EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – El Paso and Juarez are preparing to celebrate Mexican independence with a slew of musical and cultural entertainment next month.
The Mexican consulate is sponsoring ¡Vivamos México! festival from 5 to 11 p.m. Sept. 13 at the El Paso Convention Center Plaza. It includes the traditional “Grito” ceremony with the war band of the Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez at 7:30 p.m.
Music by a mariachi group, Mexican regional music bands and a folklorico dance exhibition will follow. Food trucks have been invited.
“The Grito ceremony is a symbol of identity for the Paso del Norte region and an opportunity to strengthen friendship between Mexico and the United States,” said Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de Leon, Mexican consul general in El Paso.
Free parking will be available near the Don Haskins Center and a trolley will take visitors to the Convention Center from 4 to 10 p.m., the consulate said.
In Juarez, the Sept. 15 Grito ceremony has a new venue. The event usually is held at El Punto – a stage sharing a parking lot with the Benito Juarez soccer stadium. But the area now is home to a tent city built by the Mexican government to shelter deported migrants.
An alternative site, the Big Red X fairgrounds, will be hosting large crowds for the Festival del Tequila y del Mariachi September 11-14.
Juarez Mayor Cruz Perez Cuellar said the Grito will take place on Sept. 15 at Mega Bandera in the Juarez Chamizal Park. It will feature four bands and dozens of merchants selling food and merchandise.
The Tequila Festival will feature different entertainers nightly and host 60 tequila brands, 10 mezcal and 15 sotol booths. Click here for more information or here for ticket information.
Juarez recently held a massive Juarez en la Juarez street festival just south of the Paso del Norte port of entry to El Paso. This weekend, it also is hosting the final days of the annual Juan Gabrielisimo fest at various venues in honor of the late iconic Mexican singer and author Juan Gabriel.
Read: Read More