Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Through April 10th, Plaza Caracol is hosting the indigenous people "Wixaritari of Tateikie" from San Andrés Cohamiata, Jalisco, who came down from the mountains to share their culture with the people of Puerto Vallarta during the 6th Annual Wixaritari Tateikie Indigenous Festival.

While so many things in this country are constantly changing and evolving, the indigenous peoples of Mexico carry on living the way they did thousands of years ago. The Wixaritari people (known by their Spanish name "Huichol") is a Mexican Indigenous group that has managed to jealously retain their culture predating the Spanish conquest.

Filling the modern shopping mall with the color, magic and mysticism, the Festival Indigena Wixaritari offers everyone the opportunity to sample the richness of this ancient tribe and to learn more about the age-old customs of the Huichol people through traditional cultural demonstrations such as:

• Wixarika Art Exhibits
• Traditional and Regional Music
• Wixaritari Dance and Song Rituals
• Traditional Ceremonies
• Photographs
• Cultural and Academic Forums

Every evening at 7:00 pm, there is a time dedicated to traditional regional music through lively Mariachi Wixárika compositions with strong pre-Hispanic elements.

On Sunday, April 10 at 6:00 pm, two of the most representative ritual ceremonies of their agricultural calendar will be presented: the Ceremonia del Hikuri Neixa (Peyote Dance) and the Tatei Neixa (Drum Festival).

During the Drum Festival adults and children perform a mystical pilgrimage tour, with songs and dances to the sacred place of Wirikuta, Real de Catorce. Their faces are painted Wixárika Uxa, a yellow paint which only adheres to the skin if they are an honorable Wixárika.

The peyote ceremony celebrates the arrival of the pilgrims who arrive at the holy site to collect Hikuri Wirikuta or peyote. When it is ready, they celebrate the harvest of maize, which is also a celebration of gratitude and rest, which marks the end of fasting, abstinence and work. It is a joyous holiday and leisure in which satisfaction and gratitude is expressed by many means.

Don't miss your opportunity to get a glimpse into the rich ancestral customs and cultures of Mexico, while providing the The Indigenous Community of Tateikié Wixarika with a means of livelihood that encourages them to maintain and preserve their cultural and spiritual identity.

Be sure to stop by Plaza Caracol in Puerto Vallarta between now and April 10th, 2011 for the 6th Annual Wixaritari Tateikie Indigena Festival.