The streets and parks of downtown Querétaro will be well lit up this holiday season.

An event called Querétaro Lights Up will fill the state’s capital city with thousands of bright lights from December 2 to January 12. It will be the first time Querétaro has welcomed Christmas on such a grand scale.

Over 1,350 ornaments will decorate the city streets from the Plaza Mariano de las Casas to the Plaza Fundadores, and over 350 ornaments will hang along the neighboring major avenues.

The centerpiece of the event will be in the Jardín Zenea, where visitors will see a monumental nativity scene and a host of decorative stars to light up the tableau.

Some of the most spectacular displays will be on the Andador Madero pedestrian street, between Juárez and Allende, where visitors can pass beneath baroque arcades of lights that will fill the space.

Other pedestrian streets, such as Matamoros, Carranza, 16 de Septiembre, Pasteur and Libertad, will also be elaborately lit.

Coordinator and spokesperson Adriana Vega said the festival of lights is just one of a number of attractions for tourists in the state this holiday season.

There will also be an ice rink and a giant Christmas tree in the Jardín Guerrero. Skates will be available for rent.

Each night there will be a videomapping display on the walls of the Santa Rosa de Viterbo church. It will be shown every half hour from 8:00pm-10:00pm during the week, and 8:00pm-11:00pm Friday-Sunday.

A Christmas play will be performed on December 23 at the corner of Guadalupe and Reforma, and there will also be a number of concerts, movie showings, theater productions and open-air parties.

The event kicks off with an inauguration ceremony at 7:00pm on December 2 in the zócalo of the downtown historic center. Entrance to all shows and cultural events is free.

Sources: El Heraldo de México (sp), El Universal (sp)