PUERTO VALLARTA – Music, culture, and celebration will fill the air in Puerto Vallarta as the city hosts the “Al Calor del Mariachi, Summer Festival” from June 25 to July 1. This week-long event will showcase an array of mariachi groups from across Mexico and beyond, featuring workshops, concerts, exhibitions, and other activities, aimed at boosting the region’s tourism.
Ángel Martínez, Director of Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán and promoter of the festival, said at a press conference that groups from Puerto Vallarta, Bahía de Banderas, Cabo Corrientes, and Mascota, as well as from Monterrey, the State of Mexico, Puebla, Colima, Guadalajara and the interior of the state are invited. The event will also see participation from student mariachis from Texas and California, United States.
Martínez revealed his ambition for the festival to become a benchmark for mariachi in Puerto Vallarta, designating June as mariachi month for future editions. He thanked the City Council, Professor Luis Alberto Michel Rodríguez, the Directorate of Tourism and Economic Development, the Tourism Trust, and the Secretary of Tourism of the state for their support.
The festival will kick off on June 25 with a “Maleconeada” or inaugural parade at 6:00 pm, featuring local charros and mariachis. The day’s activities will include an art exhibition at the municipal presidency, showcasing paintings and photography by local and international artists.
Education will be a key feature of the event, with training workshops for musicians hosted at a local hotel. The three-day professionalization session will feature members of Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán as tutors, offering master classes in singing, trumpet playing, and mariachi history.
The festival will host activities across the city center, including a concert at the Malecón Lighthouse on June 28, showcasing performances by Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán, Joya de México, singer Aída Cuevas, and the debut performance of her daughter, Valeria Cuevas.
Aída Cuevas will also receive a special accolade, the “Mariachi, Culture and Tradition” medal, designed by maestro Rafael Zamarripa during a gala dinner on June 29. The dinner, held at the Sheraton Hotel, will raise funds for cultural and educational institutions in art and music.
The pinnacle of the festival, a grand concert titled “Por Amor al Mariachi”, is scheduled for June 30 at the International Convention Center, featuring performances by Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán, Mariachi Joya de México, Aída Cuevas, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, among others.
The festival will conclude with a thanksgiving mass on July 1, led by the Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, at the parish of Guadalupe at noon.
Also present at the press conference were Christian Salvador Preciado Cázares, Director of Tourism and Economic Development of the City Council, and Sujey Cárdenas, Public Relations Manager of the Public Trust for Tourism Promotion and Advertising of Puerto Vallarta, who revealed the details of the inaugural edition of this vibrant festival.
