Mexican Independence in Asuncion: The Grito, the Mariachi and the Food
Mexican independence falls on 16 September, and Asunción has marked it for years with a Grito, a concert and a great deal of food. This year the public record is thinner.
Every September the Mexican Embassy in Asunción throws a party, and it is usually one of the more generous nights on the city’s diplomatic calendar.
Key Facts
- What. How Mexican independence is marked in Asunción, and what is listed at the Teatro Municipal this month.
- The pattern. The Mexican Embassy has run a Grito ceremony, a concert and a food festival in most recent years.
- The venue. The Teatro Municipal Ignacio A. Pane seats 700 and dates in its present form from 1889.
- One listing. A local calendar lists a Fiesta Mexicana concert there on 19 September at 8pm.
- The caveat. No price, organiser or performers are published, and no second source carries it.
What the Embassy Normally Does
Last year’s event marked the 215th anniversary and was held at the embassy itself around 15 September, hosted by Ambassador Juan Manuel Nungaray.
The programme ran the Grito de Independencia, the Mexican anthem and fireworks, then a concert. The bill included an eight-year-old mariachi singer from Quyquyhó, a Paraguayan singer known locally as the Juan Gabriel of Paraguay, and Mariachi Mex.
The food was cooked by embassy staff with three Asunción restaurants: chicharrón en chile, tacos dorados, cochinita pibil, quesadillas and Mexican sweets.
The embassy also gives an award to someone who has built ties between the two countries. Last year it went to an agronomist whose work with Mexican wheat science changed Paraguayan cultivation.
The Year the Party Went Public
In 2024 the embassy took it out of its own grounds. A free food and culture festival ran on a Sunday morning in September at Plaza Infante Rivarola, open to anyone who turned up.
It served tacos al pastor and de suadero, nachos, burritos, tamales, cochinita pibil, tortas and conchas, with contests for adults and children.
The embassy made a point of telling Paraguayans that not all Mexican food is spicy, which suggests the misunderstanding is widespread enough to need addressing.
Three days later an exhibition of comic strips by the Mexican cartoonist known as Trino opened at the Manzana de la Rivera cultural centre, also free.
What Is Listed for This Year, and What Is Not
One Asunción events calendar lists a Fiesta Mexicana concert at the Teatro Municipal Ignacio A. Pane on 19 September at 8pm.
It gives no price, no ticket link, no organiser and no performers. No Paraguayan newspaper, no national cultural agenda and no municipal listing carries it.
The embassy’s own cultural events page has published nothing for 2026. Its archive does show a La Fiesta Mexicana in September 2024, so the name is one it has used before.
None of that confirms the date. Anyone planning to go should check with the theatre or the embassy rather than rely on the listing.
The Theatre Itself
A building on the site housed Paraguay’s first National Congress in the 1840s, and a theatre was established in it in 1855 at the request of President Carlos Antonio López.
The present building opened on 21 July 1889, built by a Catalan businessman who had been granted the land three years earlier. The city took ownership in 1939 and named it for the poet Ignacio A. Pane in 1949.
It closed in 1995 through decay and was restored with Spanish development funding, reopening in the middle of the following decade. It seats 700: 490 in the stalls and 210 across three levels of boxes.
It is home to the municipal arts institute and a university orchestra, and it marked its 170th anniversary in November 2025 with a week of free performances.
Elsewhere in Asunción This Fortnight
The same theatre has a spring concert listed on 20 September, a play on the 23rd and a musical on the 27th.
Away from it, a South American bird fair runs from 17 to 20 September at the port, the American singer PJ Morton plays the Banco Central’s Gran Teatro on the 18th, and a bachata and timba festival runs from the 19th to the 21st.
As with the Fiesta Mexicana entry, these come from the same local calendar and are worth confirming before making plans.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Sources
Revista Zeta on the 2025 celebration · ABC Color on the 2024 public festival · Mexican Embassy cultural events page · Agendarte on the Teatro Municipal · Municipality of Asunción on the theatre’s 170th anniversary
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Mexican independence?
The Grito is given on the night of 15 September and independence day is 16 September. Events in Asunción have historically clustered in the days around it.
Is there a Fiesta Mexicana in Asunción this year?
One local events calendar lists a concert under that name at the Teatro Municipal on 19 September at 8pm. No price, organiser or performers are published and no other source carries it, so it should be checked before travelling.
What has the embassy done in past years?
A Grito ceremony with the anthem and fireworks, a concert with mariachi and Paraguayan singers, and food cooked by embassy staff. In 2024 it also ran a free public food festival in a city square.
How big is the Teatro Municipal?
It seats 700, with 490 in the stalls and 210 in boxes across three levels. The present building opened in 1889.
Connected Coverage
Living in Asuncion? See our expat guides to culture, tickets and daily life in Paraguay’s capital.
Sources: Revista Zeta, ABC Color, Mexican Embassy in Paraguay, Agendarte, Municipality of Asunción (accessed 17 September 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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