Veracruz and United Kingdom to be Festival Cervantino 2025 guests of honor

February 13, 2025

Band playing onstage at the International Cervantino Festival in 2024. The band of all men and one woman are dressed in traditional Mexican shirts, black pants and white campesino hats. One of the man is holding his hat up and out at the audience. — 2025 will be the 53rd edition of what some consider the premier cultural festival in Latin America. (International Cervantino Festival/Facebook)

The United Kingdom and the state of Veracruz will be this year’s guests of honor at the International Cervantino Festival, the 53rd edition of the premier cultural festival in Latin America.

This festival, held annually in Guanajuato city, will take place this year Oct. 10–Oct. 26.

A man and a woman in traditional Oaxacan costumes dancing together. The woman is wearing a tiara of flowers while the man wears a traditional red Oaxacan hat, a smaller variation of the Mexican sombrero. They are smiling at each other as they dance. — Last year, Oaxaca was one of the guests of honor, and the festival presented both traditional and modern performances related to the Mexican state. (Graciela López Herrera/Cuartoscuro)

Mexico’s Culture Minister Claudia Curiel de Icaza was joined by Britain’s Ambassador to Mexico Susannah Goshko, Guanajuato Governor Libia García and Guanajuato city Mayor Samantha Smith, among others, during Wednesday’s announcement at Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park.

Also attending was festival Executive Director Romain Greco, and the event’s Planning Committee was also introduced at the presentation ceremony.

“The goal is to work collectively so as to contribute a variety of visions that range from the traditional to the contemporary and from the classic to the urbane,” Curiel said, adding that another objective is to attract a broader audience.

“We are very interested in working to engage with youth,” she said.

Additionally, Curiel said that diversity will be a priority. Emphasis will be placed on the concept of decolonization at this year’s festival.

“[We aim to] furnish a diversity of viewpoints, [highlighting] minorities … the indigenous and Afro-Mexicans,” she said.

A middle-aged musician playing an electro-acoustic guitar and singing into a microphone on stage at the International Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato city, Mexico in 2024. — The annual festival attracts artists from film, dance, music and more. Last year, the Brazilian singer/songwriter Lenine closed the festival at a stage created at the city’s historic Alhóndiga de Granaditas building. (Graciela López Herrera/Cuartoscuro)

Goshko said the United Kingdom was honored by the designation, describing the Cervantino Festival as “the natural space to demonstrate that culture can be an economic engine.”

“Nearly 200 years since we established diplomatic relations, the opportunity to be a country of honor offers the chance to further deepen the cultural and artistic ties that bind us and to build new avenues of cooperation in innovative spheres such as the creative industries,” she said.

Guanajuato expects more than 2,000 artists from more than 30 countries to participate. There will be performances from across a broad variety of artistic disciplines, including music, opera, theater, dance, the plastic arts, literature and audiovisual media.

The affair takes place in the streets and alleys of Guanajuato, as well as at indoor and outdoor stages. Visitors can enjoy shows, conferences and presentations at 40 separate venues, including the city’s iconic Teatro Juárez, the esplanade of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas (the historic 220-year-old grain storage building) and in the plazas of the old silver mining city, in the shadow of its historic colonial architecture.

With reports from El País, El Economista and ADN40 TV network