May: Recognized as the "Marian Month," when local Catholics exalt the Virgin Mary at a special Mass in a different church each Sunday. The month also commemorates the discovery of the Holy Cross by St. Helen (mother of the Emperor Constantine the Great) in Jerusalem. Pre-hispanic rituals of vigils, cleansings and dances are observed throughout the area, most notably the neighborhoods of El Chorro, Guadiana, Valle del Maíz, Ojo de Agua, La Palmita, San Francisco de la Cuevitas, San Juan del Obraje and Tecolote. Crosses are carried to churches around town. 

Monday, May 1 (Legal Holiday): Día del Trabajo (Labor Day). Labor unions throughout the world (except the United States) march-and frequently resort to violence-for better working conditions. The international workers day was created in memory of a strike (demanding an eight-hour day) by 400,000 workers in Chicago on May 1, 1886. Trade union organizers were accused of throwing a bomb at police trying to break up the demonstration. Four were executed, one killed himself in prison and three were pardoned after six years in jail. Workers and union members parade in El Centro to mark the day locally.

May 1: A special Mass is said in honor of San José Obrero y Artesano (St. Joseph Worker and Artisan).

May 1: Día de Santa Paciencia (St. Patience). It's already an official holiday; wait until tomorrow to accomplish something.

May 3: Día de Santa Cruz (Holy Cross Day). A de facto labor day for the construction trades. The Feast of Santa Cruz begins with albañiles (construction workers) taking altars and crosses to be blessed at a morning mass before erecting them (many festooned with real or artificial flowers) at construction sites where work comes to a halt for the day. Foreigners many times are taken by surprise, but employers should plan ahead to provide food and refreshments. Outside of San Miguel de Allende, miraculous crosses and crucifixes are hailed in the communities of Calderón, Cieneguita and Guerrero. In 1960, Pope John XXIII ordered that The Day of the Discovery of the Holy Cross be stricken from Catholic liturgical calendars in favor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14. Mexican clergy refused, petitioned Rome; The Vatican surrendered rather than pursue a nasty fight.

May 5: Cinco de Mayo. A small group of Mexican soldiers routed a French battalion twice its size near the city of Puebla in 1862. The army of Napoleon III, at the services of Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, returned on May 16 and defeated the Mexican forces. On April 15, 1867, the forces of President Benito Juárez (led by Gen. Porfirio Díaz) vanquished the French in Puebla. The day is marked locally at a block party on Cinco de Mayo street with bands, food and children's' activities.