The entire month of December is a wonderful time to be in Zihua. The high season is firmly upon us, and with that comes more tourists, perfect weather, more evening entertainment, and the Christmas lights. Almost every evening something is happening at the “Cancha” in Centro, the basketball court that doubles as a concert venue. Beginning on Thursday and continuing through Friday tourist buses roll into town with nationals visiting from Mexico City, Querétaro, Morelia and other inland cities. Even though it’s super busy, you can still find beach bars offering 6 beers for 100 pesos. The city is decorated in lights from Plaza Kioto to the malećon and into Centro. Many restaurants will offer special Christmas eve and Christmas day meals, too.
Each evening of the week leading up to Christmas Eve there will be posadas, where groups of ten to a hundred people walking for a few kilometers through the streets. The event is to signify the journey Mary and Joseph took from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Oftentimes it is another excuse to throw a Christmas week party, and the posada never leaves the organizer’s home. We have randomly walked into many posadas, Christmas parades, and other events, as it’s hard not to find something going on at any given moment in the evening.
We’ve celebrated the past three Christmases here and look forward to many more!
Zihua is also a terrific place to be on New Year’s Eve. At midnight you want to be seated on one of the beaches or somewhere with a view of the bay. Each beach has their own 15 or 20 minute show. Of course there are activities going on in Centro throughout the evening and past midnight. Plenty of bars and restaurants offer special packages as well. But we recommend finding a piece of sand around 11:45pm with your favorite drink, and enjoy the show from there.
Every night in the two weeks leading up to the New Year there will be entertainment in Centro. This year Mercadita Zanka opened Christmas week. I can best describe this as beer garden-like. It’s a large fenced-in area with about 25 or 30 picnic tables and a small stage in the center. It contains roughly twelve vendors booths, selling various inexpensive food and drink items. We went twice in the first week. It’s super popular, and a great place to meet up with friends. It’s located behind the museum in Centro near the pedestrian bridge that separates Playa Madera and Playa Principal.
If you are looking for something different, and don’t mind the “high-season” crowds, then you’ll love Zihua over the Holidays.