Currently taking over the urban municipality of Tultepec is Mexico's National Pyrotechnic Festival: an extravaganza of explosives (the city is home to more than 50% of Mexico's hand-crafted fireworks production) that attracts more than 100,000 people every year and spans nine eardrum-busting days in March. Originally a celebration in honor of San Juan de Dios (the patron saint of fireworks – why can't the U.S. have one of those?), the event morphed into what it is today in 1989 when it was proposed as a way to bring tourism and sales to Tultepec – which it does, in spades.

Now, the on-fire fest features a pamplonada, a blazing spin on the running of the bulls, wherein some 250 toritos — intricate bull-shaped frames festooned with fireworks—are paraded with great fanfare through the streets of Tultepec for as many as six hours. There's also the contest of castillos, 80- to 100-foot-tall constructions of castles that whirr, slide, zoom and spin when lit, and burn for as long as half an hour. There are also musical performances filled with pyrotechnics displays, naturally.

Below are stunning portraits from the festival in 2014, captured expertly by photographer Porter Yates – a brilliant visual documentarian of cultures, subcultures and traditions across the globe.

All photos courtesy of Porter Yates