While San Miguel adorns itself in green, white and red to celebrate the September festivities, thousands of tourists from all over Mexico fill the bedecked streets to witness the mayor’s reenactment of Father Hidalgo’s Grito, the cry of independence, today, September 15, and the Sanmiguelada, a Pamplona-style celebration, next Saturday.
Considered the most anticipated festivities of the year—and the summer saviors of the town’s tourist economy—these two events pack all hotels, bars, restaurants and nightclubs of the city for two consecutive weekends.
Tourist businesses and those specializing in the sale of alcohol are gearing up to fill their coffers. During the holiday period, clubs and bars have license to nearly triple their cover charges and drink prices.
Despite the celebratory ambience of San Miguel, the city does anticipate problems such as traffic congestion, lack of parking, car accidents and disorder, the product of large numbers of people and cars in the streets and excessive alcohol consumption inside and outside nightclubs. Although locals and tourists alike will crowd bars and restaurants, the bulk of the celebrating takes place outside, in the streets and rain. Authorities expect 12,000 people in the Jardín for El Grito reenactment and 30,000 personas in the Jardín for the Sanmiguelada.
For this reason, authorities will implement additional security measures, ranging from traffic inspections to prohibiting the sale of alcohol during certain hours, in order to bring more order to the chaos of the fiestas.
It will be helpful to keep some things in mind before taking to the streets to cry ¡Viva México! this weekend or ¡Aja Toro!, during the Sanmiguelada.
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