Before the queens are crowned, before the parades roll down the Malecón, before the Naval Battle fireworks, there is fire. Every year Mazatlán builds an effigy of whatever weighed on the public mood — a politician, an influencer, a feeling — and burns it. The carnival cannot begin until it does.

If you ever want to see a city fully surrender to joy, come to Mazatlán during Carnival. The Pacific sparkles. Banda music rolls through the streets. Sequins shimmer under stadium lights. One of Mexico's oldest carnivals, with a personality all its own and a 2026 theme that beats like a drum.