Yucatán Governor Opens Xmatkuil 2026 Fair, Expecting Thousands of Families Through November 29

Mérida, Yucatán — Governor Joaquín Díaz Mena inaugurated the Feria Yucatán Xmatkuil 2026 on Friday, opening a 24-day run that organizers expect to draw thousands of families from across the state through November 29.

“All Yucatecans have fond memories of childhood, when our parents brought us to walk around what is the fair of all Yucatecan families,” Díaz Mena said at the ceremony, accompanied by Wendy Méndez Naal, honorary president of the state family development agency DIF Yucatán. “For us it is much more than a fair: it is a tradition.”

The governor invited residents of all 106 municipalities to attend the event, held in the town of Xmatkuil just south of Mérida, which each year brings together several generations of visitors for craft exhibits, livestock shows, regional food, charrería and musical performances.

A livestock showcase with global reach

This year’s edition, the 52nd, is built around the cattle sector that gave rise to the fair. Díaz Mena said the program puts Yucatán in front of specialists and producers from around the world.

• 29th National Brahman Exposition, November 6–15, with 750 animals from 85 ranches in ten states.
• World Brahman Congress, November 10–15, with delegates from more than 30 countries. Yucatán hosts the congress for the second time.
• Veracruz is the guest state and will present the Voladores de Papantla next to the Plaza Izamal.
• Genetic Improvement Program, November 7–29, during which the state Rural Development Department will accept applications to buy bovine and ovine breeding stock.

Óscar Thomas Obregón, president of the Mexican Association of Zebu Breeders, said the animals on display came from Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacán, Veracruz, Puebla, Tabasco, Chiapas and Yucatán.

Concerts and free stage shows

Original Banda El Limón performed on opening night. Free concerts by Reik, Ha-Ash and Bronco are scheduled, with Bronco closing the fair on November 29. Carín León, Marco Antonio Solís, Christian Nodal and Ozuna are also on the bill.

The Teatro del Pueblo, with free admission, will host traditional vaquería dances, lucha libre, regional comedy and tropical music.

The inauguration closed with fireworks and a drone light show that formed phrases marking the 52nd edition. The governor and the DIF Yucatán president then toured the pavilions of the Mérida Chamber of Commerce, the industrial chamber Canacintra, the garment industry chamber, the Canirac Yucatán restaurant hall and the Rural Development Department stand.

Among those attending were Alberto Basulto Soberanis, director general of the Yucatán fair promotion institute; fair ambassador Yahaira Grissel Pérez Contreras; Naomi Peniche López, president of the state Congress board; and Erika Beatriz Torres López, presiding magistrate of the state Superior Court of Justice and Judicial Council, along with senators, local and federal lawmakers, mayors, state and federal officials, representatives of the armed forces and business leaders.