Latin America's public holidays in 2027 follow one pattern US teams miss: Easter is early. Holy Thursday is March 25 and Good Friday is March 26, so most of the region takes a long weekend near the end of your Q1. The second pattern is Colombia, which has 19 public holidays in 2027, 11 of them on a Monday, while the US federal list has 11 holidays and only three land on the same day as a Colombian one. Below are the 2027 dates by country, then how to plan around them.
Key Takeaways
- Semana Santa 2027 falls on March 25-26, so most of LATAM takes a long weekend in the second-to-last week of Q1.
- Colombia moves most holidays to Mondays and has 19 in 2027, including a new one in July.
- Some 2027 dates aren't final: Peru may move holidays to Mondays, and Argentina and Brazil haven't published everything.
- Put every engineer's holidays in one shared calendar in January and set release dates around the long weekends.
Mexico Public Holidays 2027
Jan 1, Mon Feb 1 (Constitution Day), Mon Mar 15 (Benito Juarez), May 1 (Sat), Sep 16, Mon Nov 15 (Revolution Day), Dec 25 (Sat). Three are fixed to Mondays by law. Holy Thursday and Good Friday aren't on the legal list of rest days, but many people take them off by custom, so ask rather than assume. Source: Mexico's labor-rights agency PROFEDET.
Colombia Public Holidays 2027
19 days: Jan 1, Jan 11, Mar 22, Mar 25, Mar 26, May 1 (Sat), May 10, May 31, Jun 7, Jul 5, Jul 12, Jul 20, Aug 7 (Sat), Aug 16, Oct 18, Nov 1, Nov 15, Dec 8, Dec 25 (Sat). Source: festivos.com.co.
Under Colombia's Ley Emiliani, most religious and civic holidays move to the following Monday. In June 2026 Colombia added July 9 (Our Lady of Chiquinquira) as a national holiday; in 2027 it's observed Monday July 12, as reported by Infobae. Any 2027 list showing 18 Colombian holidays is out of date.
Brazil Public Holidays 2027
Jan 1, Mar 26 (Good Friday), Apr 21, May 1 (Sat), Sep 7, Oct 12, Nov 2, Nov 15, Nov 20 (Sat), Dec 25 (Sat), plus Carnival Feb 8-9 and Corpus Christi May 27. Source: the ANBIMA calendar. Carnival and Corpus Christi are optional days (ponto facultativo) for the federal government, but banks and many cities close for Carnival, so expect most engineers to be out. Brazil's official federal list for 2027 isn't published yet; going by the 2026 list, expect it in late December.
Argentina Public Holidays 2027
Jan 1, Feb 8-9 (Carnival), Mar 24 (Memory Day), Mar 26 (Good Friday), Apr 2, May 1 (Sat), May 25, Jun 20 (Sun), Mon Jun 21, Jul 9, Mon Aug 16, Mon Oct 11, Dec 8, Dec 25 (Sat). Source: La Nacion. Carnival is a national holiday here. Holy Thursday (Mar 25) isn't on the holiday list, so ask your engineers how their employer handles it. Up to three tourist bridge days are set by decree late in the prior year, and the 2027 ones aren't announced. The Soberania Nacional holiday falls on Saturday, November 20, and it may still be moved by decree to the adjacent Monday or Friday.
Peru Public Holidays 2027
Under current law: Jan 1, Mar 25-26, May 1 (Sat), Jun 7, Jun 29, Jul 23, Jul 28-29, Aug 6, Aug 30, Oct 8, Nov 1, Dec 8, Dec 9, Dec 25. The government has proposed moving holidays that fall Tuesday through Friday to the nearest Monday, starting in 2027, as part of a request to Congress for legislative powers. As of late September 2026 it was still pending, per Infobae. Holy Week, Fiestas Patrias, Christmas and New Year would stay put.
Chile Public Holidays 2027
Jan 1, Mar 26-27, May 21, Jun 21, Jun 28, Jul 16, Sep 17-19, Oct 11, Nov 1, Dec 8, Dec 25. May 1, Aug 15 and Oct 31 are also holidays but fall on weekends. Fiestas Patrias runs Friday September 17 through the weekend. Source: feriados.cl.
For comparison, the US federal list from OPM observes Juneteenth on Friday June 18, Independence Day on Monday July 5, and Christmas on Friday December 24.
A Concrete Version
A US fintech has six engineers: three in Colombia, two in Argentina, one in Mexico. It plans a major release for the week of March 22, 2027, near the end of Q1.
That week is thin. Colombia is off Monday March 22 (St Joseph) and Thursday-Friday March 25-26. Argentina is off Wednesday March 24 and Good Friday. The Mexico engineer is probably out Thursday and Friday by custom. So five of six engineers are officially off on Good Friday, the sixth probably is too, and March 25-26 are two of the last five working days of the quarter.
The CTO moves the release to Tuesday, March 16. The Mexico engineer is off Monday March 15, so the team does final QA on Friday the 12th and ships Tuesday with everyone back. They also block February 8-9 for the two Argentine engineers and schedule nothing critical in Colombia on its 11 holiday Mondays. Planning time: one hour in January.
The Honest Counterpoint
More holidays can sound like less work. It mostly isn't. Colombia's 19 days look like a lot next to the US federal list, but US companies add their own days off, and many US employees take Christmas week. What differs is timing, and unplanned timing is what costs you.
A calendar also doesn't replace asking. Regional holidays, like Chile's regional days or city-level Carnival in Brazil, depend on where each engineer lives, and people take personal days around long weekends the way your US team does around Thanksgiving. Treat this list as the starting point. For the working-hours side of the same problem, see why time zone overlap is the number one remote hiring factor, and the country guides for Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Semana Santa in 2027?
Holy Thursday is March 25 and Good Friday is March 26, 2027, because Easter falls on March 28. It's a holiday in Colombia, Peru, Argentina (Good Friday), Chile (Friday and Saturday) and Brazil (Good Friday), and widely taken off in Mexico.
How many public holidays does Colombia have in 2027?
Nineteen, including the new Monday July 12 holiday, and 11 of them fall on a Monday because of the Ley Emiliani rule.
Do contract engineers in Latin America get paid for public holidays?
It depends on how they're engaged and your agreement. Ask your provider before you sign. This is general information, not legal advice. For coverage, how to manage a nearshore team covers splitting on-call across countries.
The Bottom Line
Latin America's 2027 holidays cost you almost nothing if you plan them in January and a release date if you don't. Put the dates in a shared calendar, keep critical work off March 22-26 and Carnival week, and recheck Peru, Argentina and Brazil in December. When you're ready to add engineers, Ruzora sends a vetted shortlist of senior LATAM engineers within 72 hours. See available engineers or read how we vet.
Roberto Espinoza is CEO of Ruzora, which helps US startups hire pre-vetted senior LATAM engineers, with a vetted shortlist in 72 hours. See available engineers.
