Mazatlán, Sinaloa, is getting ready to let go of its worries and party, with six days and nights of carnival festivities lined up for the end of this month.

The theme for this year’s Mazatlán Carnival, slated to light up the streets and shores of the coastal city on February 20-25, is “Somos América” (We Are America).

Also known as “The Pearl of the Pacific,” Mazatlán is one of the most popular tourist destinations on Mexico’s Pacific coast, and the festival’s lineup is ready to live up to that fame.

The events will be topped off with nightly concerts by popular Mexican and international artists. Remmy Valenzuela, Pepe Aguilar, Carlos Rivera, Yuri, Danna Paola and Mazatlán’s own Banda Los Recoditos are among the headlining acts.

Colombian reggaeton artist J Balvin will also perform.

Each evening will include traditional events such as the quema del mal humor (burning of the bad mood), during which a selected person or theme that has been bringing society down over the last year is metaphorically torched along with a large visual likeness of it. The subject of this year’s burning has yet to be announced.

There will also be dances, parades, food fairs, light shows and coronations of the carnival king and queen, among other events.

Mazatlán’s signature carnival tradition, called the Naval Combat, is a grand fireworks display that dramatizes the defense of the port during the French invasion of 1864.

Most of the events are free to the public, though some, such as the concerts, require tickets. They can be bought on the Mazatlán Carnival website (Spanish only).

Source: Dónde Hay Feria (sp)