LA ALBORADA: The Festival of St. Michael the Archangel in San Miguel De Allende

The festival of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of the city, is among the most important celebrated during the year and took place on the weekend closest to September 29th.

“La Alborada” is a representation of the struggle of the Archangel Michael against Lucifer, which is represented through a pyrotechnic show.

During the meeting between the Holy Cross of Puerto de Calderón, the dance groups, and the participants, incense is burned, and the religious leaders of the area bless the faithful while asking forgiveness for the offenses they have caused to each other.

Despite the 450 years of Catholic evangelization and contact with European culture, the ceremonies that revolves around the Santa Cruz del Puerto de Calderón contain rites, symbols, dances, and a way of seeing the world that are easily recognized as pre-Hispanic and are part of an extensive system of crosses, images and sacred places that intertwine most of the Bajío region of Mexico.