The Festival de la Luz de Antigua turns the facades of Antigua Guatemala’s colonial churches into screens for video-mapping, free; the 2025 and 2026 editions each ran for two nights in July. The 3rd edition, themed “Trozos del Mundo” (pieces of the world), was held on Friday July 17 and Saturday July 18, 2026, from 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM. The 2027 date is not announced (checked September 25, 2026). Sources: the festival’s site, luzdeantigua.com, and dated coverage from Prensa Libre, Guatemala.com and Diario de Centro América, all read on September 25, 2026.
The 2026 edition at a glance
| Dates | Friday July 17 and Saturday July 18, 2026 |
| Hours | 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM, projections looping without a break |
| Theme | Trozos del Mundo (3rd edition) |
| Price | Free route; two paid immersive experiences (below) |
| Format | Unguided walking route between monuments |
| Organizer | Antigua Viva |
Guatemala.com’s guide, updated on July 17, 2026, says each monument showed around three video-mapping works in a continuous loop, and that the route is free and unguided: you pick where to start and the order in which you visit the monuments.
Where the projections were
Guatemala.com’s July 17 update lists five monuments with video-mapping in 2026:
- Iglesia de San Francisco
- Escuela de Cristo — the facade for the Latin American video-mapping contest, with entries from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Argentina and Guatemala
- Catedral de La Antigua Guatemala — a 3D video-mapping piece by the Spanish artist Jordi Pont, viewed with special glasses, which Guatemala.com calls a first for Guatemala
- Compañía de Jesús — works by the artists of Guatelab, a training programme run by Antigua Viva with the French Embassy
- Iglesia de La Merced
An earlier Guatemala.com listing for the 2026 edition spoke of six facades; the July 17 update lists the five above.
The light installations (Alumbrados EEGSA)
The festival site describes three public spaces lit with light installations, credited to EEGSA. Guatemala.com gives their 2026 run as July 7 to 26, 2026, longer than the two projection nights, at:
- Tanque La Unión
- Parque San Sebastián
- Alameda y parque Santa Rosa (from July 14)
The two paid immersive experiences in 2026
The projections are free. Two side experiences charged admission:
- Luz Inmersiva, per the festival site: a laser experience inside the Convento de La Merced by the artists Juanfer Solís, Francisco Sandoval, Ande Perén and Jose Jolón, in aid of those affected by the earthquake in Santa María de Jesús and the rebuilding of its church. Q100 general admission, Q75 paying with ZIGI, children under 10 free.
- El Bosque Encantado, per Guatemala.com: an immersive route at El Bosque de Antigua, Avenida del Desengaño No. 2, from July 16 to 31, 2026, 7:00 to 10:00 PM, in recurring 20-minute sessions. Q75 for adults, children under 10 free, tickets through Vivelo Online.
Getting there without a car
Before the 2026 nights, Guatemala.com’s parking article (read September 20, 2026) announced that Antigua’s municipal traffic police (PMT) would close streets to create a pedestrian-only perimeter; La Pólvora car park would open 24 hours, Santa Inés and Finca Retana from 4 PM July 17 to 7 PM July 19, and Centro de Servicios 8 AM to 5 PM, with free buses from Santa Inés to the Fuente de las Delicias. Our Antigua parking and vehicle rules page lists the 2026 closure points and car-park rates in its events table.
Who is behind it
Prensa Libre (April 13, 2026) quotes Willy Posada, director of Antigua Viva, the organization it describes as in charge of the festival. The festival’s site credits the Alumbrados to EEGSA and in 2026 ran two open calls: the Latin American video-mapping contest and Guatelab 2026, an intensive video-mapping workshop taught, per its page, by Reencontres Audiovisuelles and the Centro Europeo de Video Mapping. Diario de Centro América reports that the Ministry of Culture and Sports (MCD) curated the cultural spaces on the route for the second year running in 2026.
The 2025 edition
The 2nd edition was held on July 18 and 19, 2025, 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM, with the theme of magical realism in homage to Latin American writers (Prensa Libre, May 29, 2025). Prensa Libre listed:
| 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Video-mapped monuments | La Merced, Compañía de Jesús, San José Catedral, Templo de San Francisco, Escuela de Cristo, Los Remedios |
| Light installations | El Tanque de la Unión, Parque Belén, Alameda Santa Rosa |
| Artists named | Julian Holscher, Albane Chaumet, Félix Michel, Bianca Turner, Francisco Sandoval, Daniela Pinto, among others |
Attendance figures for 2025 differ by source: Prensa Libre cites organizer data of at least 200,000 people; Guatemala.com’s 2026 listing says more than 240,000.
Related
- Antigua festivals, month by month
- Concerts and live events in Guatemala, rebuilt daily from the ticketers
- Guatemala events calendar
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Festival de la Luz in Antigua Guatemala?
The 3rd edition was held on Friday July 17 and Saturday July 18, 2026, with projections from 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM. The 2nd edition was July 18-19, 2025. The 2027 date is not announced (checked September 25, 2026).
Does the Festival de la Luz cost anything?
The facade projections and the light installations are free. Guatemala.com describes the route as a free, unguided tour: you choose where to start and in which order to see the monuments. Two immersive side experiences in 2026 charged admission: Luz Inmersiva inside the Convento de La Merced (Q100, Q75 paying with ZIGI, under-10s free, per the festival site) and El Bosque Encantado at El Bosque de Antigua (Q75 for adults, under-10s free, per Guatemala.com).
Which buildings are lit during the Festival de la Luz?
In 2026 Guatemala.com’s updated guide listed five monuments with video-mapping: the Iglesia de San Francisco, the Escuela de Cristo, the Cathedral (with a 3D video-mapping piece seen through special glasses), the Compañía de Jesús and the Iglesia de La Merced. In 2025 the six monuments were La Merced, Compañía de Jesús, San José Catedral, Templo de San Francisco, Escuela de Cristo and Los Remedios.
Who organizes the Festival de la Luz de Antigua?
Antigua Viva. Prensa Libre (April 13, 2026) quotes Willy Posada, director of Antigua Viva, which it describes as in charge of the festival. The festival’s own site is luzdeantigua.com.
