Aside from providing a useful way to remember important dates, this calendar also reveals interesting facts and patterns in the national holidays of our region: did you know that Christmas is also designated as Day of the Family in Uruguay, or that while many Latin American countries celebrate Army and Navy Days, Costa Rica celebrates Abolition of the Army Day? Other interesting facts are that Puerto Rico has an American Citizenship Day; this month Cuba designated the region’s most recent holiday, People’s Effort Day; and Children’s Day is a national day off in Brazil and Uruguay. Universally celebrated holidays are New Year’s Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Christmas, and the encounter between native peoples and Europeans (previously Columbus Day), now known as Day of the Races (Dia de la Raza) or other similar designations. Labor Day is also celebrated in all countries (on or around May 1st in most; in September in the U.S. and Puerto Rico).
2024 will witness important political developments: presidential elections will take place in the United States, which has approximately 34.5 million Latino voters. Six Latin American nations - El Salvador, Panama, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela – will also choose their new President, while Brazil and Chile will hold key municipal elections. Other key international events include the soccer Copa America, to take place in various U.S. cities, and the G-20 Summit to be hosted by Brazil.
January
1st: New Year’s Day, National Holiday in all countries (celebrated as Liberation Day/Triumph of the Revolution Day in Cuba)
2nd: Victory Day, Cuba
3rd: People’s Effort Day, Cuba
6th: Epiphany/Three Kings Day, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and most Hispanic America (also designated Children’s Day in Uruguay)
8th: Epiphany Holiday, Colombia
9th: Martyr’s Day, Panama
15th: Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday, USA, Puerto Rico
21st: Our Lady of Altagracia Day, Dominican Republic
22nd: Plurinational State Foundation Day, Bolivia
29th: Juan Pablo Duarte Day, Dominican Republic
February
4th: General elections -Presidency and Legislative Assembly, El Salvador
5th: Constitution Day, Mexico
12th-13th: Carnival, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela (extends to the 14th in Brazil; only on the 13th in Panama)
19th: President’s Day, USA, Puerto Rico (Also National Heroes’ Day in Puerto Rico)
27th: Independence Day, Dominican Republic
March
1st: National Heroes Day, Paraguay
2nd: American Citizenship Day, Puerto Rico
3rd: Election of Mayors and Municipal Councils, El Salvador
11th: National Heroes and Benefactors Day, Belize
18th: Benito Juarez’ Birthday, Mexico
22nd: Emancipation Day, Puerto Rico
24th: Memorial Day/Truth and Justice Day, Argentina
25th: St Joseph's Day, Colombia
28th: Maundy Thursday/Good Thursday (National/Public Holiday in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela; a widely-observed Bank Holiday in Mexico and Panama)
29th: Good Friday (National/Public Holiday in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico)
30th: Holy Saturday (National/Public Holiday in Belize, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras)
31st: Easter Sunday (National Holiday in all countries)
April
1st: Easter Monday, Belize
2nd: Day of the Veterans/Malvinas Day, Argentina
11th: Juan Santamaria Day/Battle of Rivas, Costa Rica
14th: Americas' Day/Panamerican Day, Honduras
19th: Declaration of Independence, Venezuela
21st: Tiradentes Day, Brazil
22nd: Landing of the 33 Patriots Day, Uruguay
29th: Labor Day, Belize
29th: Labor Day, Dominican Republic
May
1st: Labor Day (National/Public Holiday in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Cuba)
3rd: Labor Day, Ecuador
5th: General elections – Presidency, National Assembly, Panama
5th: Battle of Puebla/Cinco de Mayo, Mexico (local public holiday, widely observed)
10th: Mother’s Day, El Salvador and Guatemala (in Guatemala, only working mothers get a day off)
12th: Mother’s Day, Puerto Rico
13th: Ascension Day, Colombia
14th – 15th: Independence Day and Extended Holiday, Paraguay
18th: Battle of Las Piedras Holiday, Uruguay
19th: General elections – Presidency, Senate, Chamber of Deputies, Dominican Republic
21st: Navy Day, Chile
24th: Battle of Pichincha Holiday, Ecuador
25th: May 1810 Revolution Day, Argentina
27th: Memorial Day, USA and Puerto Rico
30th: Corpus Christi Day, Brazil, Bolivia, Dominican Republic
30th: Mother’s Day, Nicaragua
June
2nd: General Election Day – Presidency, Senate, Chamber of Deputies, Mexico
3rd: Corpus Christi Holiday, Colombia
7th: Battle of Arica and Flag Day, Peru
10th: Sacred Heart Day, Colombia
12th: Chaco Armistice Day, Paraguay
17th: Martín Miguel de Guemes Day, Argentina
17th: Father’s Day, El Salvador
19th: José Artigas' Birthday, Uruguay
20th: Flag Day, Argentina
20th: National Day of Indigenous Peoples, Chile
21st: Aymara/Andean New Year, Bolivia
24th: Battle of Carabobo, Venezuela
29th: Saint Peter and Saint Paul Day, Chile
29th: St Peter and St Paul Day, Peru
20th June – 14th July: CONMEBOL Copa America 2024, various cities in the United States.
Notes and Sources
Note: This calendar includes all holidays designated as National, Government and Public Holidays, and a few essential, widely observed Bank Holidays. It includes the United States and all countries in Latin America, understood as countries with Spanish, Portuguese and French roots located in the Americas and the Caribbean. It excludes Suriname and Guyana in South America and the English-speaking nations of the Caribbean, which are all commonly considered to be part of the West Indies.
Public Holidays Global, at https://publicholidays.la/
Time and Date Holidays, at https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/
Office Holidays, at https://www.officeholidays.com/countries
TIME magazine,
https://time.com/6550920/world-elections-2024/
Americas Society/Council of the Americas, A Guide to 2024 Latin American Elections, at https://www.as-coa.org/content/guide-2024-latin-american-elections
