The Nao Festival Celebrates the Rich History of Acapulco

Acapulco is known as a great tourist destination for fun on the beach and in the waves. It is also a fantastic place to plan parties and nights out on the town. Visitors are also learning that Acapulco has a rich heritage as the Pacific Coast’s main port of call for all the galleons that sailed from China and the Philippines with spices, silks and other rare treasures destined for Spain. Trade continued for nearly 250 years, from 1565 until just afterMexican Independence, which terminated the commercial relationships.

Even though the citadel at Acapulco had been built 50 years earlier, trade was not possible until mariners discovered winds and currents that would bring the vessels back home from the Orient. An Acapulco resident and Augustinian friar named Andrés de Urdaneta made the discovery while sailing as a ship´s captain in the fleet of Miguel López de Legazpi from Cebu City in the Philippines back home to New Spain. Urdaneta figured that the trade winds in the Pacific would be circular, as they are in the Atlantic, and he was right. Heading very far to the north, he finally found the conditions that would bring the vessel back home. His landfall was in Alta California. He then descended the coast nearly 1,500 nautical miles to Acapulco. Few crewmembers survived the long trip, as the detour caused them to run out of supplies while still on the high seas.

As a result of Urdaneta's discovery, commerce blossomed between Acapulco and the Orient. Several large merchant ships (each called a “Nao,” the old Spanish term for “vessel”) made two round trips each year from Manila and the Chinese mainland to Acapulco. Each leg of the journey took almost two months. When a “Nao” was due to arrive in port, even the Viceroy of New Spain would make the rough, two-week journey from Mexico City to the docks of Acapulco, just to greet the captain and crew. Most of the merchandise would be packed overland to Veracruz on the Gulf Coast, where it would continue by sea to Spain. In Acapulco, a ship’s arrival was always an excuse for a big party and much rejoicing.

This celebratory tradition has been revived in Acapulco’s annual “Festival de la Nao.” This ten-day event celebrates Acapulco’s historical link between Spain, on one side of the world, and the countries of the Orient on the other. Now in its third year, the Festival brings together artists and performers from Spain and the Philippines, and from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Mexico itself. There is much music, dancing, and -- of course -- eating. The event is highlighted by several shows and presentations, such as folk dance, ballet and theater. Naturally, the politicians and diplomats also get into the act, but the speeches are few and the enjoyment for tourists and other visitors is great. Acapulco locals also enjoy the festival, in the same way that they have been extending a warm welcome to visitors from all parts of the world since the 16th century.

The Nao Festival starts in early November of each year, the birth month of Frey Urdaneta, the man whose discovery made the silk and spice trade possible. As of July, the events calendar for 2009 is still in the making. The official web site of the City of Acapulco (acapulco.gob.mx) should be uploading information by mid-August. Visitors planning to arrive at the end of October or in early November should get in touch with the concierge desk in the hotel where they plan to stay, or check back at the link to RealAcapulco in the Author’s section. As soon as the schedule for the Nao Festival becomes official, we’ll put it on the site.