Christmastime in Mexico City

The Christmas season has arrived in Mexico City. Parks and plazas are decorated in flowers and lights, colorful piñatas are on display and Christmas bazaars are taking over the streets surrounding the markets. Mexico City’s annual holiday program la Magia de la Navidad, or the Magic of Christmas, kicked off this past weekend and continues through January 9, 2011.

Ice Rink in the Mexico City Zócalo

Currently in its fourth year, Mexico City’s la Magia de la Navidad holiday program features a variety of special events, activities and attractions including a giant outdoor ice skating rink in the Plaza de la Constitución, or Zócalo (map), five miles of lighting, nativity scenes and holiday-themed decorations along Avenida Reforma and an outdoor concert series at the Angel de la Independencia (map).

Special highlights include a live performance by singer Marc Anthony on December 18th at 8pm, the annual New Year’s Eve concert and fireworks spectacular, a 10-ton Rosca de Reyes, or King’s cake, on display in the Zócalo on January 2nd and the opening match of the World Hockey Championship on January 9th.

There will also be live musical performances taking place at locations throughout the capital including the Antiguo Palacio del Ayuntamiento in the Zócalo, the newly refurbished Monumento a la Revolución (map) and the Auditorio Nacional (map). Throughout the month the city’s various delegations will host some 200 other holiday-themed activities and special events.

All of the activities and events are free and open to the public. Aside from special scheduled events, the normal hours of operation for the holiday program are 10am-8pm daily (10am-5pm on December 24th and 31st and 12pm-8pm on December 25th and January 1st).

The complete schedule of events is available (in Spanish) on the Secretary of Culture website. http://www.cultura.df.gob.mx/navidad2010/

¡Feliz Navidad!

Photo:  Esparta on Flickr