Organizers in Cancún are moving early to bring Janal Pixan Puerto Juárez back this year, with the catrina showpieces and altar exhibition already underway. They aim to attract at least 60,000 people over four days and say tourism officials will promote the festival more aggressively with hotels. Dates are between late October and early November; a complete program will be announced soon. What will be new, and how big could it get? We checked prior attendance and this year’s plans to set expectations.
Cancún officials are getting a head start on one of the city’s most photogenic traditions. From Puerto Juárez, the municipal Social Development Secretariat has begun coordinating the 2025 edition of Janal Pixan Puerto Juárez, confirming the return of the altar and catrina exhibitions while restoration work starts on last year’s mega catrina. Organizers are planning for more than 60,000 visitors across the four-day program and say that over 150 artisans and small entrepreneurs will participate. The exact dates and full schedule will be announced soon, but the window is expected to be late October to early November.
Janal Pixan Puerto Juárez
The push this year is as much cultural as it is logistical. Social development chief Berenice Sosa Osorio said the city has already met with the municipal syndicate, the culture institute, and partners such as Distrito Cancún to shape a program “at the height of Cancún.” The Tourism Secretariat has now joined as an organizer to help position the celebration as a recognizable brand for visitors, with the local hotel association brought in to amplify the message. Expect the signature maritime procession, a packed stage for nightly performances, and the altar and catrina displays that anchor the festival’s look and feel.
If the crowd is targeting sound ambition, they line up with recent momentum. Last year’s municipal tally shows Janal Pixán drew more than 20,000 people on just its second night, and city figures list cumulative attendance rising from 18,000 in 2021 to 62,500 in 2023 as the event settled into Puerto Juárez. Those same releases highlight why the venue matters: Puerto Juárez is both the city’s historic cradle and an ideal shoreline stage for the nighttime arrival of catrinas and catrines by boat.
Part of the success has been practical. In 2024, authorities offered free public transportation from Malecón Tajamar and El Crucero to help families move to and from the waterfront each evening, while a citywide program extended Day of the Dead activities to Parque de las Palapas and the Los Olivos cemetery. That mix of access and symbolism helped build the family vibe officials want to preserve again this year.
Tourism push and crowd expectations
The early planning now includes a stronger visitor pitch. Officials say the Tourism Secretariat is in the room specifically to brand the celebration and coordinate with hotels, an approach that mirrors how Cancún treats big civic festivals. Local broadcasters are already framing 2025 as a return to form with the familiar trinity of maritime procession, catrina showpieces, and artisan pavilions—signals that the format won’t change, but the scale might.
That scale matters for Puerto Juárez. As a working port and the city’s point of origin, the subdelegation turns into a nighttime corridor of altars, music, and food stands. It’s also where Janal Pixán’s mix of Maya remembrance and Mexican pop iconography—such as marigolds, candles, and face paint—lands most naturally with locals and visitors. The city’s own summaries describe the event as family-first and alcohol-free on the waterfront, another cue that the administration wants a safe, high-participation celebration that feels owned by the neighborhood.
For now, organizers are focused on the basics: restoring last year’s catrinas, mapping procession logistics, and curating a stage program that runs all four nights. Once dates and the full lineup drop, the remaining question is scale. If hotel partners embrace the festival as planned, and if free shuttles return to feed the route from downtown, Puerto Juárez could exceed the 60,000 target and push closer to last year’s broader counts reported across city venues. We’ll update once the final schedule posts.
