2017 Pitic International Festival

Fiestas del Pitic

This year was the 15th year of this cultural, arts and music event to celebrate the founding of the city of Hermosillo, and it was a big party in the city center from May 25 to May 30, 2017.

The city was originally known as Pitic, and Hermosillo started the party in 2003 as the Fiestas del Pitic. Last year the name of the event was changed to the Festival International de Pitic, to make the gathering more of an international happening.

The festival is quite a remarkable event that transforms the areas around Plaza Zaragoza and Plaza Bicentenario, and other areas in the city, into a huge street party. Vendors of all kinds of Mexican and international cuisine, desserts, arts and crafts, bacanora and a variety of cold brewed beverages line the plazas and streets,

In addition, different sized stages set up throughout the downtown area as venues for music, theater plays and other entertainment that goes on continually throughout the afternoon and evening, and the streets were also filled with individual performers doing magic and performance art, reading fortunes or just posing for photos in exchange for a few pesos.

The main stage had a major performer or group every night, this year’s popular headliners were the Mexican duo Jesse y Joy. And to make this a truly international event one of the headliners this year was Christopher Cross, who I had last seen opening for the Eagles way back when. The festival also featured a variety of music genres from opera to rock, traditional and contemporary Mexican music, and even country and western.

And there are also fun, impromptu events and the Festival del Pitic. I was walking in the downtown area on the afternoon of the last day of the fiestas and joined with a crowd that was following actors, musicians, dancers and other performers in a walking history and music presentation that was very entertaining and informative.

To be honest, I had heard of the event but was not aware that it was in progress until I arrived in Hermosillo on May 30, the last day of the 2017 festivities. I am going to mark my calendar when the dates for next year’s festival are announced and will be sharing information for the 2018 Fiestas del Pitic, because the Festival is a very fun, relaxing, entertaining and delicious event.

So if you are interested in having a great intercultural experience among some of the most beautiful sights of the capital of Sonora, Mexico, I would recommend that you come to Hermosillo, Sonora to enjoy the Festival Internacional del Pitic. Stay tuned, we will post dates and information for the 2018 festival when they are announced.