We Mexicans love to celebrate, and there is always a holiday to be found. On the top of the list this month, we celebrate family, women, oil expropriation and the birth of our favorite president: Benito Juarez.
07 March: Día de la Familia– International Family Day may not yet be a huge festive day here (yet), but family is and always been very important here in Mexico.
08 March: International Women’s Day/Day of Working Women/Día de la Mujer- Yes, we just celebrated Día de la Mujer Mexicana in February, and we celebrate them yet again on this day for all women- as ALL women work in one for or another!!
14 March: Time Change Up North- The USA, Canada, and the Mexican northern states of Baja California Norte, Chihuahua, Coahuila (norte), Nuevo León and Tamaulipas will Spring Ahead today. Those of us in the rest of Mexico will not change until April 4th!! – Except for Sonora and Quintana Roo, who chose not to observe Daylight Savings.
15 March: Federal holiday in observance of the anniversary of the birth of Benito Juarez (see March 21st below) Read more about him in a separate blog post to be published on March 15, 2021!
18 March: Día de la Expropiación Petrolera- Prior to 1938, the oil reserves in Mexico were monopolized by foreign countries, taking oil and profits out of Mexico. That was about to change… On March 18, 1938, Mexico’s President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río announced to the country by radio declaring that all mineral and oil reserves found within Mexico belong to Mexico, and that he had just signed an order that all Mexico petroleum reserves were to be nationalized, and foreign oil companies would be expropriated. He would shortly go on to create Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the gas stations you see all over Mexico!
20 March: Spring Equinox Goodbye, Winter; hello, Spring! The biggest celebration is on the opposite side of the country, when tourists flock to see the shadow of a serpent creeping down the stairs in Chichén Itzá. Here, we prefer to watch the beloved Picante catamaran cast its elongated shadow on the rock formations outside of Ixtapa at sunset…
21 March: Benito Juarez birthday- Benito Juarez was not simply a president. He was a hero. Benito Juárez stood up for equal rights for indigenous people, education and was dedicated to democracy and reform. Juárez was given this name by his contemporaries: “Benemérito de las Américas” – Deserving of the Americas’ praise. Read more about him in a separate blog post to be published on March 15, 2021!
28 March: Palm Sunday
31 March: Día del Taco- The Day of the Taco is something we should celebrate 365 days a year, don’t you think?
