The festival is intimately linked to the marinera norteña, which is always danced by a couple, waving a handkerchief in the air to keep time. T
he festival features various tournaments demonstrating the regional variations of this dance.
During the week-long festival, streets and homes fill with decorations, floats are paraded through the city, and troupes of schoolchildren dance through the streets, led by the beauty queen of the spring pageant.
The beauty queen is always flanked by drum majorettes who travel here from all over the world to show off their skills.