Yucatán Traditions
A procession in Mocachá, Yucatán, is among the many fiestas de pueblo across the state.Photo: Alexa Fernanda Sandoval Loria / for Yucatán Magazine
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5 Yucatán Traditions Get Heritage Status in Unanimous Vote

ByYucatán Magazine

Legislative committees unanimously approved measures Sunday that would grant Intangible Cultural Heritage status to five major festivals and traditions, including Three Kings Day festivities in Tizimín and Our Lady of the Assumption in Mérida.

The United Commission on Constitutional Points and Governance, and on Art and Culture backed the declaration after reviewing proposals from lawmakers across party lines. The package now moves to the full Congress for final approval.

Among the traditions receiving recognition is the Santos Reyes festival in Tizimín, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each January. The weeks-long celebration honors the Three Kings with religious ceremonies, livestock exhibitions, concerts and traditional dances. The fair runs from late December through mid-January and ranks as one of the state’s largest annual events.

The measure also covers gremios — church guilds that organize processions honoring patron saints. Two specific declarations target the gremios of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Mérida’s San Sebastián neighborhood and a broader recognition of gremios throughout Yucatán. These centuries-old associations bring together people from the same profession or neighborhood for religious festivities that blend Spanish Catholic traditions with Maya customs.

Representative Wilmer Monforte Marfil, who proposed the Santos Reyes designation, said recognizing the Tizimín festival protects “the largest and most representative popular celebration in Yucatán.”

“Naming these traditions as Intangible Cultural Heritage strengthens community unity and preserves the cultural roots that give meaning to Yucatecan identity,” Monforte Marfil told the commission.

The gremios proposals came from Daniel Quintal González and Rafael Montalvo Mata. During committee testimony, Quintal González highlighted how the San Sebastián guilds maintain traditions dating back more than 150 years. The festivities feature jaranas, traditional food and processions with decorated banners and fireworks.

El Pueblo Mérida

Montalvo Mata emphasized the need to protect gremios broadly across the state, noting their dynamic cultural role and importance in transmitting traditions to future generations.

Two additional traditions earned recognition in the package. La Genuina Gardenia, a festival celebrated in Ticul, received its designation through a proposal from Representative Neyda Pat Dzul. The measure also declares Día del Panadero, or Baker’s Day, as official heritage based on an initiative from the National Action Party caucus.

Claudia Estefanía Baeza Martínez spoke during deliberations about the unifying power of the Santos Reyes celebration in Tizimín, calling it a moment of identity and community pride. Manuela Cocom Bolio noted that strengthening municipal identity through culture should remain a legislative priority, pointing to her party’s earlier proposal to recognize the Maya milpa agricultural system.

Legislators from opposing parties praised the bipartisan nature of the cultural preservation effort. “These are themes that remain above political preferences,” said Montalvo Mata. “It shows the nobility of legislation focused on strengthening culture.”

The concept of intangible cultural heritage covers practices, expressions and knowledge that communities recognize as part of their cultural identity. Mexico’s national framework for cultural rights defines it as the set of traditions, techniques and symbolic expressions that form the conceptual foundation of a region’s material culture.

Yucatán’s Congress has aggressively protected traditional practices in recent years. Previous measures granted heritage status to the vaquería dance tradition, the Convento de San Antonio de Padua in Izamal, and Teatro Maya performances in Xocén.

The Santos Reyes fair alone attracts approximately 800,000 visitors during its run, according to organizers. Beyond its religious significance, the event generates substantial economic activity for Tizimín through hotel bookings, restaurant sales and vendor revenue. The celebration features a coso artesanal — a traditional bullring built entirely from rope and freshly cut wood — that measures 197 feet (60 meters) in diameter.

Gremios continue throughout the year in communities across the state, with August marking the peak season for these celebrations. The festivities typically include nine days of novenas, processions with charanga music, traditional meals like relleno negro and cochinita pibil, and vaquerías where dancers perform the jarana in traditional dress.

The full Congress will debate the measure in coming weeks. If approved, the traditions join other Yucatecan cultural practices recognized for preservation and promotion by state authorities.

Witness These Traditions

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