Día de Muertos 2026
Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende
October 31 to November 2, 2026. The official city program, the Catrinas parade, the altars in the Jardín, and how to experience it with respect.
The short version
What happens, and when
San Miguel de Allende marks Día de Muertos from Saturday, October 31 through Monday, November 2, 2026. The city builds a public exhibition of ofrendas in the Jardín Principal, hosts music, theater, and films each evening, and closes with the Desfile de Muertos y Catrinas on November 2 at 5:00 p.m., which walks from El Cardo to the Jardín beneath the Parroquia.
This year carries extra weight: 2026 marks 200 years since San Miguel was proclaimed a city in 1826, and the anniversary appears on the official program.
Day of the Dead is a family holiday before it is a spectacle. The most memorable moments are often the quiet ones: a courtyard altar with a photograph and a glass of mezcal, or a family tending a grave at the panteón.
Official program
The 2026 city program, day by day
Transcribed from the municipal program published in October 2026. Times can change on the day, so check the city’s channels before you head out.
Saturday
October 31
5:00 p.m.
Pinta tu calaverita
Skull-painting workshop · Casa de la Cultura del Chorro
6:30 p.m.
La muerte es parte de lo nuestro
Music and poetry · Explanada del Jardín Principal
8:00 p.m.
Muerte que te quiero muerte
Flamenco performance · Explanada del Jardín Principal
8:00 p.m.
El extraño mundo de Jack
Family film · Casa de la Cultura, Mesones 71
10:00 p.m.
La noche del demonio
Horror film · Casa de la Cultura, Mesones 71
Sunday
November 1
12:00 p.m.
Exhibición de ofrendas
Altar exhibition · Jardín Principal
4:00 p.m.
Decora tu ofrenda
Altar-decorating workshop · Biblioteca Municipal
6:00 p.m.
Huesos, calacas y calaveras con El Catrín y La Catrina
Theater and puppets · Explanada del Jardín Principal
7:00 p.m.
Muertos en el aire
Live music · Explanada del Jardín Principal
8:00 p.m.
Coco
Family film · Outside the old Panteón de San Antonio Abad
10:00 p.m.
Macario
Family film · Outside the old Panteón de San Antonio Abad
Monday
November 2
9:00 a.m.
Exhibición de ofrendas
Altar exhibition · Jardín Principal
5:00 p.m.
Desfile de Muertos y Catrinas
The Catrinas parade · From El Cardo to the Jardín Principal
8:00 p.m.
Hocus Pocus
Family film · Casa de la Cultura, Mesones 71
8:30 p.m.
Calacas
Contemporary circus · Explanada del Jardín Principal
10:00 p.m.
IT
Horror film · Casa de la Cultura, Mesones 71
November 2, 5:00 p.m.
The Desfile de Muertos y Catrinas
The parade starts at El Cardo and ends in the Jardín Principal, in front of the Parroquia. Expect painted faces, wide hats, flower crowns, music, and a crowd that grows as it moves through Centro.
- Find your spot along the final blocks toward the Jardín well before 5:00 p.m.
- Face painters work around Centro that afternoon; earlier means shorter lines.
- Streets near the route close to traffic. Walk in, and wear shoes made for cobblestones.
- The evening continues in the Jardín with Calacas, a contemporary circus performance at 8:30 p.m.
The traditions
What you will see, and what it means
UNESCO inscribed Mexico’s Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.
An ofrenda is built in layers: marigolds and papel picado, candles to light the way, photographs, and the foods and small comforts the person loved. Skeleton figures are there to keep company, not to frighten.
Ofrendas
Families build altars to welcome their dead home: photographs, candles, papel picado, water, salt, and the favorite foods and drinks of the people being remembered. In San Miguel you will see them in homes, shops, hotels, galleries, and the large public exhibition in the Jardín Principal.
Cempasúchil
The orange marigold is the flower of the season. Its color and scent are said to guide the dead back to the altar, and petals are often laid in paths leading to it.
Pan de muerto
A soft, lightly sweet bread decorated with dough shaped like bones, sold in bakeries from October into early November. It is placed on altars and eaten with hot chocolate.
Calaveras and alfeñiques
Sugar skulls and small sugar figures, often with a name written across the forehead, are given as gifts and placed on ofrendas. You will also hear calaveritas literarias, short satirical verses written as if the subject had died.
La Catrina
The elegant skeleton in a wide-brimmed hat began as a satirical print by José Guadalupe Posada and has become the face of the holiday. In San Miguel, people paint their faces as Catrinas and Catrines for the parade.
The panteones
On November 1 and 2, families clean and decorate graves with flowers and candles and spend time there together. The largest in town is the Panteón de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. If you visit, go as a guest: keep your voice low and ask before photographing anyone.
Beyond the visit
Could this be your neighborhood?
Many of the people I work with first came to San Miguel for a weekend like this one. If you find yourself walking home from the Jardín wondering what it would be like to live a few blocks away, here is what is on the market in Centro right now, and the full MLS search below.
Search the MLS
Every listing in San Miguel de Allende
Keep exploring
More to do in San Miguel, all year
FAQ
Day of the Dead questions
When is Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende in 2026?
The city program runs Saturday, October 31 through Monday, November 2, 2026. November 1 traditionally honors children who have died and November 2 honors adults. Altars and marigolds start appearing around town in the days before.
What time is the Catrinas parade in 2026?
The official municipal program lists the Desfile de Muertos y Catrinas on Monday, November 2, 2026 at 5:00 p.m., from El Cardo to the Jardín Principal. Many older guides say 6 p.m.; the 2026 program says 5 p.m., so arrive early for a spot along the route.
Where can I see the altars?
The city exhibition of ofrendas is in the Jardín Principal from 12:00 p.m. on November 1 and from 9:00 a.m. on November 2. Many businesses, hotels, and galleries in Centro also build their own.
Are the city events free?
The events in the municipal program are public events in plazas, the library, and the Casa de la Cultura. Private dinners and parties at hotels and restaurants are separate and usually ticketed.
Visiting for Día de Muertos?
Let’s walk Centro together
If you are in town for the weekend and curious about homes, we can arrange private showings with CDR San Miguel around the festivities. Tell us your dates.
- In San Miguel
- In collaboration with CDR San Miguel | Forbes Global PropertiesCorreo #22, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato 37700, Mexico