Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, October 17, 2026 – Puerto Vallarta’s Día de Muertos festival will run October 31–November 2, with the monumental catrina, illuminated pangas, and waterfront installations on the announced program.
The official tourism calendar places the Malecón and Centro Histórico at the center of the celebration, with installations extending to Isla del Cuale and Los Muertos pier. For residents planning an evening downtown, the immediate question is how much of the program can be scheduled now.
The festival dates are published, but the parade still needs a timetable. The tourism office’s official preview states, “Fecha, hora y ruta por confirmar” — date, time, and route to be confirmed. The parade, called La Marea de las Ánimas, is planned around five themed sections, led by catrines and catrinas dressed in old Vallarta style.
The broader layout is clearer. The state’s Puerto Vallarta festival program names the Malecón corridor La Orilla de las Ánimas, with cempasúchil flowers, sculptures, music, and ofrendas, or memorial altars, facing the ocean.
The monumental catrina is scheduled to return to the lighthouse esplanade on the Malecón. This year’s announced design, La Guardiana del Océano, incorporates waves, whales, manta rays and bougainvillea.
Its return continues a waterfront tradition covered in Vallarta Daily’s reporting on the 2025 catrina, when the figure again featured in the city’s Día de Muertos celebrations.
Nearby, Las Pangas de Luz will use flower-covered fishing boats in a large installation honoring fishermen. The boats are intended to be illuminated at night, making the fishing community part of the festival’s visual identity alongside the marine imagery planned for the catrina.
The celebration will also extend beyond the main boardwalk. At Los Muertos pier, El Último Umbral is described as a trail of flowers and light leading toward an installation called Faro de las Ánimas at the pier’s end.
On Isla del Cuale, El Jardín de los Susurros will combine copal incense, candles, shadows, and legends among the island’s trees. These locations spread the announced displays between downtown, the river island and the Los Muertos waterfront.
Music is also intended to appear outside conventional stages. The tourism preview lists Voces desde el Balcón, a series of surprise performances lasting five to 10 minutes from balconies in the Centro Histórico.
Vallarta’s three-day celebration forms part of a longer statewide festival. The official festival information identifies the Jalisco Tourism Secretariat and the state entertainment agency as organizers, with the statewide calendar running October 24–November 15. Those broader dates should not be confused with Vallarta’s October 31–November 2 listing. The local tourism portal advertises at least 28 free experiences.
One announced activity already has a daily rhythm: La Hora Dorada de las Almas calls for candles to be lit at sunset. Alongside the pangas illuminated after dark, it places the transition from afternoon to evening at the center of the waterfront program.
The city has announced major plans but has not yet provided dates and times as of the publication of this article.
