What Is a Cabalgata? The Horseback Parade from Guanajuato to Seville

What is a cabalgata horseback parade?

If you're wondering what a cabalgata horseback parade is, here's the short answer: a group of people riding together along a route on horseback to celebrate, commemorate or escort something. In Spain the word also names the big Three Kings parade on January 5, even though today it has more floats than horses.

The word comes from the Spanish verb cabalgar, "to ride," and its meaning shifts from one side of the Atlantic to the other. In Mexico a cabalgata is usually a column of riders covering miles of road; in Seville it's a procession of floats, marching bands and pages on horseback.

Why cabalgatas are in the news this week

On September 23, 2026, the word pulled double duty in the news:

• Celaya, Mexico. City councilors handed Mexico's national symbols to the riders of the Ruta de la Independencia cabalgata, which the city had welcomed two days earlier.
• Seville, Spain. Officials laid the first stone of a permanent home for the city's Three Kings parade, in a historic workshop next to the old Royal Artillery Factory.

Three kinds of cabalgata

1. Historic or patriotic rides: riders retrace a route that means something, like the one Miguel Hidalgo's insurgents followed in 1810.
2. Festive parades: city processions with floats, music and a few horses, like Spain's Three Kings parades.
3. Community rides: fairs, patron-saint festivals and town anniversaries in Mexico and much of Latin America, where the point is simply to ride together.

The Mexican independence horseback ride: Hidalgo's route in the saddle

The Cabalgata por la Ruta de la Independencia Nacional rides every September along the path of the 1810 insurgent army through Mexico's Bajío region. The 2026 edition, the 43rd, set out on September 15 from San Felipe, Guanajuato, where Governor Libia Dennise García opened the state's patriotic celebrations alongside the riders, and headed for Dolores Hidalgo.

Around the same time, a second ride, the Cabalgata Histórica "Ignacio Pérez," travels from Querétaro through San Miguel de Allende to Dolores, the birthplace of the Grito. It has run for 40 years and honors the rider who, in September 1810, carried the warning that the independence conspiracy had been discovered.

The route, stop by stop

The ride is organized by a civil association, Cabalgata por la Ruta de la Independencia Nacional A.C., with charros and guest riders from several towns. The itinerary documented by México Desconocido runs through, among other stops:

San Felipe → Dolores Hidalgo → Atotonilco → San Miguel de Allende → Comonfort → Empalme Escobedo → San Juan de la Vega → Santa Rita → Celaya → Salamanca → Irapuato → Hacienda de Burras → Guanajuato

In 1810 the insurgents left Dolores on September 16 and took the Alhóndiga de Granaditas granary in the city of Guanajuato on September 28. Today's ride tracks that calendar closely: about two weeks in the saddle, town to town, with civic ceremonies along the way.

What the riders carry

This ride doesn't just travel, it carries cargo: Mexico's national symbols, including the flag, plus a ceremonial banner and a symbolic "liberty fire." Towns along the route receive them, keep them safe and hand them back to the riders for the next leg.

That's what happened in Celaya. The ride arrived on September 21, 216 years after the insurgents entered the city, and the mayor welcomed the riders at the San Antonio church, where, city chronicler Fernando Amate recalled, Hidalgo reviewed his troops on September 21, 1810. Accounts differ on where the insurgent leaders took their first military ranks: México Desconocido places it at San Antonio, while the history recounted at this year's ceremony puts it in Celaya's main square, the Jardín Principal, on the morning of September 22, 1810. Either way, it happened in Celaya: Hidalgo became captain general, Allende lieutenant general and Aldama marshal. On September 23, city councilors handed the symbols back to the riders, who were set to continue toward Salamanca, Irapuato and the state capital.

Seville Three Kings parade: floats, "Bedouins" and pages on horseback

Seville's Cabalgata de Reyes Magos has been organized by the Ateneo de Sevilla, a cultural society, since January 5, 1918. That first parade left Calle Lombardos with ox carts loaded with boxes of sweets, bags of candy and toys collected in a charity drive.

Over the years the Kings paraded on camels, dromedaries and even elephants. The Ateneo's own tally puts the procession at 33 floats, about 1,000 costumed "Bedouins," about as many children riding the floats, 30 pages on horseback and 10 marching bands, though the lineup varies from year to year: the January 5, 2026 parade had eight bands, according to ABC Sevilla.

The night before, on January 4, the Royal Herald arrives with his retinue of Bedouins and pages, asks the mayor for the keys to the city and collects letters from kids and grown-ups alike.

A permanent home after more than a century

For more than 100 years, the parade has set out from all kinds of places around the city, from the Maestranza bullring to the San Telmo gardens. That changes with the Santa Bárbara workshop:

• Where: in the San Bernardo area, next to the Royal Artillery Factory. The building dates from 1916.
• Size: 4,489 square meters (about 48,000 square feet).
• How: the city granted the Ateneo its use for 75 years, directly and free of charge.
• What for: storing, preserving and assembling the floats, plus a later phase with exhibition space on the parade's history.
• When: the goal is a 2028 debut, so the January 2027 parade is expected to leave from elsewhere; recent editions have set out from the University of Seville.

Do the Three Kings ride horses?

Not in Seville: Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar ride on floats, and most of the horses in the procession carry the 30 mounted pages. The name stuck anyway, and Spaniards still say cabalgata even when a procession is almost all floats. Alcoy, in Alicante, is usually cited as having Spain's oldest documented Three Kings parade, from the 19th century.

How a group horseback ride works

A well-run cabalgata is closer to a logistics operation than a pleasure ride. These are the roles you'll almost always find:

• Organizing committee: plans the route, handles permits and sets the schedule and rules.
• Lead rider: rides at the front and sets the pace. Nobody passes the leader.
• Flag bearers: on patriotic rides, they carry the flag and banners.
• Sweep rider: an experienced rider at the back who makes sure nobody gets left behind.
• Support vehicle: water, a first-aid kit and, ideally, a trailer for any horse that can't continue.
• Traffic control or police: clear the way on streets and highways.

Most of the ride happens at a walk, with breaks for water. Rest stops aren't decoration: on long routes they're what gets a horse home sound.

Before you join: a checklist for you and your horse

Your horse

• Fitness: a horse ridden one hour a week isn't ready for a full day on the road. Build distance gradually over several weeks.
• Shoeing: steel shoes slip on asphalt and cobblestones. Talk to your farrier well ahead of time about traction options.
• Tack: check the cinch, make sure the saddle doesn't rub and that the bridle and bit are in good shape. Bring a halter and lead rope for rest stops; more in Tack & equipment.
• Temperament: bands, fireworks, flags and crowds rattle a lot of horses. Practice at home with groundwork before you ride into town.
• Health and paperwork: keep vaccines current and check the rules for moving horses between counties, states or countries. With New World screwworm present in Mexico and the southern U.S., check for wounds daily; more in Health basics.

You

• Helmet: the sombrero is part of the tradition, but it doesn't protect your head. For kids and beginners, a helmet is non-negotiable.
• Water and sun: a water bottle, sunscreen and clothes you can wear for hours.
• Charged phone: and someone who knows your route and when you'll be back.
• Visibility: on highway stretches, wear a hi-vis vest and put something visible on your horse, as the British Horse Society recommends.
• Honesty: if you've only ridden in an arena, start with a short local ride. Brush up with Riding skills and our Safety guide.

Group trail ride etiquette: the unwritten rules of every cabalgata

1. One horse length. If you can see the hind hooves of the horse ahead between your horse's ears, you're at a good distance.
2. Respect the ribbons. A red ribbon in a tail warns that the horse kicks; a green one marks a young or green horse. If yours kicks, give it a ribbon.
3. Don't pass without warning, and never at a gallop. One horse racing by can stir up half the column.
4. Walk on pavement. On September 16, two horses in the Sedena escaramuza team slipped on the pavement during the Mexico City parade; their riders fell, though reports said the injuries weren't serious.
5. No alcohol in the saddle. A horse in a crowd needs a clear-headed rider.
6. Don't stop dead mid-column. If you need to stop, call it out and move to the side.
7. Stallions by permission. Ask first; some organizers want them at the back of the column.
8. Water at every stop. The horse drinks first, then the rider.
9. Leave the route as you found it, and follow each town's cleanup rules.

Watching with kids: parade-day tips

• Stay on the sidewalk and never stand behind a horse.
• Ask before petting. Many horses are tense around so many people.
• No fireworks, balloons or confetti near the horses.
• Hold little ones' hands in Seville: candy lands near floats and horses, and kids dive for it.
• Find more ideas for teaching kids to be safe around horses in Parents & teachers.

What to watch next

• Late September 2026: the Guanajuato ride continues toward Salamanca, Irapuato and the city of Guanajuato. September 28 marks 216 years since the taking of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas; check each town's announcements for times.
• Through October 15, 2026: the Ateneo is taking applications for Seville's 2027 parade. Kids 7 to 14 can apply for the floats, with places drawn by lot before a notary, and adults can apply to join the Bedouin retinue; applying doesn't guarantee a spot.
• January 4 and 5, 2027: the Royal Herald and the Three Kings parade in Seville.
• 2028: the planned debut of the new Santa Bárbara base.

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