Efforts to preserve and honor the rich cultural traditions of Mexico include an annual Day of the Dead celebration with traditional foods, live dance and music. The highlight of the celebration is an elaborate and colorful array of Altars for the Dead created by the local Tecate community schools.
Festivals and Cultural Events
Honoring the rich cultural traditions of Mexico
Welcoming Spring Festival
Welcome Spring at Parque del Profesor is an annual free event for the whole family, where the rebirth of nature and the blossoming of cultural roots are celebrated each year. Every edition seeks to honor and revive native cultures through activities that deeply connect participants with the Earth and its cycles.
The event offers craft workshops, where attendees create dreamcatchers, seed bombs, watercolor paintings, herb bundles, and clay art, allowing them to express their creativity using natural materials.
One of the festival’s most anticipated moments is the Native Blessing Ceremony, held during the Spring Equinox. This sacred ritual honors the balance of nature and invites personal renewal. There is also an opportunity to participate in the Temazcal, an ancient ritual of purification and healing.
The event concludes with the traditional Four Cardinal Directions Dance, symbolically connecting with the elements of wind, fire, water, and earth, guiding participants toward a profound experience of unity with their surroundings.
Welcoming Spring Gallery
World Environment Day
For over 20 years, Fundación La Puerta has held a festival at *Parque del Profesor* in celebration of the United Nations’ World Environment Day. The festival is family-oriented, with exhibitions, performances, food, and entertainment, creating an Earth Day-style celebration that draws an average of 4,000 attendees annually.
The park serves as an ideal setting for this gathering. Fundación La Puerta leads the primary environmental education program in Baja California, reaching schools throughout the region and offering thousands of workshops each year. These workshops cover a broad range of topics, from introducing the unique chaparral ecosystem to watershed conservation, the importance of trees, personal responsibility in managing waste and pollution, water quality, and more. Fundación La Puerta also collaborates extensively with activist organizations in the region, protecting the watershed and leading river clean-ups for decades.
Aligned with the UN’s themes, the festival often emphasizes current environmental issues, such as plastic waste, with activities like river clean-ups and river walks to raise awareness about reducing plastic waste and eliminating single-use plastics.
The event includes a Youth Fair, where sixth-grade students explore an educational pavilion filled with interactive workshops on environmental stewardship, provided by various organizations.
Additionally, the festival hosts a regional middle school sustainability science fair, where students from different schools present their projects in a dedicated area of the park, supported by high school and university mentors.
The main stage features family-centered events, including storytelling, music, and presentations. Notable activist organizations from the region, such as *Kilómetro Uno*, *Agentes de Cambio*, *Sonoran Institute*, *Tijuana River Estuary*, *Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental*, and many more, share their impactful work and insights with the audience, inspiring community engagement and environmental action.
World Environment Day Gallery
Day of the Dead Festival
Fundación La Puerta has celebrated Día de Muertos at Parque del Profesor for more than 24 years, transforming it into a space of remembrance and tradition that reflects the heart of Tecate’s cultural heritage. As evening falls, the park glows with vibrant orange hues from the marigolds (cempasúchil) and brightly colored alebrijes, creating a magical atmosphere where families gather to honor and celebrate the lives of those who have passed.
The festival begins with a lively procession along Avenida Juárez, where participants dressed as elegant Catrinas and Catrines move toward the park, filling the streets with the spirit and joy of this cherished tradition. Once inside, the community is welcomed by intricate altars, crafted by local families, artists, and schools, each telling unique stories through carefully placed mementos, flowers, and candles.
Visitors can enjoy a rich program of activities, including workshops on traditional crafts, folklore dance performances, and live music. The festival’s main stage brings the stories and legends of Día de Muertos to life with captivating storytelling and mariachi music, folklor dance and even hip hop!, while regional artisans and vendors offer traditional foods, from pan de muerto to warm atole, immersing guests in the season’s flavors.
Fundación La Puerta collaborates with various cultural organizations to provide educational activities, helping to deepen understanding of Día de Muertos and inspire a sense of cultural pride. The festival has become a beloved tradition, where the beauty of Parque del Profesor and the warm glow of marigolds invite the community to remember, celebrate, and connect with the spirit of this enduring celebration.
Throughout the year, the Fundación seeks to foster a sense of place and pride for the citizens of Tecate including its annual celebrations of World Environment Day, Fiestas del Rio (River Festival), book fairs, art contests, environmental education workshops, and much more. All of these activities are sponsored entirely by Fundación La Puerta, ensuring access and participation by everyone from the community.