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Cancun
Travel Guide
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Things to Do > Cultural Activities |
Cultural
Activities
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Looking
for some local cultural activities?
Take part in Cancun's many cultural
activities: Explore the
past at the Anthropology Museum.
Experience the thrill of the
bullfights at the Plaza del Toros
in downtown Cancun. Enjoy
the beauty of the highly acclaimed
Folkloric Ballet. Really immerse
yourself in the local culture and
enroll in a Spanish course by the
day or by the week. Explore
downtown Cancun (el centro), the
"real" Cancun where the majority
of the locals live. Play archaeologist
and visit the Mayan ruins right
in Cancun's hotel zone! And
depending on the time of year you
are visiting Cancun, you may be
able to take part in the many holidays
and special events celebrated here.
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Bullfights
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Bullfights and
Mexican
Traditions
Location:
Cancun.
Transportation
not provided.
One of Mexico's
oldest
traditions, a
demonstration of
courage and
style, combined
with authentic
folkloric dances
and Mexican
Rodeo. Come with
us and cheer
Ole! Don't miss
it. |
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Anthropology
Museum
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The National Institute of Anthropology
and History, a small museum on the
ground floor of the Convention Center,
traces Maya culture with a fascinating
collection of 1,000 to 1,500 year-old
artifacts collected throughout Quintana
Roo. Blvd. Kukulcan Km 9,
About $3, free Sun. Open Tues.-Sun.
9 am-7 pm. |
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Folkloric Ballet
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At
the Continental Villas Plaza, you
will find the internationally renowned
Ballet Folklorico Nacional de Mexico-Aztlan.
This highly acclaimed, professional
troupe performs traditional dances
to Mexican music. Everything from
the costumes, choreography and music
have been researched and are truly
authentic. At the Party Center
adjacent to the Convention Center,
live folkloric bands perform nightly
in the central courtyard that provides
access to clubs, bars, discos and
restaurants.
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Explore El
Centro
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 Downtown
Cancun (el centro)
is filled with wonderful restaurants,
great shopping, and cultural adventure.
Restaurants, stores selling knick-knacks
and souvenirs, hotels in all price
ranges, and a craft market frame
Tulum Avenue and the surrounding
streets. In general, prices are
lower than in the hotel zone.
Downtown Cancun has other important
avenues: Yaxchilan (great for restaurants,
nightlife, and hotels), Sunyaxchen
(restaurants and hotels), Uxmal
(restaurants, hotels and shopping),
Nader (small restaurants and sidewalk
cafés) and parts of Cobá (restaurants
and hotels).
Click
HERE
for info on taking the bus from
the hotel zone to downtown Cancun.
Parque de Palapas is a
wonderful, large park in el centro
with music, food, and a giant thatched-roof
stage. The park is popular
with locals and there is almost
always something going on there.
It is located just off of Av. Tulum
by following the small side streets
that run perpendicular to Tulum
on the other side of the street
from the Ki-Huic market.
 Plaza
Las Americas is a nice, modern
downtown mall with big stores such
as Liverpool, Sears, Sanborns and
JC Penney's, along with numerous
smaller boutiques, electronic shops,
and a supermarket. This mall also
offers 18 screens in two movie theaters,
a big food court, several restaurants,
and a very good salsa club called
Mambo Café. After you reach
downtown, just jump in a cab and
tell the driver to take you to Plaza
Las Americas - he'll know where
to take you. There is also a Wal-Mart
and a Sam Club's in downtown Cancun
if you want to see the local version
of these American stores.
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Self-Guided
Tours of Downtown
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The following self-guided tours
will help guide you in your explorations
of el centro - the "real"
Cancun, where you actually feel
like you are in Mexico compared
to the glitzy hotel zone.
Click
HERE
to view printer-friendly self-guided
tours of downtown Cancun. |
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Mayan Ruins
in Cancun
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Ruinas Del Rey
Large signs on
the Hotel Zone's lagoon side, roughly
opposite the Playa de Oro and El
Pueblito hotels, point out these
small ruins, which have been incorporated
into the Hilton Resort complex.
Skeletons interred both at the apex
and at the base indicate the site
may have been a royal burial ground.
Blvd. Kukulcan Km 17, COST: About
$3 USD, free Sun. Daily 8-5.
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El Meco
Found just north
of Cancun, on the avenue leading
to Punta Sam, is the archeological
zone of El Meco. From the top of
one of its pyramids - the tallest
archeological structure in the north
of the state - there is a breathtaking
view of the Chacmochuc Lagoon, near
the area known as Isla Blanca (the
name is misleading since it is not
an island). To get there, we suggest
taking a taxi from el centro, since
this site, recently opened to the
public, still does not receive many
visitors. This two to three-hour
visit offers the magnificent opportunity
to become acquainted with an ancient
coastal Maya city.
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Special Events
& Holidays
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If the
Mexican ever risks revealing
himself completely to a
foreigner, showing the full
range of his eclectic religiosity,
his flint-hard resignation
to the numerous defeats
of his daily life, and his
overpowering sadness even
as flowers bloom, it is
during the great national
fiesta,
the Day of the Dead, November
1 and 2.
-Lee Foster, "Mexico:
The Devil's Piñata"
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January
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January
1 |
New Year's
Day |
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January
6 |
Day of the
Three Kings |
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January
10 |
Constitution
Day of the State of Quintana
Roo |
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January
11 |
Anniversary
of the reinstatement of
Quintana Roo as a territory |
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February |
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February
5 |
Constitution
Day. Speeches and ceremonies
commemorating this National
Holiday.
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February
14 |
Día de los
enamorados y amistad.
Day of lovers and friendship. |
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February
24 |
Flag Day
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Carnaval
Cancun. Begins the week
before Ash Wednesday. Locals
dress in elaborate costume
and parade through the streets
of downtown Cancun. Carnival
atmosphere fill the streets
with parades, food, music
and dancing. |
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March |
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March
21 |
Benito Juarez's
Birthday. National Holiday
honoring president and leader
of the 19th-Century Reform
movement.
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Día de los
enamorados y amistad.
Day of lovers and friendship. |
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Vernal
Equinox.
Late March. Visitors come
to the main temple at Chichén
Itzá to see the descent
of the serpent Kukulcan.
History has it that the
Maya constructed the temple
in a way that during equinox
a beam of sunlight creates
a shadow moving down towards
earth resembling a slithering
snake. This occurrence is
supposed to bring out a
good harvest.
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Holy Week
and Easter. March or
April. Celebrations and
processions in observance
of Christ's resurrection. |
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April |
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Holy Week
and Easter. March or
April. Celebrations and
processions in observance
of Christ's resurrection. |
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May |
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May 1 |
Labor Day
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May 5 |
Cinco de
Mayo. National holiday commemorating
Mexico's defeat of the French
in the Battle of Puebla
in 1862.
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September |
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September
16 |
Independence
Day. Mexico celebrates its
independence from Spain
in 1821. Featuring fireworks,
folk dances, mariachi bands,
speeches, and plenty of
decorations in Mexico's
national colors: red, green
and white.
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Autumnal
Equinox. Late September.
Visitors come to the main
temple at Chichén Itzá to
see the descent of the serpent
Kukulcan. History has it
that the Maya constructed
the temple in a way that
during equinox a beam of
sunlight creates a shadow
moving down towards earth
resembling a slithering
snake. This occurrence is
supposed to bring out a
good harvest. |
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October |
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October
31 |
Eve of All
Soul’s Day (Halloween).
Celebrated all through the
Yucatán. Relatives place
flowers and candles on the
graves of the deceased.
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November |
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November
2 |
Day of the
Dead. Traditionally it was
believed that the spirits
of the deceased returned
to earth on this day. On
this day, deceased relatives
and friends are honored
in a party-like celebration
including graveside picnics.
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November
20 |
Anniversary
of the Mexican Revolution.
Celebration of the Mexican
Revolution of 1910 with
parades, speeches and ceremonies. |
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Caribbean
Culture Festival
is a one week event in November
(dates vary) and is presented
by regional cities, including
Cancun. Events include
Caribbean music performances,
Mexican poetry readings
and art exhibits by Latin
American and Caribbean artists. |
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December |
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Christmas
Week Celebrations. December
25 - January 2. The festivities
include breaking of piñatas,
candlelight processions,
nightly posadas which are
reenactments of the time
Joseph and Mary were searching
for lodging and a two day
feast commemorating the
Virgen de la Soledad. |
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