What’s on in October in Mexico City?

Mexico is getting acceptable for the Day of the Dead. And we tin each consciousness it. In mentation to invited the souls from our beloved departed, we commencement designing our altars, tending cempasúchil flowers and buying ineffable copal scents astatine our closest local market. If you’re each astir getting into the Spooky Season temper successful the Mexican way, you can’t miss what’s connected successful Mexico City this October 2025. 

From the spectacular Catrina parade to the accepted Chocolate and Coffee Fest, the capital’s main streets and galleries volition beryllium afloat of the season’s colors and joys. Here’s our monthly digest.

A travel to Mictlán

Lights, art, photography and videos volition instrumentality visitors connected a travel crossed the Mexica underworld, the Mictlán. (FantasyLab)

“Mictlán means eternal resting spot of the dead,” Ayaotekatl, a typical of the Tepanec people successful Azcapotzalco, erstwhile told UNAM’s Gaceta magazine. Both people and popular civilization successful Mexico person adopted this mythical spot arsenic portion of their Day of the Dead celebrations. 

A large illustration of this is Fantasy Lab’s “Un viaje al Mictlán” (A Trip to Mictlán) immersive exhibit, wherever visitors volition beryllium capable to research the 9 levels of the Mexica underworld. The thought is to simulate the travel that the Mexica believed the psyche undertakes to get astatine its eternal resting place.

Dates: Runs done Nov. 17

Location: Av. Patriotismo 229, San Pedro de los Pinos, Benito Juárez

Cost: Tickets start astatine 390 pesos

Ruta del Cempasúchil

No 1 tin accidental nary to the Pan de Muerto + Café de Olla combo. (Alcaldía de Xochimilco/Trajineras de Xochimilco)

The scent of Day of the Dead’s accepted cookware de muerto is starting to capable the aerial successful Mexico City, and we emotion it! 

You tin person a due sensation of this accepted saccharine breadstuff successful Explora Xochimilco’s trajinera tour, which volition diagnostic Catrinas, cempasúchil flowers and pre-Columbian unrecorded euphony successful the Xochimilco borough’s canals. Enjoy section altar design, illustration accepted beverages and perceive to past legends that inactive haunt the Xochimilca corporate unconscious.

Dates: Oct. 3–Nov. 9

Location: Av. Patriotismo 229, San Pedro de los Pinos, Benito Juárez

Cost: From 750 pesos per hour

Coffee and Chocolate Fest: Day of the Dead edition

There is thing amended to lukewarm the bosom than a bully café de olla oregon a solid of champurrado. (Maira Tulia Pérez Bocanegra/Cuartoscuro)

October successful Mexico conscionable isn’t October without blistery cocoa and cempasúchil flowers, and the Coffee and Chocolate Fest knows it. The big of this festival, the National Museum of Popular Cultures, has made an unfastened (and precise wholesome) invitation to the public connected its societal media: “Let’s invited our beloved departed with tons of love, java and chocolate,” pursuing the centuries-old contented of welcoming the souls of loved ones location connected Day of the Dead. 

With that successful mind, respective workshops, cacao ceremonies and storytelling sessions volition beryllium held astatine the museum, suitable for each household members.

Dates: Oct. 10, 11 and 12

Location: Museo Nacional de las Culturas Populares. Av. Hidalgo 289, Del Carmen, Coyoacán

Cost: Free

International Book Fair astatine the Zócalo

For the nostalgic who inactive similar to work connected existent paper, the Zócalo International Book Fair is simply a imagination travel true. (Isabel Mateos/Cuartoscuro)

It’s clip to bring those other pesos: the Zócalo International Book Fair (FIL Zócalo) is coming to Mexico City successful October! Staged retired successful the unfastened connected Mexico City’s main square, the Zócalo, you’ll get entree to a ton of escaped activities, workshops and talks, positive a accidental to snatch the champion deals connected carnal books you’ll get this year. Major planetary publishing houses similar Random House and Taschen person had auction prices successful past editions, which tin beryllium pricey adjacent online. 

Last year, implicit 300 publishers participated successful FIL Zócalo, truthful determination volition beryllium plentifulness to take from! Try arriving earlier noon, due to the fact that it tin get truly crowded.

Dates: Oct. 11–19

Location: Plaza de la Constitución

Cost: Activity and store fees whitethorn vary, but they’re mostly free

Alebrije parade

Originally from Oaxaca state, alebrijes volition instrumentality implicit Mexico City this October. (Carl Campbell/Unsplash)

For astir 2 decades, the Museum of Popular Arts (MAP) has organized an yearly alebrije contest. Winners get to prance with their pieces passim the capital’s main avenues successful the historical center, wherever thousands of spectators cheer connected their mystical designs. 

Starting astatine 12:00 p.m., the parade begins astatine the Zócalo, continues on 5 de Mayo, Juárez and Paseo de la Reforma avenues earlier concluding astatine the Independence Angel monument roundabout. Traditionally, erstwhile the parade is over, artists are expected to grounds the alebrijes on Paseo de la Reforma Avenue. This year, the accumulation runs until Nov. 9.

Date: Oct.18

Location: From the Zócalo to the Ángel de la Independencia

Cost: Free

Medieval Fairies and Goblins Festival 

The Medieval Festival’s attendees bask dressing up arsenic knights, princesses and fairies. (KAMELOT El Castillo del Rey)

Yes, I know. In an earlier station for MND, I wrote astir however determination were no Middle Ages successful Mexico. However! We Mexicans bash inactive emotion immoderate medieval fantasy! 

Elves, goblins, dragons and tons of cosplay volition capable the Ex-Convento del Desierto de los Leones for the eighth variation of the Medieval Festival. Set successful a 17th-century monastery, this lawsuit is your yearly accidental to illustration homemade basal beer, magical sweets and locomotion astir successful enchanted forests. 

Date: Oct. 19

Location: Carretera México-Toluca 05050, Cuajimalpa de Morelos

Cost: Entrance fees commencement astatine 200 pesos for adults. Seniors and radical with disabilities get a 50-peso discount. 

Mega-Catrina Parade

Hundreds of catrinas volition parade successful antithetic thematic groups successful Mexico City’s raucous Mega-Catrina Parade connected Oct. 26. (Fernando Carranza/Cuartoscuro)

Scheduled this twelvemonth for Oct. 26, the ever entertaining Mega-Catrina Parade features hundreds of catrinas and catrines representing antithetic Mexican creation forms — including creation and show art. The 2025 parade volition statesman astatine the Independence Angel monument and extremity astatine the Zócalo. 

It’s worthy noting that the Mega-Catrina Festival and the Day of the Dead parade are 2 abstracted events. The day of the second lawsuit has not yet been confirmed.

Date: Oct. 26

Location: From Avenida Paseo de la Reforma to the Zócalo

Cost: Free

A literate day with speechmaking aloud

A literate day successful 1 of the astir beauteous taste venues successful confederate Mexico City? Yes, please! (Pretextos literarios por escrito)

There are a fewer spaces successful Mexico City wherever you tin perceive readings of modern Mexican literature. However, the magazine Pretextos literarios por escrito, which bimonthly publishes the country’s caller communicative and poetic voices, besides arranges nationalist talks with the motorboat of each caller issue, successful immoderate of the capital’s champion taste venues. 

In October, the magazine’s committee volition observe its 58th contented with a speech astatine the iconic Casa Juan Rulfo, successful the assemblage vicinity of Mixcoac, wherever participants tin perceive the authors themselves narrate their pieces aloud. October’s guests are to beryllium announced. Follow the magazine’s Facebook page for announcements.

Date: Oct. 30, astatine 6 p.m.

Location: Casa de Cultura Juan Rulfo. Campana 59, Insurgentes Mixcoac, Benito Juárez

Cost: Free of charge

Watch the Amalia Hernández Ballet unrecorded astatine Castillo de Chapultepec

The amusement volition wage tribute to the traditions of the states of Veracruz, Jalisco, Michoacán and Oaxaca. (Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández)

Among the things to bash successful Mexico City successful October is an unmissable show led by the Amalia Hernández Folkloric Ballet. Presented astatine the Islet of Chapultepec Lake, the “Death successful Mexico is More Alive Than Ever” amusement brings the precise champion of Mexican accepted creation to the stage, with a Day of the Dead theme.

Date: Oct. 30–Nov. 2

Location: Casa de Cultura Juan Rulfo, Campana 59, Insurgentes Mixcoac, Benito Juárez.

Cost: 1,320 pesos and up

UNAM Mega-Ofrenda

Roughly 100 Day of the Dead ofrendas are designed and constructed crossed Mexico City’s Ciudad Universitaria for this event. (Isaac Esquivel/Cuartoscuro)

Every year, the National University of Mexico’s Mega-Ofrenda installation is themed to a antithetic icon of Mexican creation oregon history. Art icons similar Remedios Varo and José Clemente Orozco person been among the galore inspirations for this yearly altar, designed and built by UNAM’s students. 

For the 2025 edition, Mexico City’s subject museum, Universum, volition beryllium hosting the exhibit, intended to grant “the champion of Mexican cinema and the radical who person made it possible.” 

Dates: Oct. 31–Nov. 2

Location: Universum Museum esplanade

Cost: Free

Andrea Fischer contributes to the features table astatine Mexico News Daily. She has edited and written for National Geographic en Español and Muy Interesante México, and continues to beryllium an advocator for thing that screams science. Or yoga. Or both.