Downtown El Paso is gearing up for its fourth annual Vivamos México celebration, a free, family-friendly festival that organizers estimate could draw more than 9,000 people this year — up from roughly 6,000 attendees when the event first launched. The festival will take place Saturday, September 12, running from 5 to 11 p.m. at the El Paso Convention Center Plaza.
The event is a partnership among Destination El Paso, the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso and the City of El Paso, according to KFOX14/CBS4. Destination El Paso, which operates under a municipal agreement with the city to manage tourism and city-owned venues, provides management services through live event company Legends Global, according to Destination El Paso. The festival will be held at 1 Civic Center Plaza, and this year's lineup will include a classic car show, local food trucks and a fireworks finale alongside the official ceremony, per Visit El Paso.
Destination El Paso President and CEO Brooke Underwood said the celebration has continued to grow each year and invited everyone to enjoy lucha libre, fare and food. Underwood said the festival recognizes the culture and history of the El Paso-Juárez region, per the station's report. Beyond lucha libre, the festival includes music, dancing, lotería and family activities, along with a taco-eating contest, an edible salsa-making competition and a chancla-throwing contest.
Ancient Ballgame Makes Its Festival Debut
New this year, Vivamos México will introduce live demonstrations of ulamaliztli, an ancient Aztec ballgame that uses players' hips to move the ball rather than their hands or feet. The game dates back more than 3,000 years and is recognized as one of the oldest team sports in human history, according to The Nevada Independent. Past iterations of the celebration have featured musical performances from groups like Mariachi Los Arrieros and Ballet Folklórico Camino Real, with the official Grito ceremony typically held in the evening, according to 93.1 KISS FM.
At the heart of the celebration is the Mexican Independence ceremony, which the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso will lead. The ceremony includes the ringing of the independence bell and the traditional battle cry associated with El Grito de Independencia. That cry re-enacts El Grito de Dolores, the call to arms issued by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla on September 16, 1810, which launched Mexico's War of Independence against Spain, according to the Los Angeles Times. Vivamos México is scheduled for the Saturday before the actual holiday, since Mexican Independence Day, or Diez y Seis de Septiembre, falls annually on September 16.
A Celebration Rooted in the Borderland
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson said the celebration showcases the identity of the borderland and its relationship with Ciudad Juárez, per KFOX14/CBS4's report. The festival also invites residents from southern New Mexico, reflecting the close ties the city maintains with Ciudad Juárez and Mexico more broadly.
That framing lines up with the region's demographics and geography. El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, form the second-largest binational metropolitan area along the U.S.-Mexico border, with a combined population exceeding 2.4 million residents across the Paso del Norte region, according to the North American Development Bank. U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2024 show that 81.2% of El Paso's population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, underscoring why events tied to Mexican cultural heritage draw such large local crowds.
The Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso, located downtown at 910 E. San Antonio Avenue, traditionally leads official civic and independence ceremonies for the regional Mexican diaspora, according to background from the University of Texas at El Paso. The university itself hosts a separate annual El Grito ceremony in partnership with Mexican consulate officials to engage students and the broader community, part of a wider ecosystem of Hispanic Heritage Month events across the region, as reported by The Prospector.
