sports and spiritualism, music and marathons

From marathons to music, there’s no shortage of events to keep you entertained in the 31 days of March.

• Monterrey Tennis Open, Monterrey, Nuevo León (Now-March 12)

Two weeks of tennis at Monterrey’s Club Sonoma. There are two tournaments, a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) female players competition until March 6 followed by a second division Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) men’s tournament.

Players featuring over the fortnight include Elina Svitolina, Victoria Azarenka, Pablo Andújar and Feliciano López. Tickets are 200 pesos (US $9.80) and up.

• San Miguel Literary Sala Workshops, online (March 8-9)

A workshop on how to integrate humor into prose. The Uses of Humor in Narrative Prose with Signe Hammer will take place at 6 p.m. on March 8 on Zoom. Hammer’s memoir, By Her Own Hand: Memoirs of a Suicide’s Daughter, was a New York Times Book Review Notable Book. Participation costs 80 pesos.

Learn how to transform a manuscript from long time award winning editor Wendy Call. The Self-Editing Toolkit teaches writers the four levels of editing to take “dreadful early drafts into masterworks.” The Zoom workshop starts at 6 p.m. on March 9 and costs 80 pesos.

• Enter Light Art Exhibit, Mexico City (Now-March 12)

Enter Light plays with light and photography on canvas to explore impaired vision and how colors, natural shapes, and forms influence us. Fine art photographer Doug Winter was inspired to develop the project due to his visual impairment and his father’s blindness. See the exhibit at Calle Lucerna 1, Interior 100, Colonia Juarez.

• Caballo Blanco Ultra Marathon, Urique, Chihuahua (March 4-6)

Bring your best shoes for a 80 kilometer ultra marathon through part of the Copper Canyon, a region populated by the Raramuri people, who are famed for their natural running abilities and play a prominent role in the event.

The weekend annually attracts 1,200 endurance runners from over 20 countries. There is also a marathon race for those that don’t want to go the whole distance. The main event starts on March 6 at 6:30 a.m.

• Kite Festival, Tequisquiapan, Querétaro (March 5-13)

A kite festival in the Magical Town of Tequisquiapan, 60 kilometers east of Querétaro city. Entrance costs 100 pesos ($4.90) and there’s a kite making workshop for an additional 100 pesos.

Face painting, music, and clown and puppet shows will also keep the kids entertained.

• National Fireworks Festival, Tultepec, México state (March 4-14)

A festival of lights, colors and plenty of fireworks that has run since 1989. Regional music and folkloric dancing line a packed bill and on March 8 the willing can be surrounded by exploding fireworks on all sides at the Toros Pirotécnicos (Pyrotechnic Bull) run.

• The Ancestral Alliance Festival, Cholula, Puebla (March 10-13)

Pahkalli Xeripa advertises itself as a center of magic, cleansing and tradition. The center is inviting people to realign with their ancestry over three days with native ceremonies, dances, concerts, ancestral medicines, temazcales, conferences and more near the town of San Buenaventura Nealtican.

• Cumbre Tajín, Papantla de Olarte, Veracruz (March 18-20)

A celebration of Veracruz’s Totonac heritage featuring the famed Papantla Flyers. The special guest at this 23rd edition will be the Guatemalan human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchú, who will lecture on indigenous womanhood.

The program is rich with ceremonies, discussion of identity, traditional medicines, discussion of language, cinema, dance and music. The event is held at the Takilhsukut park, close to the Magical Town of Papantla.

• Vive Latino Festival, Mexico City (March 19-20)

An Ibero-American music festival at Mexico City’s Foro Sol in Iztacalco borough, focused mainly on indie and rock music. This year features Groove Armada, Pixies, Gary Clark Jr. and many more.

Tickets start from 1,581 pesos.

• Global Beer Fest: Edward James Edition, Xilitla, San Luis Potosí (March 19-20)

A beer festival at the Edward James Surrealist Park in the jungle-like terrain of the Huasteca region.

Patrons can expect 12 domestic brands selling artisan beer, an international food selection, artisans, live music and DJs.

• Spring Equinox, Chichén Itzá, Yucatán/ Teotihuacán, México state/ Bernal, Querétaro (March 20)

An astronomical event at some of the country’s most vaunted ancient ruins. Enthusiasts can see the solar festival, when when the sun sits vertically above the equator, making day and night equal across the planet, at Teotihuacán, Chichén Itzá and Bernal.

Mexico News Daily