Dia de los Muertos
Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos: Day of the Dead
The Book of Prayers tells us ‘In the midst of life, we are in death’. Nowhere is this truer than in Mexico, where La Muerte, Lady Death, serves as a continual wellspring for art, humor and daily conversation. The Mexican people’s ‘fearless intimacy’ with death is best illustrated on November 1 and 2, Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead.
Actually, it’s two days. November 1 is Angelitos, Little Angels, a day to remember children that have died. November 2 is dedicated to those who died as adults. The tradition is a Catholicized version of an ancient month-long festival of death celebrated by the Aztecs. Similar celebrations for ‘All Saints’ and ‘All Souls’ days occur in some Catholic countries and Día de los Muertos survives in various forms in parts of Central America and the United States, but in Mexico it’s widespread.
Traditions vary from region to region, but generally families celebrate by cleaning and decorating the graves of their deceased loved ones, or building altars for them in their homes. Graves and altars are decorated with ofrendas, offerings of sugar skulls, colored candles, marigolds and sweet, round or skull-shaped pan de muerto (bread of the dead). Toys, liquor, religious statues and the pictures and favorite foods of the deceased are also common ofrendas.
If you’re anywhere in Mexico during the Day of the Dead, you’re sure to catch a celebration. Most towns and cities hold colorful parades or street festivals in their central markets or zócalos (plazas or squares). Music, dancing, costumes, flowers, food and ofrendas abound, and the effect is beautiful and uplifting rather than morbid. There are a few places, however, especially in the south of Mexico, where Day of the Dead celebrations amount to an unforgettable experience.
Michoacan
The Purpecha Indians of the state of Michoacan state, resistant to the Spanish conquest and its resulting dissolution of native culture, celebrate the Day of the Dead much as they have for thousands of years. It is rumored that in some isolated communities, families actually still exhume their loved ones from the grave in order to share a Dia de los Muertos feast with them, but in most communities this practice has been replaced with a symbolic family feast around the gravesite.
Possibly the most famous destination for travelers to Mexico during the festival is the Island of Janitzio, on Lago de Pátzcuaro. This small island receives thousands of visitors over the two-day celebration, visitors arriving on launches from the mainland, carrying ofrendas, cameras and musical instruments, depending on their connection to the place.
It’s difficult to imagine a more serene, surreal place to be when the souls of the dead and the living celebrate together. The lake itself is gorgeous: placid, shining, lined with tall reeds and dotted with traditional fishing boats whose butterfly nets take on the aspect of wings as daylight fails. The island is decorated from tip to shore in flowers and fruits, its streets lines with merchant stalls, manned by women and children in traditional Indian dress.
As in every community, the primary celebration takes place in Janitzio’s cemetery, perched high enough on the island that the view of the lake and boats in the distance rival that of the lovingly, gorgeously decorated tombs. Bands play in honor of the most recently deceased, men chant hauntingly and women and children hold vigil through the night.
Traditional dances are also part of Janitzio’s Day of the Dead celebrations, including the Dance of the Old Men. The fishermen also perform a dance of sorts, rowing their torch-lit boats through the water in beautiful, elaborate patterns.
Witnesses to these rituals come away believers. There remains no doubt that spirits do indeed visit the world of the living for these two days, for they are both seen and felt in the magical celebrations.
While Janitzio is the primary Day of the Dead destination for tourists, rituals carried out there are typical of the region. For a more intimate experience, visit any small community in Michoacan. Just be sure to learn and follow the mores of the area, out of respect for both the living and the dead. For a slightly more raucous – and slightly less poignant – Day of the Dead celebration, visit the historic downtown of Morelia, Michoacan’s capital city.
Other Destinations
In the city and towns of Oaxaca, Day of the Dead is particularly colorful. Graveyard vigils begin quietly as families make their pilgrimages and set up ofrendas, but soon meditation gives way to a festival atmosphere of music, dancing, colorful paper-maché puppets and even fireworks. Even Oaxaca’s Day of the Dead preparations are wonderful, as businesses and market stalls go all out on decorations, flowers, food and other ofrendas.
The village of Mixquic has been geographically swallowed by Mexico City, but retains much of its own traditional culture. The village holds a grand street fair from October 30 to November 2 each year, full with typical ofrendas and decorations. During Angelitos, children go from house to house for goodies much as they do in the US and Canada, but they receive food in exchange for prayers, rather than candy for wearing costumes. The most striking aspects of Mixquic’s festivities are the sight of thousands of candles lighting the way for the dead and the celebratory, all-inclusive cemetery feast.
No matter where you are in Mexico during the Day of the Dead, you’ll come away with an expanded understanding of this lively and wonderful culture’s loving relationship with Lady Death. If you’ve been open, perhaps your own outlook will have changed. In life we really are in death but – as we learn in Mexico – that’s cause for celebration, not for despair.