Tultepec 2015

WHAT: Tultepec 2015
WHEN: 1ST – 15TH MARCH 2015
WHERE: TULTEPEC, MEXICO
COST: FREE

Since 1989 the Town of Tultepec in Mexico has played host to this incredible annual event which continues to fascinate and amaze, but not always for the right reasons!

This festival has within it all the necessary ingredients to make it unmissable for those who are visiting or live in the area – loads of fireworks, fun, delicious local food (mmmm …. Mexican) and more than a small tinge of danger. Held in honour of St John, patron Saint of Firefighters (good job really!), hospitals and medical staff, the town of Tultepec is home to around 120,000 people (in the whole municipality) and around a quarter of them all work in the fireworks industry.

One of the main features of the feast is ‘The Pamplonada Pirotecnia Toritos’ where over 200 hand-made ‘firework bulls’, packed to the rafters with around 400 fireworks each and stand at around 10 – 12 feet high - HUGE. As the bull is pulled into the town square, the fireworks are lit and all hell breaks loose as one after another are fired. The locals find themselves in the midst of explosions going off at all angles so not for the feint of heart but in the UK the firework police would be all over it – think in terms of the Sussex Bonfire Societies and you are on the right track.

There are over 6 hours of constant entertainment and all manner of crackers, mechanical fireworks (Catherine wheels) alongside the pyro-musical offerings. Let’s face it, with crowds of over 100,000 expected there has to be plenty of entertainment on offer:

Pyro musical competition
Rides and amusements
Open air concerts
Traditional and contemporary dance
Regional foods
Mass lantern release