Photo by Emmanuel Appiah on Unsplash
For the first time, the 2026 Children’s and Youth Mariachi Competition will leave the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area and take place in Puerto Vallarta. The Jalisco Secretariat of Culture will bring together 18 children’s and youth groups from different regions of the state in Puerto Vallarta from October 14 to 16.
The program begins Wednesday, October 14, with a masterclass from 12:00 to 15:00 at Centro Cultural La Lija. That evening, the inaugural gala will take place at the Arcos del Malecón at 20:00. All 18 groups will be presented there and will give a musical presentation.
The Intermediate category has 10 groups, while the Advanced category has eight. Municipalities represented among the participants include Guadalajara, Zapotiltic, Tecolotlán, Zapotlán el Grande, Chapala, Jamay, Tapalpa, Quitupan, Cocula, Atoyac, Zapotlán de Vadillo, Zapopan, and Juanacatlán.
On Thursday, October 15, a second masterclass will be held from 10:00 to 13:00, again at La Lija. The Intermediate semifinal will run from 18:00 to 20:00, followed by the Advanced semifinal from 20:00 to 21:00. The jury’s evaluations will determine which groups advance to the final stage. Its criteria include musical execution, interpretive quality, ensemble, tuning, and adherence to mariachi tradition.
The grand final will take place on Friday, October 16, at Teatro Vallarta. Intermediate finalists will compete from 18:00 to 19:00, and Advanced participants will compete from 19:00 to 20:00. The closing will include a monumental performance with all 18 groups. In the Intermediate category, the first-place prize is 25,000 pesos.
Visitors can follow the schedule from the opening masterclass at La Lija on October 14 through the gala at the Arcos del Malecón, then return to La Lija and Teatro Vallarta for the semifinal and final events.
