Puerto Morelos Draws 4,000 to Janal Pixan 2026 Celebration in the Old Town

Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo — About 4,000 residents and visitors filled Puerto Morelos’ old town for the Janal Pixan 2026 celebrations, a Day of the Dead program that combined a sea procession, street processions and altar displays across the coastal municipality.

The event opened on the esplanade at the Fishermen’s Pier with a fire ritual, followed by a maritime procession of 27 decorated boats sailing through the waters of the Mexican Caribbean. Singer Zully Bárcena performed a concert at sea during the coastal crossing.

The festivities continued with the Paseo de las Ánimas, or Procession of Souls, through the town’s streets and a symbolic cemetery set up in Parque Fundadores. At the Puerto Morelos Cultural Center and Museum, municipal departments installed an exhibition of altars alongside a projection-mapping show and an interactive tunnel designed to give visitors a visual experience of the traditions.

Local businesses join the decorations

The old town’s decorations drew on contributions from across the local community. Hotels built monumental catrinas, representatives of the Ruta de los Cenotes supplied giant skulls and catrinas, and shopkeepers and young entrepreneurs decorated the facades of their businesses.

The program also featured tastings of traditional dishes and snacks, crafts exhibitions and sales, dance performances and a handmade tapete, or floor carpet, created with the participation of students. Organizers held contests for catrinas, alebrijes and costumes.

The Instituto de Cultura y las Artes, headed by Adriana Nava Gómez, organized the festival. Fishermen, nautical service providers, restaurateurs, artisans and students helped stage the cultural displays.

Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz said the celebration reflects the community’s commitment to preserving its roots.

“Puerto Morelos has a history and an identity that we must protect and share,” she said. “Today we see our sectors, our families, our young people and our visitors gathered around a tradition that reminds us where we come from. That is what we want: for our roots to stay alive, to be felt in our streets, and for new generations to grow up proud of them.”