Town 11 km south of Comonfort
A farming town famous for its Fat Tuesday festival of exploding sledgehammers in honor of San Juanito.
San Juan de la Vega is a farming town of about ten thousand people on the road between Comonfort and Celaya, surrounded by fields of carrots, jícama and grain. Most of the year it is an ordinary Bajío town with a weekend market on its main square, but it is famous across Mexico, and well beyond, for one of the most startling festivals in the country.
Every year on Fat Tuesday, at the end of Carnival, the town celebrates San Juanito with the so-called exploding hammers. Locals pack a homemade mix of sulfur and chlorate onto the heads of sledgehammers and smash them against steel rails, setting off deafening blasts and clouds of smoke. Nowadays the event is held mostly in a field outside town, with ambulances on standby, because people are injured every year. Tradition ties it to the town's founder Juan de la Vega, and the story is told in several versions: in one he was a kind of local Robin Hood who fought rich landowners, in another a wealthy miner who promised San Juan Bautista a yearly feast after recovering his stolen gold.
If you go for the festival, watch from a safe distance, protect your ears, and follow the instructions of organizers and police. The rest of the year, San Juan de la Vega is a short, low-key stop for its church and market.
What to see and do
Watch the exploding-hammer festival on Fat Tuesday, from a safe distance and with ear protection.
Visit the parish church of San Juan Bautista, the town's patron, celebrated again on June 24.
Browse the weekend market on the main square.
Combine it with Soria and Comonfort in a half-day loop.
Getting there
San Juan de la Vega is about 13 km south of Comonfort on federal highway 51 toward Celaya, roughly 20 minutes by car. Buses and colectivos between Comonfort and Celaya pass through. On festival day expect heavy traffic and road closures; arrive early and park well outside the center.
11 km south of Comonfort
Directions from Comonfort on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Weather mild
San Juan de la Vega shares the climate of Comonfort, 11 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr.
Make Comonfort your base
San Juan de la Vega is an easy trip from Comonfort, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
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Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.