The National Pyrotechnic Festival is an annual event to promote the country’s tradition of production and use of fireworks. It began as celebration in honor of John of God, the patron saint of fireworks makers, in the municipality of *Tultepec (map), which produces about three quarters of all Mexico’s fireworks.

The main event, a parade of “toritos” or bull-shaped frames with fireworks on them, began in the mid 19th century. The modern national festival began in 1989 and includes various events including fireworks competitions, but the main event remains that of the toritos.

The National Pyrotechnic Festival lasts for seven days and attracts more than 100,000 visitors.

There are three main events along with amusement rides, concerts, dance, release of sky lanterns and regional food. These events are split between the town center of Tultepec and the fairgrounds in the San Antonio Xahuento neighborhood.

The first of the main events is a contest of “castillos” (castles). Castillos are frames made of wood, reed and paper to which various fireworks are affixed. The fireworks are set off to make images and/or parts of the castillo structure spin and move.

The second, oldest and most important event is the “pamplonada.” Named after the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, these “little bulls” or “toritos” are also fireworks frames. These frames are made from wood, reed, hard paper mache (called cartonería), wire and more and painted bright colors. They can measure anywhere from 50 centimetres (20 in) to over 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height costing between 400 and 20,000 pesos to make.

The making of handcrafted fireworks is part of the identity of the municipality. In the colonial period, the area made gunpowder as the raw materials required for its production were available locally. The making of fireworks began about 150 years ago. Tultepec alone accounts for about almost half of all fireworks production in Mexico.

Metro (subway systems) • Metrobús • Trolley buses • Tren Ligero (Light rail) – The city government operates the Metro and Metrobús bus rapid transit system, which are cheap and reliable but can be very crowded during rush hour. It also operates a light rail line, RTP bus system and electric trolleybuses.

Buscaturuta (“Busca Tu Ruta,” or “Find Your Route”), which serves all of Mexico, uses a Google Maps interface and allows you to search with incomplete addresses.

⇒ Also сheck оut мore info: Getting Around (thecity.mx)

BUS: mexicoautobuses.com + ClickBus. If traveling by bus, be sure to take the express (first class) buses (directo, sin escalas, primera clase), if available ⇒ ADO, Primera Plus, and ETN.

TRAIN: Amtrak (San Diego, Yuma, Del Rio и El Paso). The only available passenger train is the Chihuahua al Pacific Railway (CHEPE) operated by Ferromex between Los Mochis and the city of Chihuahua, through the Copper Canyon.

AIRPORT: aeropuertosgap.com.mx – operates 12 airports in the Pacific region of Mexico. + Benito Juárez International Airport • Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport.

FERRY: Ferries Mexico – Offers information on ferry services in Mexico, including routes, schedules, and fares.

The National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico is a site of festivity unlike any other in the world. In celebration of San Juan de Dios, patron saint of firework makers, conflagrant revelry engulfs the town for ten days. Artisans show off their technical virtuosity, up-and-comers create their own rowdy, lo-fi combustibles, and dozens of teams build larger-than- life papier-mâché bulls to parade into the town square, adorned with fireworks that blow up in all directions.

More than three quarters of Tultepec’s residents work in pyrotechnics, making the festival more than revelry for revelry’s sake. It is a celebration that anchors a way of life built around a generations-old, homegrown business of making fireworks by hand. For the people of Tultepec, the National Pyrotechnic Festival is explosive celebration, unrestrained delight and real peril. Plunging headlong into the fire, BRIMSTONE & GLORY honors the spirit of Tultepec’s community and celebrates celebration itself.

⇒ video source: displayfireworks1 / youtube.com /

A foreign national wishing to enter Mexico must obtain a visa unless they are a citizen of one of the 68 eligible visa-exempt countries.

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