What is the Fogones de México Festival 2026?
“The festival is conceived as more than just a gastronomic experience: a public platform to transform what we applaud into a structured framework, with clear rules for participation, payment, and recognition for those who keep the hearth alive in the field”, stated the team behind 32MX.
Furthermore, Fogones de México reaffirms its vision: traditional cuisine is not a spectacle; it is work, memory, and the future.
It is also worth mentioning that the festival is part of the Fogones MX Ecosystem – Development of Mexican Cuisines 2026–2033, promoted by CENAIN Fogones MX A.C. (National Center for Research and Dissemination of Mexican Cuisines).
The ecosystem’s operational headquarters is 32MX – Gastronomic Forum (Terrace of Plaza Patio Frida, Calle Ignacio Allende 45, Colonia Del Carmen, C.P. 04100, Mexico City, CDMX).
Where and when will the Fogones de México Festival 2026 take place?
This national gathering will be held on January 16, 17, and 18, 2026, at Campo Marte, Mexico City (Campo Marte Restaurant area), with the participation of 32 traditional cooks, one from each state of the country.
During the festival, 96 traditional dishes will be prepared (three from each state), reaffirming that cuisine is the heart of the event: territory, language, technique, history, and community. This is not a decorative display; it is a living cuisine that sustains family economies and community networks.
What do we hope to achieve with this festival? Members of the organizing team, including Luis Alberto Llanos Legorreta (“Nómada”), founder of Fogones MX, and Ricardo Téllez, founding partner of the festival and Operations Director, shared the following at the press conference:
The 2026 Fogones de México Festival was born with a measurable objective: to move from applause to a solid structure. This translates into concrete expected results:
Clear and verifiable payment, no tips
Fogones seeks to establish a standard: the participation of Traditional Cooks is based on clear conditions and a public, bank-based payment system, recognizing that traditional cuisine is specialized work sustained over years.
Name and voice at the center, without folklore
The festival proposes a model where traditional cuisine is presented with a name, community, technique, history, and territory, with spaces for the Cooks to speak in their own voices.
Future: infrastructure in the territory
According to 32MX, the festival is conceived as a catalyst for establishing “what comes next” after the event: real infrastructure in the community, primarily Traditional Cooking Schools built in the territory.
The 2026-2033 goal is to move towards a national network of 32 schools (one per state), starting with an initial group of 1 to 4 schools, planned as follows:
- Morelos for Reyna Pérez Vicuña
- Veracruz for Martha Gómez Atzin
- Tlaxcala for Dalia and Nico
- Chiapas for Ricarda Jiménez Tevera
- In addition, there is a precedent/model: Campeche, a school already established with Juanita Segovia (currently operational).
These schools are not intended as symbolic buildings, but as functional infrastructure to receive people with dignity: workstations, washing areas, sanitary facilities, tools, proper care, and safe spaces.
Serious Operation and Dignified Conditions
Fogones seeks to demonstrate that a large-scale event can be organized with care and respect, including logistics, hygiene, water, refrigeration, security, and organization, prioritizing working conditions for Traditional Cooks.
Useful Outreach: Content that Generates Work, Not Postcards
The festival aims to produce purposeful outreach: visibility and content assets that translate into real opportunities (contacts, invitations, direct sales, and on-the-ground experiences), avoiding mere folklore.
Transparency and Continuity
Fogones plans to conclude with a clear roadmap for continuity: communicating progress, lessons learned, and next steps to maintain public trust and ensure the impact doesn’t just fade away.
Mexican Traditional Cuisine is more present than ever
During the conference, a group of traditional cooks who will participate in the festival were presented. They come from different regions of the country, including:
- Mexico City: Nora Estrada (Xochimilco)
- Mexico City: Mariana Rosales (Iztapalapa)
- Oaxaca: Rosa Cecilio (Xoxocotlán)
- Oaxaca: Tere (representing Juana Anaya)
- State of Mexico: Bárbara Montiel (Ixtlahuaca)
- San Luis Potosí: Adrián Díaz (Soledad de Graciano Sánchez)
The festival will bring together chefs from all 32 states, who will share not only dishes, but also techniques, processes, stories, and forms of community organization that sustain Mexico’s food diversity.
The festival operates on a tasting system so that the public can choose their own culinary route through the country: it’s not a buffet, but a culinary exploration of different regions, ingredients, and techniques, designed to allow traditional cuisine to be experienced with context and respect.
What else will the festival offer?
The festival combines daytime cultural programming (included with the festival ticket) and showcases (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). Music complements the gastronomic experience; it doesn’t replace it.
The music takes place during the festival’s hours as part of the daytime cultural programming (11:00 am to 9:00 pm).
Friday, January 16
Grupo Niche
Estrella Cenobio
Saturday, January 17
Tribute to the Unforgettable Santanera de Orlando Herrera
Valkyria Orchestra
Sunday, January 18
Heidy Infante y su Sonora
Fogones de México Festival 2026
- Venue: Campo Marte, Mexico City (Campo Marte Restaurant Area)
- Dates: January 16, 17, and 18, 2026
- Festival Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Festival Ticket: $599 (Includes 8 tastings, interactive pavilions, and a musical showcase, but does not include beverages).
Source: El Universal
