Valle de Santiago: Festivals, Culture and Swallow Season

Valle de Santiago brings together impressive traditions with unique insights into nature and local culture. Each year, flocks of around 10,000 swallows arrive in May; the town is also shaped by festivals, a municipal museum and the Parroquia de Santiago Apóstol. When planning your trip, it is worth first considering whether you are mainly interested in festival traditions and cultural sites, or whether you would also like to explore places in the surrounding municipality.

Swallow Season and City Festivals

The swallows leave for warmer destinations in late October, though some stay longer in the area around the city. During the day, they fly out to the countryside to feed on grains and insects. Around 6 p.m., they return to sleep on power lines. The streets of Arteaga, Juárez and 5 de Mayo are particularly well known; smaller numbers of birds can also be found on Manuel Doblado Street and other streets in the city center. If you would like to experience this recurring natural event, consider visiting sometime between May and fall when choosing your travel dates.

Another defining tradition is the eight-day Corpus Christi festival. It is celebrated in the Jardín Principal in front of the Parroquia de Santiago Apóstol. Various guilds present flowers and intricately decorated wax; a procession then makes its way through the city streets. Participants include reboceros, farmers, weavers, teamsters and chauffeurs, merchants, butchers, masons, shoemakers, ice and milk vendors, bakers, and carpenters. The variety of groups shows how many different occupations are represented in the festival tradition.

Every year on September 16, a romería is held at the Alameda after the Independence Day parade. This date offers another special point of reference for anyone who wants to plan their trip around local festival traditions.

Plaza, Museum and Cultural History

The Jardín Independencia has had its current name since September 15, 1910; before that, the plaza was called Plaza de Armas. The Valle de Santiago municipal museum is located at Calle Emilio Carranza 27, half a block from the Jardín Principal. One exhibition room is devoted to the Chupícuaro and Purépecha cultures. The collection includes figures made of stone, bone and shells. It offers a tangible introduction to the cultural themes found in Valle de Santiago.

The Parroquia de Santiago Apóstol is a landmark Baroque building. Construction began in the 18th century under Augustinian friars. Along with the Corpus Christi festival, celebrated in front of the church, it is one of the city's cultural landmarks. Visitors interested in architecture and history will find a different focus here than in the municipal museum's collections.

The Casa de la Cultura de Valle de Santiago also offers a range of cultural spaces: it has ten classrooms, an exhibition hall and an audiovisual room. In 2018, its program included piano, violin, singing, guitar and percussion, as well as classical, folkloric, Arabic and Polynesian dance, modern dance, drawing and painting. These details refer to the 2018 program and give an idea of the range of subjects it covered at the time.

Places to Visit in the Surrounding Municipality

If you would like to include other destinations in the surrounding municipality in addition to the city, consider Rincón de Parangueo and Hoya de Álvarez. Access to the interior of the Rincón de Parangueo crater is through a tunnel about 400 meters long. Its approximate length is a useful detail to bear in mind when considering a visit.

Hoya de Álvarez has a recreation area managed by the local community. It features three spring-fed pools, covered barbecue areas, a camping area, a basketball court and restrooms. The destinations described offer different experiences: access to the crater interior is through a tunnel, while the recreation area has pools and other facilities. When looking for a vacation rental, you can therefore decide whether your trip will focus mainly on Valle de Santiago's festivals and culture or will also include destinations in the surrounding municipality.

Explore More Places

More places in the navigation: Comanjilla, San Antonio, Silao, Pénjamo, Celaya, El Sabino, Apaseo el Grande and San Luis De La Paz.

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