carpets, processions, videomapping, crafts and artistic activities.
The organisers have included Bon Odori, a Japanese traditional dance linked to remembrance of ancestors. The programme also names the Tunnel of Tradition, a monumental offering at the University of Guanajuato, a catrina parade, the Camino al Mictlán and a screening of El Santo contra las Momias de Guanajuato at the Santa Paula Cemetery. The official festival announcement places all six days in Guanajuato capital.
Underground streets connect the festival with Guanajuato history
The festival uses spaces that express the city’s physical and industrial past. UNESCO describes Guanajuato as a city founded by the Spanish in the early sixteenth century that became a leading silver-extraction centre in the eighteenth century.
That mining history remains visible in the subterranean streets and in the Baroque and neoclassical buildings around the centre. UNESCO also identifies La CompañĂa and La Valenciana as important examples of Baroque architecture in Central and South America. The combination of underground routes, historic churches and public squares gives the 2026 programme a direct setting within the city’s World Heritage landscape, rather than placing it in a separate festival ground. These World Heritage details describe the historic town and its adjacent mines.
Visiting Historic Centre of Guanajuato: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The festival runs from 28 October to 2 November 2026 across the Historic Centre of Guanajuato, including the Calle Subterránea, plazas and alleyways.
- The programme brings public cultural activities to underground streets, the University of Guanajuato steps, the Santa Paula Cemetery and other named historic venues.
- The terrain includes subterranean streets, narrow alleyways, public squares and historic buildings, so visitors should expect varied urban surfaces rather than one enclosed venue.
- Spanish is the official language used for the local programme, and Mexico’s national currency is the Mexican peso.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Historic Centre of Guanajuato
When does the Festival of the Day of the Dead take place at Historic Centre of Guanajuato?
The festival runs from 28 October to 2 November 2026 across the historic centre, including underground streets, plazas and alleyways.
What is the Historic Centre of Guanajuato?
It is the historic urban area of Guanajuato, a former silver-extraction centre with subterranean streets and Baroque and neoclassical buildings.
Where is Historic Centre of Guanajuato and how do you get there?
It is in Guanajuato, Mexico. The festival programme is distributed through the city’s underground streets, plazas, alleyways and named historic buildings rather than a single venue.
