Last month, Stories from México brought a celebration of Mexican creativity to Dublin, inviting audiences to explore the stories, traditions, and shared cultural ties that connects our two nations. Staged across The Devlin Cinema and The Sugar Club on 5th and 7th September 2026, the festival was brought to life by a passionate team of volunteers with a shared vision: to create a cultural bridge between the two nations. Photographer and journalist Ana Paula Zazueta reports.
[Featured image by Ana Paula Zazueta @pausephotography.ie]
In Mexico, September is our independence month, a time when our shared pride runs deep. Growing up there, we would recite the Juramento a la Bandera (Pledge of Allegiance), promising to always be faithful, standing at attention with hands over our hearts as the national anthem played. Only those who earned the highest distinction were chosen to carry the flag during monthly ceremonies. For me, being that chosen one always felt like holding the weight and pride of the nation itself.
Stories from México transported me back to those moments, reminding me that home can be found even thousands of miles away. Discovering an arts festival that champions cultural recognition and celebration was a powerful reminder of the importance of seeing our stories represented, and of what we can achieve when communities in the diaspora come together to support, celebrate, and uplift one another.
Where It All Began
The idea for Stories from México took root when Zoé Rodríguez Sánchez identified a gap: Mexican short filmmakers frequently struggle to find an international audience for their work. Seeking to bridge this divide, she envisioned a dedicated showcase in Ireland. As she explained:
"One of the biggest struggles for independent filmmakers is distributing their films both inside and outside Mexico. It would be amazing if there were a platform in Ireland for projects made with at least one Mexican team member." United by a shared vision to bridge this gap, Zoé Rodríguez Sánchez, Alexis Paola Estrada Ramírez, Viry Serrano, Carolina Miyasaka, and Carolina Hernández de Toledo joined forces to build Stories from México from the ground up.
The festival team was certainly excited to provide a platform for Mexican filmmakers and creatives, but ultimately their main aim is to create meaningful connections between cultures. The hope is to bring the local community and artists in Ireland together through storytelling. And there is so much on offer: for us, it is a taste of home, while for Irish audiences, it is an invitation to delve deeper and discover the many layers of Mexican identity – its contradictions, complexities, struggles and resilience.
A World of Stories Unfolds
This selection of short films gave a glimpse into the breadth and diversity of Mexican creativity. Covering deeply personal experiences, cultural traditions, pressing social issues and fantastical worlds, the selection presented a rich tapestry of contemporary Mexican cinema. Three films, in particular, captured this range.
First, the weight of the past came into focus in the animated film I Promise You Violence, directed by Juan María León, which asks viewers to confront the lasting trauma of memory. Moving from the personal to the social, the documentary The Invisible Ones, directed by Jesús Tiscareño, brought the realities of city life to the screen, focusing on Dublin’s food-delivery couriers and their struggle for dignity.
The programme then shifted from documentary realism to comedy with The Invisible Shield, directed by Maximilian Barrón. Using humour as a lens for social commentary, the film explores digital nomadism, gentrification and the fear of eviction – challenges that resonate in both Ireland and Mexico.
A Festival for the Senses
Beyond the screen, Stories from México offered plenty more to explore, with a compelling art exhibition showcasing visual artists whose work engages with themes of identity, folklore and migration. Among the works on display was Manuel Ruelas’s Pal’ Norte.
This piece, Pal’ Norte, suggests that the migrants' journey is not merely physical but deeply spiritual and cultural. Ruelas illustrates that when crossing the border or traversing the desert, individuals do not travel alone; they carry their gods and their folklore.
This broader theme of carrying one’s roots across borders was woven throughout the programme, finding further expression in the festival’s culinary offerings. Recognising that food and drink are essential nourishment for our demanding soul and a vital part of our culture, every ticket included traditional beverages such as horchata and agua de jamaica. The drinks were accompanied by street food tostadas from Chilangos, along with nachos made with Garnacha salsa and Blanco Niño premium corn. The food was fantastic, with authentic flavours that attendees clearly appreciated. For so many of us, it was a welcome taste of home.
Keeping the energy high, guests also participated in a Lotería tournament, a traditional Mexican game of chance, similar to bingo, and winners got to claim a refreshing Michelada prize provided by Chido Beer.
The highlight of the evening, however, was when Calpulli Mictlán took the stage. This Aztec ceremonial dance group, dedicated to preserving heritage through ritual movement, traditional music, and sacred attire, held the room spellbound; the audience was captivated by the power of their presence and performance.
Writer and stand-up comedian Conor Ryan took the stage with sharp humour to explore the connections between our two countries.
As the evening concluded, the sense of camaraderie in the room was palpable. The night reached a perfect finale with rock tunes by the Irish-Mexican cover band Dëmõis, whose performance of Liquits’ song Desde Que beautifully captured the evening’s spirit. Their lyrics go: “Since you’ve been with me, everything shines with another colour.”
Stories from México is a multi-sensory experience that invited everyone in the room to see, taste, smell, hear and laugh together alongside the traditions and perspectives that shape Mexican culture and connect us with Ireland.
For those of us living in the diaspora, a festival like this offers a chance to see ourselves reflected in all our complexity – in our colour, richness and contradictions. This essence is captured well by Guillermo del Toro’s words at the premiere of his film Frankenstein: “The way we see art in Mexico is with two hands and two balls. We don’t have digital resources, damn it, but we have the craftsmanship, the artistry, the vision, the colour, the texture. I’m not going to film like a first-world director, even if I’m in the first world. The ingenuity, the way to make something look bigger, more beautiful, more magnificent, that’s all Mexican instinct.”
Looking Ahead
After months of hard work bringing the festival to life, the organising team reflected on their ambitions for the future: "We would love to have more editions in the future, always with a cultural focus in which we share our traditions as Mexicans, but also in which we give a space for Irish culture to be shown in Ireland and Mexico without the stereotypes that are constantly related to them, and allowing the Irish and Mexican artists to show and tell the stories they feel is more important to share as societies.
We believe that both countries have a rich culture and share similarities, which is why we can identify with one another, and that’s also the reason why we would love to create interest between both countries to actively collaborate in different art forms and create new pieces together; hopefully, in the coming years, it would be big enough to create interest in other cultures to actively form bonds and collaborations with Irish and Mexican artists to open the borders a bit.
We are currently talking with some people in Mexico to create a showcase of Stories from México once every two months in a cinema to present the projects we selected and some of the semi-finalists too. In that way, we would be able to share more incredible pieces and give the opportunity to Irish and international artists to show their work in Mexico and give them more visibility and recognition, so hopefully that will reflect in a positive way in their future careers as filmmakers."
In Mexico, carrying our flag is a powerful expression of pride and belonging. What is wonderful about Stories from México is how it offers another way to carry that pride with us in our new home. This festival offers much more than fun, food, films and fabulous performances; it brings our Irish and New Irish communities together with a celebration of creativity, culture and heritage. At a time when division can feel increasingly prevalent, creating a space for stories rooted in shared experiences, identity and our common humanity is more important than ever.
Make sure to follow the festival for updates, behind-the-scenes content, and for future events on Instagram as @storiesfrommexicoie and Facebook @StoriesFromMexico
Special Thanks
The wonderful team behind Stories from México wanted to stress how the festival belonged to its contributors and audience, extending heartfelt credit to the multidisciplinary artists whose films, paintings, illustrations, and music formed the core of the showcase, as well as the attendees who filled the rooms across both dates to champion Mexican culture. They shared how the initiative’s success relied entirely on a network of dedicated collaborators. Behind the scenes, counsel from Josué Zumaya of Abbey Blue Group proved vital in establishing the project's operational and financial footing, while Ronan Burke provided an atmospheric opening venue at The Devlin Cinema.
The festival's welcoming atmosphere was made possible by the support of local businesses and creative partners: Andrea from Garnacha, Blanco Niño, Nidia, Enrique, and Shai from Chilangos managed catering and attendee discounts, and Joe Donnelly provided Chido beers for traditional welcome micheladas. On stage, host Gera anchored the programme bilingually, flanked by live sets from Boleritos, Dëmõis, and Calpulli Mictlán.
