What’s On in Mexico City This Weekend: Nov. 13-15

Mexico City has a full weekend of free and low-cost events from Friday, Nov. 13 to Sunday, Nov. 15. Two runs end on Sunday: the comedy Leonardo at the Teatro Helénico and the Día de Muertos ofrendas at the Casa del Risco. On Sunday at 12:00, the Coro de Madrigalistas de Bellas Artes sings at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, and admission is free.

Exhibitions

Ofrendas del Risco is the museum’s Día de Muertos display, with a monumental ofrenda (altar) called El espíritu de San Ángel and two ofrenda installations, El alma de un cuadro and El alma de los objetos. It closes on Sunday, Nov. 15. Hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, at the Centro Cultural Isidro Fabela Casa del Risco, Plaza de San Jacinto 5. Entry is free, with a voluntary contribution that supports the museum’s programs.

CTRL + METÁFORAS DE PAZ is a showcase of contemporary Colombian video art, timed to the tenth anniversary of Colombia’s peace agreement. The works deal with memory, territory, identity and diaspora. Screenings are on Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14 from 18:00 to 20:00, and on Sunday, Nov. 15 from 16:00 to 18:00, at the Centro de Cultura Digital, Paseo de la Reforma S/N, at the corner of Lieja. Admission is free.

Theater

Leonardo is a historical comedy in which Rodrigo Murray plays Leonardo da Vinci and a present-day actor looking for his own path, with a sculpture titled Leonardo 4 by Sebastián on stage. It lasts 75 minutes and is listed for ages 13 and over. Performances this weekend: Friday, Nov. 13 at 20:00, Saturday, Nov. 14 at 19:00 and Sunday, Nov. 15 at 18:00, the last day of the run. The venue is the Teatro Helénico in the Centro Cultural Helénico, Avenida Revolución 1500. Tickets are 750 pesos and 525 pesos on the ground floor and 375 pesos on the upper level.

Dirección gritadero is a comedy about three women who wait for a bus to “El Gritadero” in a society where screaming is forbidden. It lasts 85 minutes and is listed for ages 15 and over. Friday, Nov. 13 at 20:00, and Saturday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 15 at 18:00, at the Foro La Gruta of the Centro Cultural Helénico, Avenida Revolución 1500. Tickets cost 302 pesos. The run continues until Nov. 22.

Concerts and live music

Recital de homenaje a Higinio Ruvalcaba marks 50 years since the death of the Mexican composer. Pianist Emilio Lluis Puebla and the Cuarteto Ruvalcaba perform on Friday, Nov. 13 from 18:00 to 19:00 at the Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, República de El Salvador 49, in the Centro Histórico. Entry is free.

Cuarteto Huipe | Jornadas INBAL SACM plays works by Mexican composers including Guillermo Diego, Gustavo Servín and Jorge Córdoba. The concert is on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 12:00 to 14:00 in the Sala Manuel M. Ponce of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Av. Juárez S/N, at Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas. Tickets are 75 pesos, with the usual discounts.

Raga Ensamble de Percusiones presenta: “Asahi!” is a percussion show with lighting and video. It includes two new pieces commissioned from Mexican women composers and the Mexican premiere of two works by ensemble members, Lux and Sonus Motus. It takes place on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 18:00 to 19:00 in the Foro polivalente Antonieta Rivas Mercado of the Biblioteca de México, Plaza de la Ciudadela 4. Entry is free, and the listing says the program may change at the last minute.

48 Foro Internacional de Música Nueva “Manuel Enríquez” presents a Kaija Saariaho program played by the Ensamble CEPROMUSIC under artistic director José Luis Castillo: Lichtbogen, Près, Semafor and Solar. It lasts about 60 minutes and is recommended for ages 8 and over. Saturday, Nov. 14 from 19:00 to 20:00 at the Anfiteatro Simón Bolívar, Colegio de San Ildefonso, Justo Sierra 16. Entry is free with limited capacity, and the program is subject to change.

She Makes Noise: Delise + Yamila brings a Spanish festival of experimental electronic music to Mexico City. Yamila Ríos, a Spanish composer, cellist, singer and producer, appears with Delise, a Mexican DJ, producer and audiovisual artist. The listing says the project held ten editions at La Casa Encendida in Madrid between 2015 and 2024. Saturday, Nov. 14 from 19:00 to 21:00 at the Centro Cultural de España en México, Guatemala 18. Admission is free.

Coro de Madrigalistas de Bellas Artes, Rodrigo Cadet is another concert of the 48th Foro Internacional de Música Nueva, with Rodrigo Cadet as guest conductor. The choir was founded in 1938 by Luis Sandi. It sings on Sunday, Nov. 15 from 12:00 to 13:30 in the Sala Manuel M. Ponce of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Av. Juárez S/N. Admission is free.

Film and books

La balandra Isabel llegó esta tarde is a 1950 Venezuelan film by Carlos Hugo Christensen about a ship’s captain torn between his home and a forbidden passion. The listing says it won the award for best cinematography at the Cannes festival. The screening is on Friday, Nov. 13 from 16:00 to 17:15 in the Sala Guillermo Bonfil of the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, Avenida Hidalgo 289, at Allende. Entry is free.

Yo fui animal de aire is a book presentation. Author José Quintero introduces the sixth volume starring Buba, a character from independent Mexican comics. It is on Friday, Nov. 13 from 17:00 to 18:00 at the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, Avenida Hidalgo 289. Entry is free.

Chicanxs sin fronteras & CCEMx is an afternoon organized by a cross-border collective based in Mexico City that works on cultural ties between Chicano, migrant and other communities on both sides of the Mexico-US border. The program opens at 17:00 with a collective poetry performance by women, titled Chicanxs/indígenas en la poesía: Resistencias transfronterizas. It runs on Friday, Nov. 13 from 17:00 to 19:00 at the Centro Cultural de España en México, Guatemala 18. Admission is free.

For families

Cuadros vivos, hojas que cuentan historias is a workshop on leaf textures and making art from natural materials, led by Equipo Alas y Raíces for children aged 6 and over. It is on Friday, Nov. 13 from 11:00 to 12:00 in the Áreas Verdes of the Centro Nacional de las Artes (Cenart, the national arts center), Río Churubusco 79, at Calzada de Tlalpan. Entry is free.

Fanzine del maíz is a second workshop by Equipo Alas y Raíces, also for ages 6 and over, in which children make a zine about corn as food and as a symbol of memory. It takes place on Friday, Nov. 13 from 09:00 to 10:00 at the same Cenart venue. Entry is free.

Luciérnagas en mis sueños is a sensory workshop with light, color, music, games and stories for very young children. On Saturday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 15, the first session runs from 14:00 to 14:30 for babies up to 18 months, and the second from 14:40 to 15:20 for children from 19 months to 4 years. Each child comes with an adult. The place is the children’s room (Sala infantil) of the Biblioteca de México, Plaza de la Ciudadela 4. Entry is free, and the listing warns of last-minute changes.

Before you go

Several events are free but have limited space, and a few listings say the program may change at short notice, so check each event page before leaving home. Theater tickets and the Bellas Artes concert with an admission price are best bought ahead. Museums with free-entry days are covered in the guide to free museum days in Mexico City.

Event details come from México es Cultura, the national events listing of Mexico’s Secretaría de Cultura. Programs change and events sell out: check the event page before you go.