On May 1, Labor Day (Día del Trabajo), the president reviews a huge parade of workers from the central balcony of the National Palace . For the Feast of Corpus Christi, families dress children in native costumes or their Sunday best and gather at the Metropolitan Cathedral for a priest's blessing. The date is variable, occurring between late May and mid-June.
The fall of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan to Hernando Cortés and his followers is remembered Aug. 2 on Cuauhtémoc Day. Dances and wreath-laying ceremonies at the Plaza of the Three Cultures and the Cuauhtémoc Statue at the intersection of Paseo de la Reforma and Avenida Insurgentes honor the last Aztec emperor.
Father Miguel Hidalgo's “El Grito de Dolores,” the rallying cry of Mexican independence, is repeated by the president of Mexico and echoed by hundreds of thousands of people on the evening of Sept. 15 in Plaza Constitución (the Zócalo ). One of the year's biggest events, it is nationally televised. A morning military parade on Independence Day, Sept. 16, proceeds from the Zócalo to the Independence Monument , past buildings draped with streamers in the national colors of red, green and white.
Columbus Day (Día de la Raza) on Oct. 12 commemorates Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas. Families build altars in their homes and decorate the graves of loved ones with extravagant flower garlands to celebrate the Day of the Dead on Nov. 1. Revolution Day, Nov. 20, features a spirited downtown parade along avenidas Madero and Juárez and Paseo de la Reforma to commemorate the start of the Revolution of 1910.
The venerated Virgin of Guadalupe, the country's patron saint, is the focal point of a nationwide celebration of dancing, fireworks and religious processions on Dec. 12, the Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Devout believers from throughout Mexico make the pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe , in the northern suburb of Villa de Guadalupe. The city is decorated in high style for the 9 days leading up to Christmas, a time devoted to traditional re-enactments of the Holy Family's search for an inn (posada).