Tizimín’s Reyes Fair Dawn Ceremony Kicks Off 2026 Festivities

Tizimín, Yucatán — Today, December 30, Tizimín awakens to the rhythm of jarana music and the scent of incense as the dawn ceremony marking the start of the 2026 Reyes Fair reminds locals and visitors alike that these festivities are not a commercial event but a centuries-old tradition.

The dawn ceremony involves transporting the ceibo tree, sacred to the Maya, from its storage site to the bullring where it is planted in the center of the arena.

This practice, accompanied by music and dance, aims to ward off evil spirits and ensure the fair proceeds without setbacks.

Bullring Operators Entrust Arena to the Three Kings

The day before, members of the Union of Bullring Operators “Los Tres Reyes” made their traditional procession, departing from the bullring with flower bouquets and banners, accompanied by their families and the fair queen, Nancy Guadalupe Cutiz Pech, who will be officially crowned tomorrow.

At 10:30 a.m., they walked to the Diocesan Sanctuary where, at 11:00 a.m., they participated in mass and entrusted the start of bullfighting activities to Gaspar, Melchor, and Baltazar.

This symbolic gesture reaffirms the bullring operators’ commitment to the city’s religious and cultural festivities.

A Cultural Heritage Vaquería as Starting Point

One day after the descent of the Three Kings’ images, today, December 30, thousands of jarana dancers are called to the Magna Vaquería. According to local chronicles, more than five thousand people attend the main park to dance to the music of invited orchestras and witness the queen’s coronation.

This year the celebration begins at 9:00 p.m. in Tizimín’s center and includes performances by the Miguel Collí Orchestra, the Jarana Orchestra Juan Torres y su Trombón de Oro, and the Real Orquesta Yucateca Royat. The Municipal Government has called on people to “live the tradition” and enjoy one of Yucatán’s largest vaquerías; however, responsibility for organizing and ensuring the event proceeds without incidents falls on authorities, guilds, and event operators.

The ceibo planting, scheduled for the early morning of Wednesday, December 31 at 2:30 a.m., is one of the most symbolic rituals of Tizimín’s Reyes Fair and marks the formal start of traditional activities. Municipal authorities have invited citizens to gather beside the Municipal Palace, from where the procession will depart for the artisanal bullring, in a ceremony that brings together guilds, vaqueros, and families, symbolizing identity, roots, and historical continuity, reaffirming the bond between the festival, the territory, and the collective memory of Tizimín’s people.

Tizimín’s Reyes Fair is the oldest in southeastern Mexico and combines religious devotion with economic and recreational activities.

It begins with the descent of the Three Kings on December 28, continues with the vaquería and dawn ceremony on December 30, and extends until mid-January with bullfights, agricultural and livestock exhibitions, concerts, and amusement rides.

During the dawn ceremony, collective joy serves as a ritual to scare away the Xtabay, a legend that forms part of the local imagination.

These traditions, which have endured for centuries, deserve to be preserved with professionalism and respect for history. Following recent cancellations and missteps, the community hopes the fair will continue to be a benchmark for organization and cultural pride.