San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, June 13, 2026 – San Miguel de Allende will close streets early Sunday, June 14, for Convite de Locos, with more than 120,000 people expected in and around the historic center.
The parade is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and run until about 2 p.m., according to the city’s tourism calendar for Convite de Locos 2026. The event honors San Antonio de Padua and is one of the city’s largest annual public gatherings.
The route starts at Salida a Celaya and continues along Ancha de San Antonio, Zacateros, Canal, Hernández Macías, Insurgentes, Pepe Llanos, Mesones, Núñez, and San Francisco before reaching the Plaza Principal, according to the city’s security and traffic plan.
Route and closures
Vehicle removal and street closures along the route are set to begin at 6 a.m. Emergency units and parade floats are scheduled to enter at 8 a.m. for safety checks before the procession begins.
San Miguel expects more than 6,000 participants, divided into four traditional contingents known locally as the Parque, Antiguo, Nuevo, and Tecolote cuadros. The city also listed 52 floats for this year’s procession.
“The operation is ready,” Civil Protection Director Juan Isaac Salazar said in the municipal statement. He said the plan includes the Public Security Secretariat, Transit Police, Civil Protection, emergency groups, volunteers, and other city agencies.
Emergency access and crowd controls
The city said ambulances, fire units, prehospital-care teams, Red Cross crews, public security officers, and traffic police will be positioned along the route. Hydration points are also planned, along with emergency access routes and a treatment point for injured people on Corregidora Street.
Transit authorities said they will review vehicles, drivers, and companions and conduct alcohol testing. Civil Protection will inspect float structures and equipment. The Environment and Sustainability office will monitor speaker and sound system volumes, according to the city plan.
The DIF will reserve a viewing area outside Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez El Nigromante, known locally as Bellas Artes, for older adults, people with disabilities, and people with reduced mobility.
Families should stay alert near moving floats and comparsas. The city asked participants to hand candy directly to children when possible and avoid throwing it forcefully, a practical concern during a parade where spectators often crowd close to the route.
A crowded route through the historic center
Convite de Locos runs through the center of San Miguel, including streets lined with hotels, restaurants, homes, parking areas, and public plazas.
The route passes through the historic core of a city recognized by UNESCO as part of the Protective Town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco. For Sunday’s crowd, that means narrow central streets, limited detours, and heavier pressure on pedestrian access once the parade forms.
Acacio Martínez, San Miguel’s director of Culture and Traditions, described it as the city’s largest celebration by attendance. “By volume, it is San Miguel’s biggest festival,” he said in the municipal statement.
State tourism officials have also described the celebration as a major cultural event for Guanajuato, with costumes, music, neighborhood participation, and religious tradition filling the streets of San Miguel de Allende.
People staying near the route should move cars before closures begin, confirm hotel pickup points, carry water, and avoid treating the parade path as a shortcut once crowds gather.
PVDN has been following San Miguel’s busy June calendar through its San Miguel de Allende news coverage, including events that can quickly fill central streets during visitor weekends.
City authorities asked spectators to respect sidewalks, emergency routes, and instructions from police, transit officers, and Civil Protection crews.
