There are currently two groups of Matachines who participate in the festival of the Virgin de Guadalupe on December 12. The older of the two groups is the Grupo Guadalupana, known affectionately as "Las Friacas", so named for the nickname of the founder of the group. It might be noted that the members do not particularly like that name, since it is actually a perjorative term, but everyone insists on calling them that anyway. They are mostly from the poor neighborhoods near downtown, such as "El Camizal", and they are known as a group of matachines of the poor. They have been in existance at least since the 1940's, when they were founded as part of a movement to reestablish some of the traditons that had been erased or driven underground during the inticlerical regime of president Putarco Elias Calles, who suppressed the Church and fought a bloody civil war in the state of Jalisco against the Catholic Cristero movement, whose battle cry was "Viva Criso Rey!".

The other group was more recently founded and is more closely associated with the local church administration, the Parroquia de Nuestro Senor Jesus Nazareno. This group actually danced in all ten peregrinaciones this year. It is known as the Grupo Lupita.

The banner of the matachines group known as Grupo Lupita

The Grupo Guadalupana danced all day on December 10, starting in the morning, where is conducted special dances for its sponsors at different locations around town, finally concluding its last dance after 10 PM at the Templo de Guadalupe in the Colonia Porfilio Ornelas in the Southwest section of the city.

The banner of the matachines group known as Grupo Guadalupana