Spectacular Festivals of the World - Noche de Brujas — Night of the Witches

Traditions of witchcraft in Cerro Mono Blanco, Catemaco, Mexico date back centuries where many legends and myths were born, and shamans, healers and fortune-tellers are ever-present. The history of witchcraft in the area is thought to date back over 2,000 years to the pre-Hispanic era, and the first Friday of March every year marks the celebration of the Noche de Brujas - Night of the Witches.



A local “brujo” — a shaman — hosted a witchcraft convention in 1970, which caught on and has been celebrated as the Noche de Brujas ever since.



Hundreds of shamans, witches and healers come from all over Mexico to descend upon this small town located on the shore of Laguna Catemaco to perform a mass cleansing ceremony designed to rid them of the previous year’s negative energies.



Catemaco has come to be a Mecca for witch doctors and those interested in alternative medicine methods, flooded with touristy stalls selling everything from trinkets to magical healing potions year-round.



Dubbed the ‘Capital of Witchcraft’ by some, you can easily find makeshift spiritualists and a number of serious practitioners that consider wizardry a real way of life. Supernatural healing awaits at every corner of streets and alleys with herbal remedies for nearly anything that ails you — one can find a cure for any curse and even hire a witch to perform one on someone you don’t like.



Signs along the way direct you to homes of prominent witches and magic healers of the community, where even the rich and famous frequently come seeking advice. Anything can be had for a price.



But with the advent of commercialism attracting all walks of life, a growing feud has ensued with some of the more serious worshipers of the Dark Arts and the influx of a large number of fakes attempting to cash in on those seeking occult arts to address their personal problems.



Back in the enchanting community of Catemaco, you will find many modern and charming sites in this beautifully landscaped city with clean streets and a mythical atmosphere supercharged with magic.



One of the featured attractions of the town are the “Monkey Islands” populated by abandoned research monkeys originally imported from Thailand. Nearly 100 boats compete to ferry tourists out to see these Macaque monkeys, uncared for by the locals of Catemaco which are frequently starving and lacking medical care.



The Noche de Brujas itself is now one of the largest meetings of witches, magicians, seers, prophets, traditional healers, and practitioners of alternative medicine in the world in this strangely fascinating and picturesque town.