Sierra Madre

The unofficial closing anthem of Oktoberfest, "Sierra Madre" creates the festival's most magical and emotional moment. Particularly iconic in the Hacker-Pschorr tent (Himmel der Bayern), this 1970 song by Wolfgang Roloff and Hans Hee, popularized by Zillertaler Schürzenjager in 1987, transforms the festival's end into pure magic. As the final night approaches, tent lights dim and staff distribute thousands of sparklers. The crowd sings "Sierra, Sierra Madre del Sur" while waving glittering lights, creating a galaxy effect. The mountains in the lyrics become a metaphor for the festival itself - something beautiful observed at sunrise and sunset, reflecting on time's swift passage. This poignant ritual acknowledges that all good things must pass, uniting thousands in a final moment of Gemütlichkeit as the sparklers transform the massive tent into a constellation of shared memories.