Colourful hot-air balloon festival - 10th August 2026

Hundreds of paper balloons have flown into the sky at Cantoya Fest. The festival's in Mexico's Michoacán region. More than 20,000 visitors came to its 10th anniversary.

These paper balloons are called 'cantoya'. The name comes from the country's first famous aeronaut. Don Joaquín de la Cantolla y Rico produced Mexico's first hot-air balloons. He also made toy balloons out of paper.

Local people started making paper balloons themselves. They became so popular that people started balloon-making competitions. This habit grew until master balloon makers set up Cantoya Fest.

Master balloon maker Raúl Dionisio Cortés is one of the organisers. He sees the beauty in the designs.

Raúl Dionisio Cortés: "The significance of creating a work of art using a paper balloon is something that only balloon makers can truly appreciate."

The balloons are made by local and national teams. This year, these teams include 17 international guests. They've come to the festival from Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, France and Italy.

There's a friendly energy, says competition judge Jorge Alberto Belmont.

Jorge Alberto Belmont: "It's a 100 percent family-friendly event that brings people together. It's really lovely. For us, it's a traditional toy, but that traditional toy brings families and friends together. Even though there's a competition among the balloon groups, everyone comes together to support one another and get their balloons to fly."

Cantoya Fest's asked teams to go big this year. Their task was to make their dreams fly high.

In the local P'urhépecha language, the town's name is 'place of happiness'. Visitors enjoyed seeing these balloons flying into the sky.