The Árbol Gallo is Guatemala City’s big Christmas-tree lighting, a giant illuminated tree raised every November in Plaza del Obelisco, zona 10, by the Gallo beer brand. It is a brand event, presented by the company, and AGN described the lighting as marking the start of the Christmas season. Prensa Libre dates the festival to 1985; AGN described the 2025 edition as its 40th year.
The 2026 lighting date had not been announced as of September 29, 2026. What is on record is how the last two editions ran: a Saturday in November at 19:00, then the tree lit every evening until January 6.
Quick summary: 2026 date: not announced as of September 29, 2026. Last two editions: Saturday, November 16, 2024 and Saturday, November 15, 2025, both at 19:00, in Plaza del Obelisco, zona 10. Lights (2025): 17:30 to 24:00 every day, November 16, 2025 to January 6, 2026. Entry: free. Traffic (2025): crowds from 14:00, peak from 18:00, and Emetra warned traffic could stop after 19:00 on Los Próceres, Liberación, Reforma and Las Américas. Around the country (2025): trees in 33 other places; Xela lit its own on November 22. Watch from abroad (2025): Canal 3, Central de Radio and Cerveza Gallo’s social media.
The last two editions
| Edition | Lighting at the Obelisco | Lights on | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (39th year) | Saturday, November 16, 19:00 | 17:30-24:00, November 16 to January 6 | AGN; La Prensa de Occidente |
| 2025 (40th year) | Saturday, November 15, 19:00 | 17:30-24:00, November 16, 2025 to January 6, 2026 | AGN; Prensa Libre |
| 2026 | Not announced (checked September 29, 2026) | — | — |
Prensa Libre published the 2025 date on November 5, 2025, ten days before the lighting. We do not predict the 2026 Saturday; two years is not a rule, and a date on this page will come from the organisers’ announcement.
How opening night ran in 2025
- From 16:00: family activities on the median strip (camellón) in front of the tree, per AGN, November 14, 2025; Prensa Libre listed balloon twisting, face painting and games with prizes.
- Before the lighting: a light show with music, laser effects and choreographed lights (AGN).
- 19:00: the official lighting. Emisoras Unidas reported that the Guatemalan group El Tambor de la Tribu played before the countdown.
- After the lighting: an artificial-snow show, new in 2025 (Prensa Libre). Prensa Libre’s traffic article also listed fireworks as part of the show.
- Broadcast: announced as live on Canal 3, the Central de Radio stations and Cerveza Gallo’s social media, per a sponsored Soy502 article. If you are in the US and want to watch with family back home, those were the 2025 channels announced.
The giant ornaments on La Reforma and Las Américas
In 2025 there were 24 lit Christmas ornaments at 20 points around the Obelisco, along avenida La Reforma and avenida Las Américas, per Prensa Libre. The figures were first shown in 2023, with 15 designs. The organisers’ route, Prensa Libre reported, ran from avenida La Reforma and 7 calle, zona 10 to avenida Las Américas and 20 calle, zona 13. The ornaments were lit with the tree, 17:30 to 24:00, from November 16, 2025 to January 6, 2026.
That makes the Árbol Gallo more than a one-night event: in 2025 the tree and the ornaments on the avenues stayed lit every evening for about seven weeks after opening night.
Traffic: what closes and how to get around it
Plaza del Obelisco is where zonas 4, 9 and 10 meet (Prensa Libre), so opening night jams several of the city’s main arteries.
| Year | What the city traffic authorities said | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | People arriving from 14:00, peak crowd from 18:00; traffic could stop after 19:00 on the Los Próceres, Liberación and Reforma boulevards and avenida Las Américas. Alternative route for drivers not attending: bulevar Los Próceres, passing under the Obelisco | Amílcar Montejo, Emetra, in Prensa Libre (November 11, 2025) |
| 2024 | Possible closures or diversions minutes before the lighting: bulevar Liberación from El Trébol at the Tecún Umán underpass, toward calle Montúfar or avenida La Castellana; bulevar Los Próceres diverted under the Obelisco; avenida La Reforma and 12 calle, zona 9; diversions on avenida Las Américas near 11 calle | Municipal traffic police (PMT), in AGN (November 16, 2024) |
Montejo’s words in 2025 were that “el tránsito vehicular podría detenerse en sectores como los bulevares Los Próceres, Liberación, Reforma y la avenida de Las Américas” during the lighting: vehicle traffic could come to a stop in those sectors.
Emetra’s 2025 advice for people attending: do not climb onto bridges, tree branches, phone booths or unstable structures to see the show; park in private lots or authorised shopping-centre car parks rather than on the street, and leave nothing valuable in sight; dress warmly and look after children and older people in the cold. In 2024 the authorities recommended arriving by taxi or other transport rather than leaving a car on the public road (AGN).
For closures in force on the day, see our road closures page.
Trees around the country (2025)
Besides the Obelisco, in 2025 the organisers lit trees in 33 other places, per the list Prensa Libre published. (Emisoras Unidas, quoting the brand’s statement, reported 34 other trees in the departments.)
Condado Concepción, Mixco, Amatitlán, Chimaltenango, Tactic, Salamá, Zacapa, Cobán, Puerto Barrios, Teculután, Sanarate, Guastatoya, Esquipulas, Chiquimula, Barberena, Santa Lucía, Escuintla, Jutiapa, Jalapa, Tiquisate, Chiquimulilla, Nueva Santa Rosa, Quetzaltenango, Mazatenango, Coatepeque, Malacatán, San Marcos, Sololá, Quiché, Huehuetenango and Retalhuleu, plus two added that year: Antigua Guatemala and San Agustín Acasaguastlán.
Prensa Libre reported those trees lit from 17:30 to 24:00, November 16, 2025 to January 6, 2026, except Quetzaltenango (below).
Xela had its own night
Quetzaltenango did not light on the same day. In 2025 its festival was Saturday, November 22, in Plaza Japón, zona 3, with activities from 16:00 and the show at 19:00, per Prensa Libre. The tree could be visited from November 23 to January 6, 2026, 17:30 to 24:00, and on December 24 and 31 it was announced to stay lit until 5:00 the next morning. La Prensa de Occidente reported the same 5:00 extension for December 24 and 31 in 2024, and a sponsored Soy502 article announced it for the trees in 2025.
If you are going
- Opening night is the crowd; any other night is the walk. The tree and the 24 ornaments stayed lit every evening until January 6 in 2025.
- Do not drive to opening night if you can avoid it. Emetra expected traffic to stop after 19:00 in 2025, and the 2024 advice was to come by taxi.
- Bring a jacket. Emetra’s own 2025 advice was to dress warmly.
- It is free. Entry was free in 2025 (Prensa Libre).
- Pair it with the rest of the season: the city hall’s Christmas float parade and Festival Navideño opened a week earlier in 2025 (November 8), and the Festival Navideño in Plaza de la Constitución ran from November 21.
Related
- Guatemala City Christmas parades and the Festival Navideño
- Christmas in Guatemala: the December calendar, Nochebuena and what closes
- Are fireworks legal in Guatemala?
- A legal Christmas tree at home: the pinabete
- Things to do in Cayalá
- New Year’s Eve in Guatemala
- Road closures
Sources: AGN, November 14, 2025 and November 16, 2024; Prensa Libre, November 5, 10 and 11, 2025 (date, ornaments and traffic) and November 8, 2025 (Xela); Soy502, 2025 (sponsored article: broadcast, December 24 and 31 hours); Emisoras Unidas, November 15, 2025; La Prensa de Occidente, November 7, 2024. Read September 29, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Árbol Gallo lighting in 2026?
It had not been announced as of September 29, 2026. In the two previous years the lighting at Plaza del Obelisco was on a Saturday in November at 19:00: November 16, 2024 (AGN) and November 15, 2025 (AGN, Prensa Libre). We re-check in early November and update this page when the date is published.
What time is the Árbol Gallo lit?
The official lighting was at 19:00 in both 2024 and 2025. In 2025 AGN reported family activities on the median strip in front of the tree from 16:00, and a light, music and laser show before the lighting. After opening night, Prensa Libre reported the tree and the giant ornaments lit every day from 17:30 to 24:00, from November 16, 2025 to January 6, 2026.
Where is the Árbol Gallo?
The main tree is in Plaza del Obelisco, zona 10, Guatemala City, at the meeting point of zonas 4, 9 and 10 (Prensa Libre). In 2025 the organisers also lit trees in 33 other places around the country, per Prensa Libre’s list, including Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango, Cobán, Antigua Guatemala and Esquipulas.
Can I watch the Árbol Gallo lighting live from the US?
For 2025, a sponsored (redacción comercial) Soy502 article announced that the lighting would be broadcast live on Canal 3, on the Central de Radio stations and on Cerveza Gallo’s social media. The 2026 broadcast plan had not been announced as of September 29, 2026.
Which streets close for the Árbol Gallo?
In 2025 Amílcar Montejo of Emetra, the city traffic authority, told Prensa Libre that traffic could stop after 19:00 on the Los Próceres, Liberación and Reforma boulevards and avenida Las Américas, and suggested bulevar Los Próceres, passing under the Obelisco, as the alternative for drivers not attending. He expected people from 14:00 and the peak crowd from 18:00.
Does it cost anything to see the Árbol Gallo?
No. Prensa Libre listed 2025 entry as free (entrada libre), and Cerveza Gallo, quoted by Emisoras Unidas, described the lit trees as an accessible and free experience.
When is the Árbol Gallo in Xela (Quetzaltenango)?
Xela had its own date in 2025: Saturday, November 22, in Plaza Japón, zona 3, with activities from 16:00 and the main show at 19:00, per Prensa Libre. The tree could be visited from November 23 to January 6, 2026, from 17:30 to 24:00, and stayed lit until 5:00 the next morning on December 24 and 31.
