Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, August 24, 2026 – Young performers from Puerto Vallarta’s Vallarta Azteca academy won the Grand Prix at the sixth Kolo bez granica international children’s folklore festival in Tivat, Montenegro, after taking a Jalisco dance program to the Adriatic coast.
Radio Tivat’s report on the closing gala said festival director Vidak Božović awarded the Grand Prix to Mexico after naming the delegation the standout group of this year’s event. Vallarta Azteca was the only Mexican ensemble identified on Tivat’s official participant list. The prize was announced after a street parade and gala concert on the Pine waterfront Saturday night.
The event ran from August 19 through August 23. The Tivat municipal government said more than 300 children from Mexico, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro took part. About 150 belonged to host KUD Boka. The visiting ensembles were Vallarta Azteca, KUD Šumadija from Serbia and KUD Stjepan Radić from Croatia, while additional Montenegrin groups joined the public programs.
The Puerto Vallarta group entered 12 academy dancers and four young rope performers from Rancho de Tato. The 16 participants were between 8 and 15 years old, while the full traveling party numbered 27 with parents and instructors.
Their Jalisco suite included “El Son de la Culebra,” “El Gavilancillo,” “El Son de la Negra” and the “Jarabe Tapatío.” The staging combined zapateado footwork, skirt work and rope flourishes set to mariachi music. Those choices gave the program a clear regional identity rather than a broad survey of Mexican folk dance.
The Grand Prix was one part of a wider cultural exchange. Festival activities spread beyond the concert stage through workshops, group games, the planting of a festival tree and a cruise on the Bay of Kotor. Visiting ensemble representatives also met Tivat Mayor Željko Komnenović at city hall.
The Montenegro appearance reversed Vallarta Azteca’s usual role as host. The organization receives international troupes in Jalisco through FESTVA, the annual folklore gathering it stages in Puerto Vallarta. The local festival marked its 20th anniversary in May, bringing dancers into the Malecón, traditional markets and other public spaces. This time, the academy’s youngest performers carried the exchange abroad.
The European tour began August 15 and is scheduled to conclude August 27 after additional activities in Turkey.