fireworks. The largest celebration of the year is that of the town's patron saint, the Archangel Michael. The angel's feast day is 29 September, but festivities take place for an entire week. Activities include private parties, sporting events, cultural events, indigenous dance and more. The week is popularly called the Fiestas de San Miguel de Allende. An event, now discontinued for safety concerns, was the "Sanmiguelada", a running of the bulls event similar to that in Pamplona. Youths fill the streets showing off their "matador" talents in front of the bulls. The finale is a parade through the street in honor of Michael and a fireworks "castle" competition to see who can build the most elaborate frame from which fireworks are lit.
Holy Week begins with a exhibition of altars dedicated to the Virgin of Sorrows and end with the Procession of Silence. Prior to the Procession of Silence, there is a reenactment of the judgment of Jesus by Pontius Pilate, on one side of the San Miguel Parish. Then the procession begins, which represents the fourteen scenes of the Passion before his crucifixion. Many of the townspeople participate in the event, with children dressed as angels and adults in period clothing carrying statues of Jesus. The procession winds its way along the main streets of the historic center completely in silence. Another large religious celebration is the feast of Nuestro Se�or de la Columna
There are also secular, cultural festivals during the year. The annual Festival de M�sica de C�mara or Chamber Music Festival occurs each year in August in the city's historic center. One of the purposes of the event is to bring this type of music to streets and other public venues as well as traditional concert halls such as the event's home of the Angela Peralta Theater. The 2009 edition had over 100 singers invited to various events, three major conferences, and instrument exhibition and ten classes taught by prominent persons in the field. Some of
