If you are in Puerto Vallarta during the first 12 days of December, don’t miss one of Puerto Vallarta’s most beloved celebrations, the Festival of Guadalupe. This 12-day long festival celebrates Our Lady of Guadalupe (Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe,) the patron saint of Mexico. The festival takes place between December 1st and December 12th as hundreds of people take over the downtown historical zone near the Cathedral of our Lady of Guadalupe. The Cathedral is a well-known landmark in Puerto Vallarta with an elaborate crown in the shape of a tiara on the top. During this important festival, the streets of Puerto Vallarta become filled with devoted followers making their way through the city in traditional ‘Peregrinaciones‘ (pilgrimages) or processions that start from the corner of Juarez and 31 de Octubre streets and continue to the Cathedral where they place gifts for the Virgin and receive a special blessing from the Priests. Baptisms, confirmations, first holy communions and even weddings take place within the local community to coincide with this special date. Thousands of people from schools, businesses and communities from PV and surrounding towns come to pay homage to the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the peasant Juan Diego on December...
