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The Sumpango Kite Festival 2026 is on Sunday 1 November. The date does not move: the festival is held on 1 November every year, whatever day of the week it falls on.
The teams usually assemble their kites between six and eight in the morning, and the giant kites stand on display from eight until noon. The flying competition follows from one until around half past four, and the kites come down from five. These times follow the usual pattern of past years.
On the municipal football field in Sumpango, in the department of Sacatepéquez, near the town's general cemetery. The route from the Interamericana to the field is signposted on the day.
By car along the Interamericana, or on one of the round-trip shuttles from Antigua that run on 1 November only. The shuttles usually return at two in the afternoon, during the flying, so the return time matters. Public buses go via Chimaltenango.
Entry to the festival was free and open to the public in 2025. For drivers, the field had parking for more than 14,000 vehicles that year, across ten entrance areas.
The monumental kites measure between 10 and 20 metres across and stand on poles for the display. The kites flown in the afternoon are much smaller: in 2025 the four-metre kites were flown at two.
The biggest kites stand on poles as a display, while smaller ones are flown in the afternoon. In the flying competition, a team whose first attempt fails can try again.
In Sumpango the kites are a way for the living to send messages to their dead. The Ministry of Culture places them in the festivities for the dead in both Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez.
Sun cream, sunglasses and a cap, because the day is spent outdoors on an open football field. Wear comfortable shoes too, since the day runs on foot from the morning display to the evening.
Yes, in Santiago Sacatepéquez, the other town in the UNESCO recognition, also on 1 November. In 2023 its kites were assembled at the town cemetery from before dawn, and the display ran from seven or eight in the morning until four in the afternoon.
Teams from Sumpango raise giant kites on the municipal football field near the town's general cemetery. The festival is run by the Comité Permanente de Barriletes Gigantes, the town's permanent kite committee.
The festival falls on All Saints' Day, and the kites belong to the All Souls' festivities that follow it.
1 Nov 2026
On the holiday the giant kites stand on their poles in the field, and the highway queue into Sumpango can run to five kilometres. From Antigua, leave around half past six, by shuttle or by car.
1 Nov 2026. Times are approximate and can change from year to year.
From about eight until noon the giant kites stand upright on their poles for the public to see. Walk among them while they stand.
The smaller kites are flown in a competition that runs until around half past four. How high the kites climb depends on the wind.
Usually from five the kites are taken down, and they are burnt at nightfall.
Groups of artisans build the kites, and a single giant kite takes months of work. This year's edition runs under the theme Trazos con Historia, on art, memory, tradition and community.
The festival opens the evening before. Last year it began with a Lunada, a night gathering, at the town stadium.
Street food stalls are set up in Sumpango for the day, and fiambre, a platter of several meats and sausages, is eaten at the festival. Bring small bills for the stalls.
UNESCO recognised the giant kite tradition of Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez in 2024.
Sleep in Antigua, the closest base with a wide choice of rooms, and leave early on the day. Guatemala City is the other option.
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