El Cedral Festival of the Cross

cedral festival in cozumelEl Cedral is a small village in the southern part of the island of Cozumel. Each year a large festival is held here in honor of the founder of the town, Casimiro Cárdenas. 150 years ago, Cárdenas escaped with a small crucifix from soldiers during the War of the Castes, and vowed to honor his victory wherever he settled. The modern festival is described as a giant party with drinks, meals, snacks, carnival rides, prizes, horse races and traditional Spanish bull fights. People from the larger settlement of Cozumel flock to the tiny town in anticipation of the week’s events and look forward to it all year long