Jutiapa Feria 2026: the November Livestock Fair (Feria Ganadera Nacional) — Past Dates and What Is Not Announced Yet

If you are searching for the “Jutiapa feria” in November, the event you want is the Feria Ganadera Nacional, the national livestock fair. It is not the patron-saint fiesta (San Cristóbal, in July): it is a trade and cattle fair created by government decree in 1870, still organized every November by the Municipalidad de Jutiapa at the town’s Campo de la Feria (fairground).

Quick summary: Jutiapa’s Feria Ganadera Nacional was set up by a government decree (Acuerdo Gubernativo) of August 26, 1870, which fixed November 15 as its date — a Sunday in 2026. The last two editions, per the municipality: November 8-17, 2024, with the horse parade on November 10; and a 2025 fair that ended on Tuesday, November 18, with a Rodeo Internacional on November 16 (Q50 general, Q100 VIP). The department queen was elected beforehand: in 2025, in October. As of September 30, 2026, the municipality had not published the 2026 dates or program.

Quick facts

A fair created by decree in 1870

Guatemala.com says the fair was “instituida por el Acuerdo Gubernativo del 26 de agosto de 1870, bajo el mandato del Presidente Vicente Cerna” — set up by government decree under President Vicente Cerna — and that the decree named the town of Jutiapa as the seat and fixed November 15 as the date (Guatemala.com).

Its purpose was commercial: to stimulate trade in local products, indigo (añil) among them, and in cattle and smaller livestock, with buyers from neighboring El Salvador and Honduras invited too. The same account says the first fair, in November 1870, sold about three thousand animals on the llano del Chaparrón, staged bullfights and a night-time comedy, and drew an estimated fifteen to sixteen thousand people.

That is why Jutiapa’s fair falls in November even though the town’s patron saint is celebrated in July: they are two celebrations with different origins.

The dates the municipality published

What this supports: in both documented editions the fair was running around November 15, the 1870 date. What it does not support is an exact 2026 date: in 2024 the municipality announced the dates on October 29.

What happens at the fair

From the municipality’s own posts in 2024 and 2025:

• Department queen election (Reina Departamental), held before the fair (in October in 2025). In 2025, 14 candidates from the department’s municipalities competed; entry was free, in the Salón del Campo de la Feria, and Vivian Mazariegos of Asunción Mita won.
• Candidates’ presentation parade, with marching bands from several municipalities, which in 2025 ended at the Parque Rosendo Santa Cruz.
• Horse parade (desfile hípico), which the municipality calls “el desfile hípico más grande y esperado de Oriente” — the biggest and most awaited in eastern Guatemala — with riders and high-school (dressage) stables.
• Cattle judging at the fairground.
• Rodeo Internacional in the fairground arena.
• Mechanical rides and food, which the municipality promoted for the last days of the 2025 fair, and concerts in the fairground hall (in 2024, the closing one).

The 2025 rodeo: time and prices

The only event with prices in the municipal posts we reviewed. The 2025 announcement:

These are 2025 prices. 2026 prices had not been published as of September 30, 2026.

Not published as of September 30, 2026

• The start and end dates of the 2026 fair.
• The 2026 horse parade day.
• The date of the 2026 department queen election.
• Artists, times and prices of paid events.

In 2025 the municipality did not post the fair’s start date on its website either; it did post the closing date. If you are traveling for one specific event (the parade, the rodeo, a concert), wait for that event’s own announcement.

Getting there

We have not captured published bus schedules or fares to Jutiapa from a carrier, so this page does not give them. How Guatemala’s intercity “chicken buses” work — boarding, paying, what to expect — is in our chicken bus guide. For the town itself, see the Jutiapa municipality profile.

FAQ

When is the Jutiapa feria in 2026? The historic date is November 15 (a Sunday in 2026). The 2026 dates were not published as of September 30, 2026; the 2024 fair ran November 8-17 and the 2025 fair ended November 18.

Is it the San Cristóbal fiesta? No. San Cristóbal is July 24-25; the November event is the national livestock fair.

When is the horse parade? In 2024 it was November 10. The municipality’s website had no 2026 date as of September 30, 2026.

How much is the rodeo? In 2025: Q50 general, Q100 VIP. The municipality’s website had no 2026 prices as of September 30, 2026.

Related

• Ferias in Jutiapa — every patron-saint fair in the department
• Ferias in November — the full November calendar
• Ferias in December — including Zacapa and Retalhuleu on December 8
• Jutiapa municipality profile — safety, cost of living and orientation
• Guatemala holidays — which days are national holidays