Playa del Carmen Seeks Alternative Event After Jazz Festival Suspension

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Playa del Carmen officials are weighing a new attraction to draw visitors during the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday weekend after the suspension of the Riviera Maya International Jazz Festival, said Ricardo del Valle Prieto, the city’s director of shows. No event has been settled on for those dates yet.

Del Valle said the plan requires coordination with the state Tourism and Economic Development departments and the Municipal Institute of Culture and Arts to broaden the destination’s offerings. He also noted that the private sector will take part in organizing and promoting activities, with an effort to keep Mexican traditions part of the cultural calendar.

For two decades, the International Jazz Festival was held on the last weekend of November, coinciding with the Thanksgiving break. The event entered a temporary suspension amid budget difficulties and following the death of its director, Fernando Toussaint, and no return date has been announced. Del Valle said an arts academy recently staged a smaller-scale festival, including a performance by Santa Sabina at the Teatro de la Ciudad.

While a proposal for late November takes shape, the municipality is preparing Hanal Pixán celebrations from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 at Plaza 28 de Julio. Municipal departments and institutes will install altars, and officials are asking merchants and business owners to decorate their establishments to extend the celebration to other parts of the city.

Del Valle said a program is also being prepared for the municipal cemetery in the Colosio neighborhood, and that the Gran Desfile de Catrinas parade will be held again. Those activities form part of the confirmed Day of the Dead schedule, while the event that would fill the jazz festival’s dates remains undecided.