Whether you speak Spanish or not, you probably know that the word, “loco” means “crazy.” But you don’t really know what “loco” IS until you have experienced the famous “San Miguel Locos Parade.” it is the definition and human embodiment of loco and every year that I’ve experienced it has gotten more and more cray cray!
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Dias de Los Locos Is a San Miguel Best Multi-Week Celebration Event
The San Miguel Locos Parade is actually a small part of a larger Dias de Los Locos event in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, which is celebrated for about two weeks every June. The festivities are staged in many different colonias (neighborhoods) surrounding the main historic Centro area of San Miguel de Allende and they include “mini” parades, costumes, fireworks, music, dancing, general crazy mayhem, and lots and lots of noise. The colonia of San Antonio stakes a claim as being the official “home” of Dias de Los Locos.
The Dia de Los Locos neighborhood activities culminate in mid-July in the spectacular, hard-to-imagine, hard-to-believe, hard-to-forget city-wide San Miguel Locos Parade that is two hours of non-stop parade performers, live bands, blaring music, dancing, hollering, cheering, and so much loco craziness that it’s impossible to take it all in. Really try to picture this…
What is the San Miguel Locos Parade Like?
Thousands of performers are trying to one-up each on the craziness scale, while they dance, skip, and run down two lanes of cobblestone streets pelting people with flying candy and toys for 2 hours over 1 1/2 kilometers.
Then imagine 100,000 spectators watching them from sidewalks that are barely wide enough for two people to pass by each other, all laughing, yelling and chasing (or dodging) the flying candy and toys for more than two hours. (If you don’t stake out your miniscule piece of sidewalk real estate early, you might as well stay in bed.)
Then multiply all of that by 10 and you’ll kind of almost get an idea of the accelerating loco craziness of this one-or-a-kind global event in the small colonial UNESCO-designated Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende, which plenty of people have never even heard of.
The San Miguel Locos Parade is truly crazy, loco, frenetic energy unleashed!
Dulces! Dulces! Dulces!
I always arrive early to get the best viewing location. For me the best viewing location is at the ground zero starting point of the parade, on the shady side of the street, and not too close to families with children. It’s not that I anything against niños, it’s just that at the San Miguel Locos Parade, the pursuit of candy gets more aggressive as the parade marches on, and I have practically gotten pushed over by a mob of children all trying to acquire the same piece of one-peso candy which fell into a crack in the cobblestoned street.
Not to mention that I don’t want every minute of my videos to be filled with grabby hands and chants of “Dulces! Dulces! Dulces! (Sweets! Sweets! Sweets!)” Cute at the beginning, but not so cute as time and the accelerating heat wears on, and the parade event, in general, gets more intense.
Authentic Mexican Culture & Creativity
I am anecdotally told that the San Miguel Locos Parade performers come from campos (outlying small towns and villages) far and wide. I am also told that most of the Locos Parade costumes are handmade and that some of the crafters of those costumes save their money all year to get the supplies they need for their new creation. On June 16, 2024 I was attending my sixth San Miguel Locos Parade event, and these days I rarely see a costume or a mask that looks familiar from the year prior. However, there are thousands of them, so that could be a faulty observation.
Except for a Midwest U.S. hometown parade, you’ll never see a more authentic expression of culture and creativity than you will at the San Miguel Locos Parade.
Each group that registers to participate in the San Miguel Locos Parade (which they do six months in advance) has a theme for their costumes. But there’s no overall theme for the parade except Loco, more Loco, and wild and crazy over-the-top supercalifragilisticexpiali-loco-ness. You get the idea.
Arrive Early Or Stay In Bed
For those who arrive early for the infamous San Miguel Locos Parade fantastico, (and you really MUST arrive early, not in ordinary “Mexico time”) all sorts of behind-the-scenes pre-parade activities can be seen. You know the start of the parade is close when the procession of the Emergency Vehicles begins. The first responders aren’t an official part of the parade, they’re just positioning themselves along the parade route in case any of the 7,000+ parade performers or 160,000 parade spectators get overcome with cray cray loco excitement. Or heat.
It’s always really, really REALLY hot on Locos Parade day! And seemingly some of the locos forget to properly fashion their elaborate costume, mask or papier mache’ heads to account for the combined heat of the Mexican summer sun and the raised temperature of the highly engaged crowds over 1.5 kilometers of insanity.
The San Miguel Locos Parade is much like a Disney spectacular, but without the OSHA standards
Watch the San Miguel Locos Parade in Action!
The frequently asked questions about the San Miguel Locos Parade are still to come, but now, it’s time to stop reading and start viewing! Here’s some of the best of the 2 hours of videos I captured from this 2024 Best San Miguel event.
Make sure not to miss the last video, which is the sped-up fast-motion version of the entire 2-hour San Miguel Locos Parade 2024 condensed to five minutes! It’s a crazy, loco trip!
So. Many. Clowns.
Reportedly, each of the groups who participate in the San Miguel Locos Parade get to choose their own theme since they’re making their own costumes. Seemingly there aren’t any restrictions about duplicates because sometimes many groups choose the same thing. Not so long ago this resulted in a very Smurf-alicious parade affair. But in the last couple of years, the Smurfs have become rare sightings and the clowns have taken over. Happy clowns, circus clowns, scary clowns… So. Many. Clowns! So the Locos parade is really not a great event for the Coulrophobic. And most likely this is identified as the root cause of childhood some childhood trauma in many Mexican therapy sessions.
Like a Disney Parade Except For…
For a small town parade, the San Miguel Locos Parade spectacle is actually quite impressive. And memorable. Think Disney spectacular parade but without any OSHA standards. Judging from their everyday logo and character adorned attire, Mexicans are big Disney fans. So it’s not surprising that their favorite Disney characters appear in their favorite parade – sometimes more than once! This year Mickey Mouse (of course), Minnie Mouse, Woody from Toy Story, Sully from Monsters, Inc. and Snow White all made their parade appearance. They were all quite primitive in a very charming way.
And by the way… there were 160,000 San Miguel Locos Parade spectators this year so… Take THAT, Disney parade organizers!
Cousin Itt Spotted in Mexico Without the Addams Family
In this year’s San Miguel Locos Parade, there was a whole group of what appeared to be highly caffeinated psychedelic Addams Family Cousin Itt cousins twirling down the cobble-stoned streets. That’s no small feet for parade characters who really can’t see their own feet. Actually it’s not confirmed that the intention of these parade performers was to portray the Addams Family Cousin Itt. Perhaps body-length fringe was on sale at the San Miguel parade costume supply store. No matter… They fit the loco theme, and what else matters, really?
Watch the Sped-Up 5-Minute Full San Miguel Locos Parade…
… If you dare! There probably should be some kind of warning about the frenetic nature of this video triggering some kind of seizure. But this sped-up fast motion version of the 2024 San Miguel Locos Parade will definitely give you an idea of the sensory overload of the live event. So, if you’re loco enough to take the challenge, buckle your couchbelt… it’s going to be a crazy, loco, cray cray ride!
If nothing else, you will have saved yourself several hours in the blazing Mexican summer sun! Happy Viewing!
The San Miguel parade looks like quite the experience. Thanks for the tips on where to stand to not get in the way of children going after the candy. What a fun day!
It’s a riot… the longer the parade goes on, all that loco energy rubs off on the kids and they get more and more out of control. Well, I guess that could be attributed to the high sugar intake too!
What a fun place to visit. Love all the costumes and parade.
I love, love, LOVE the costumes because they are all handcrafted and they truly take pride in making and wearing them. It’s so authentic and endaring!
I would love to experience one of these festivals! San Miguel Locos Parade looks like so much fun!
The San Miguel Locos Parade truly is SO much fun… 2 hours of non-stop entertainment. Truly unforgettable, in a sensory overload kind of way!
Wow, I had no idea that there was a Dia de Los Locos parade. I’ve heard of Dia de Los Muertos. I know of this town since my friend got married there a few years ago and raved about the historic buildings. The costumes looks so colorful.
San Miguel does know how to throw a city-wide celebration! It’s a HUGE wedding destination, and they do that extremely well too!
Omg so many clowns is right lol. Looks like a blast though! Never had heard of it so thanks for sharing the info and videos 🙂
ACTUALLY… There was probably about 4 times as many clowns in the parade as you saw in the video. At some points, it was a sea of clowns as far as you could see down the street! LOCO!
Interesting!
When and why did this tradition begin?
Good question! I’m working on a FAQ article and it has a lot of the history in it. Stay tuned!
Wow, this looks like such a fun event! Thanks for all of the details and the videos! I’d love to see it in person someday.
It is truly unique in all the world and, in my opinion, a must-see “natural” Wonder of the World!
This parade looks like a lot of fun. It looks like any type of costume is ok.
Si si! Anything Goes is very much supported in the San Miguel Locos Parade!
The Parade looks fantastic! Loved the clowns and the Addams Family – so fun. I would love to experience this – definitely an event for a bucket list.
If I were you (or anybody else) I’d put it towards the top of the Bucket List… I doubt you will regret it! 🙂