Benito Juarez Holiday Weekend Mar. 14-16

This weekend is a long weekend for Mexicans. Benito Juárez Day is on Monday, March 16, in Puebla and throughout Mexico. This public holiday celebrates the birth of the former president (March 21) and is observed on the third Monday of March. Banks, schools, and government offices are closed.

On Saturday, the only thing planned was a Classical Guitar concert at 3 pm in the Casa de la Cultura. We had a great breakfast at El Buen Sazon, a local restaurant, and then walked into the Centro.

It’s a holiday weekend and the Centro was full of markets and was already rocking, early in the morning! We went through the flea market again. Then a handmade market, then a women’s market, then a children’s handicraft market and more. The streets were full of music, vendors, bands, umbrellas and tents!

We got a little respite when we went into an art museum, Edificio Carolina, that will be hosting a huge weeklong book fair starting next week. This major event features numerous publishing houses, book presentations, and cultural activities. We are looking forward to checking this out next week.

Men were setting up the courtyard in the building for the fair but we were able to wander through the rooms looking at some disturbing water colour paintings…

We went back into the organized mayhem in the Centro for a bit and then went to El Comal for a late lunch. Super busy there too but a nice break. Then on to our guitar and violin concert and …

An exposition set up around the courtyard recognizing the role that women in Puebla have in mescal production.

P.S. March 13th is also the volcano’s birthday. Locals spend 5 hours climbing the volcano to offer gifts, songs, and food to the volcano, often to appease it during high activity.Read more