Ride with Don Pilar!
La Cabalgata Highlands Tequila Tour
Our newest tour offering will take guests on a journey, literally and figuratively, through Highlands Tequila culture.
La Cabalgata History
Cabalgatas (or cavalcades) are traditional Mexican processions on horseback. They are proud expressions of Mexican cowboy culture and religious faith. This particular Cabalgata is held every year on the last Saturday of January. Los jinetes (or horsemen) ride out in the morning from San José de Gracia, a small pueblo in the Highlands of Jalisco. Their trek winds for 30 kilometers through cobblestone roads and countryside and ends at El Sanctuario del Señor de Los Imposibles, a small chapel renowned for its miraculous Christ figure.
The chapel’s story dates back to the 1920s and the Cristero rebellion which was fiercely fought in the Highlands. The Catholic Church and its faith were challenged by the Mexican government (apparently over taxation). Mass was banned, priests were hung from trees, and the faithful rose up against the government. The Cristero fighters led the revolt, and skirmishes were especially heated in the Highlands. The chapel commemorates a famous battle where a small band of Cristeros were able to fight off a large force of government soldiers. The Cristeros were accompanied by a wooden Christ on a crucifix, to whom they attributed their fortune during the fight. Since then, faithful locals from surrounding towns regularly visit the chapel to give thanks to El Señor de Los Imposibles for cures and recoveries that He has bestowed on them.
Our Tour
Come be a part of this incredible celebration. The first full day will be in many ways a quintessential Spirit of Jalisco Tequila Distillery Tour, where we will visit the ranch and agave fields of Don Pilar Tequila (see video), followed by a lunch and tasting at its distillery, just a short drive up the road. Then, the following day, we will rise early on the morning, and head back to San José de Gracia, where each guest will be partnered up with a horse from Don Pilar’s stables (don’t worry, they will be friendly). Once saddled, we will strike out towards El Señor de los Imposibles with about 700 other jinetes involved in the Cabalgata. Stopping only in San Ignacio del Cerro Gordo for a quick bite, each participant will get to drink in the scenary, tradition, culture and of course, Tequila.
Upon reaching El Señor de los Imposibles, the group will experience a beautiful outdoor mass, followed by a lively fiesta in the nearby cactus orchard, with food, drinks and music. Once that is over, we will all head back to San Ignacio for a another local festival that will be taking place.
Click here to learn more about La Cabalgata and how you can ride with Don Pilar!
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