Today, at the 13th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Port Louis, Mauritius, "La Romería (the pilgrimage): ritual cycle of La llevada (the carrying) of the Virgin of Zapopan" was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This religious and cultural event--which takes place in the municipalities that make up the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, mainly Zapopan, and Lake Chapala in the state of Jalisco--is one of the most popular and strongly-rooted traditions in western Mexico. Its spirit reflects solidarity, dialogue and respect for diversity. This ritual cycle, which takes place every year in Jalisco from May to October, ends on October 12 with the pilgrimage of the statue of the Virgin of Zapopan, Our Lady of Expectation, to various neighborhoods, parishes, hospitals, markets, factories, schools and jails, ending at the cathedral in Guadalajara. The Virgin is accompanied on the almost 9-kilometer journey by dances, music, prayers and fireworks. More than 30,000 dancers take part, as do about two million pilgrims, whose families have kept the tradition alive for about the past 300 years.
La Romería (the pilgrimage) was inscribed as intangible cultural heritage for having met the following criteria: oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; and traditional craftsmanship. The inscription was made possible with the invaluable assistance of the Ministry of Culture, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the Government of Jalisco and local communities.
It reaffirms Mexico's status as a cultural power, with ten entries on the UNESCO Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices:
- Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead (2008)
- Ritual ceremony of the Voladores (2009)
- Places of memory and living traditions of the Otomí-Chichimecas people of Tolimán: the Peña de Bernal, guardian of a sacred territory (2009)
- Traditional Mexican cuisine - ancestral, ongoing community culture, the Michoacán paradigm (2010)
- Parachicos in the traditional January feast of Chiapa de Corzo (2010)
- Pirekua, traditional song of the P'urhépecha (2010)
- Mariachi, string music, song and trumpet (2011)
- Xtaxkgakget Makgkaxtlawana: the Center for Indigenous Arts and its contribution to safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage of the Totonac people of Veracruz, Mexico (2012) - Register of Good Safeguarding Practices
- Charrería, equestrian tradition in Mexico
- La Romería (the pilgrimage): ritual cycle of 'La llevada' (the carrying) of the Virgin of Zapopan (2018)