I have to confess that it wasn’t too many years ago that I was creeped out by Día de Los Muertos. It seemed morbid, with its Catrinas, sugar coffins, dancing skeletons, and all manner of what appeared to be ghoulish things. But that view, alas, was born of ignorance. Fortunately, I was enlightened after I met F and spent a few Días de Los Muertos in DF. There I learned that it was a remembrance and celebration of loved ones lost to death. But these departed aren’t somber and depressed. No. They are often depicted as partying and living it up, in true Mexican style. This spirit is captured well by a poem I found on an ofrenda along Reforma. (I’ve done my best to translate, but it’s a bit rough as you can see.)
Las pelonas montones al Zócalo llegaron ya,
Con la sorpresa en el rostro de que ambulantes no hay.
Vente mi carnal Marcelo, a echar rumba y chupar.
La Catrina y el Catrín, cuanta rumba ya se traen.
Su querido Centro Histórico, cuantos recuerdos les trae.
El erotismo de cuevas en el Zócalo se siente.
Escondan a las calacas que a enamorarlas el viene.
In the Zócalo the crowd of skulls has now arrived with faces of surprise,
As there are no living strollers.
Come my buddy Marcelo, let us drink and dance.
The Catrina and the Catrín, oh how they still can move,
As their beloved Zócalo brings back a rush of memories.
The eroticism of the tomb is felt here in the Zócalo,
As it hides amongst the skeletons,
It comes to make them
fall in love again.
So may we all pause to remember our loved ones in their prime, happy, dancing, laughing, and drinking. And may their death be as rich and beautiful as this special Mexican tradition suggests.
So I dedicate this post to the memory of my grandparents, my great aunt, and the various friends I’ve lost through the years.
You are gone, but not forgotten. May you dance forevermore in the afterlife.
Love, Kim
Images of Día de Los Muertos that I’ve shot around various places in Mexico City.
El Gringo Suelto 
Any event that issues forth such color would never equate to creepy. Excellent photos Amigo!
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Well, as I said, the initial reaction was due to ignorance, so once cured of that, I saw the light and the marvellous colors. Thanks for the kind words on the photos. Since I took them, it has become even more colorful here in Boston. Today we got our first taste of winter, with last night’s temps in the upper 20’s and a high for today of about 35. Saludos.
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Halloween creeps me out. Always thought Day of the Dead which is a remembrance thing was a ‘nicer’ holiday. The altars with the ‘likes’ of the deceased is a grand idea. Viva Mexico!
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Now that I know about Day of the Dead, I TOTALLY agree that it’s a much nicer holiday. Halloween has become an enormous party over the last twenty years, and not too much about the spooky any more. One of the more hilarious things about this Halloween was the number of kids on the sidewalk below my house who audibly debated whether they were too scared to ring my bell. I did have torches burning along the steps, lots of fake spiderweb, 3 electric pumpkins plus one real one, a bas-relief of a scary, glow-in-the-dark skull on the door, and creepy music wafting out the window. But still, I’ve been doing this for years, and most of my neighbors think of me as a pretty nice guy.
But most kids’ desire for candy outweighed their initial nervousness, so I gave away a lot.
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Hello, there
Thanks for commenting on elbibis.blogspot.mx
I live in the Northern part of Mexico and here the Dia de los Muertos celebration is unfortunately practically non-existent. We’re too much influenced with Halloween — people do like to celebrate this, especially the kids and the young people.
On Dia de Muertos, the people in my city go to the cemeteries to visit the dead, have their tombs washed and tidied up, and bring flowers. There are lots of people there, including people who offer cleaning services, or sell flowers. There are also people who sell tacos, gorditas, sodas, water, tamales… a food fiesta.
I’ve never been to a cemetery on Dia de Muertos, the only dead I have is my father, but he was buried in his hometown.
Almost all of my life I was ignorant of all the rich traditions of Dia de Muertos in other parts of my country. But then I grew older and started to learn about this, and found it truly enchanting. For the people from Guerrero and Oaxaca, for example, it is truly a grand celebration for which they count the days, they do believe that their dead relatives are going to visit their homes on Dia de Muertos, and that’s why they decorate their Altar de Muertos with so much care, offering the special food and drinks that the deceased always loved when he/she was alive. They set up a path of flower petals at the entrance of the house, and they also light candles. This is to help the dead find their homes.
I went to Oaxaca in 2010, just a couple of days before the Dia de los Muertos. It was here that I truly fell in love with the Dia de Muertos celebration. The yellow Cempazúchitl flowers everywhere, in the markets, on the streets… I even saw men outside the city, coming from the fields where they had spent the day picking flowers. The celebration was in the air and EVERYONE participated, all the people were busy preparing luxurious food, getting everything ready for Dia de Muertos. There was a parade at the main plaza, with a woman dressed as La Catrina leading the way, followed by children, adults, and the musical band. I enjoyed this very, very much and hated myself for not being able to stay one more day, the very very Dia de los Muertos. I’ll return.
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Hola Florentino,
Thanks for the truly wonderful comment. I think you’ve really added to the conversation here. I was aware that Oaxaca had a big celebration, but less aware that in the North of Mexico that Día de los Muertos had been relatively overpowered by Halloween.
I visited Oaxaca in the Spring of 2012 and loved it. It’s such a special place.
Thanks for reading, and saludos!
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Day of the Dead never creeped me out. I just thought it was odd and slightly nuts. At least, those were my initial thoughts. I quickly came up with some new and improved thoughts to replace the old ones. I love DofD, and not just for the colours, decor and tradition. It makes me want to die in Mexico. Not just yet, of course, but when the day comes, put my bones in Mexican soil, por favor. It’s the next best thing to an afterlife.
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I think you have an excellent point there. I never quite thought of it that way, but it does have its appeal.
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When I went to Mexico in 2005 and met her family (at Xochimilco) they did ask the question…if I died, did I want to be shipped home and if so did Mrs P have my address. An odd question for a first meeting! Something lead us to that question I’m sure. But anyway, yes I did, and yes she had.
But it did stick with me. And I guess I used it to measure my growing affection for Mexico. There came a point where the answer to their question became ‘no thanks, here will do nicely, but she does have my address to let people know’. At that point, perhaps, Mexico became home.
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That’s a fascinating story. What an odd first question. I’ve never heard of such a thing, and no one has asked me the same in Mexico either. Hopefully you won’t have to confront that issue for good long time.
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If memory serves me right, and now that I think about it, I think the question stemmed from a joke. Something about my being encased in concrete swimming boots and tipped into Xochimilco if I upset Mrs P….
We don’t really have Halloween in the UK. The supermarkets and TV channels advertise it for all they’re worth, but still…it has never really, really taken off.
If it weren’t for ET, maybe we’d still not have a clue at all. ET, such a wonderful movie. And besides introducing a generation of UK kids to Trick and Treating, they saved Reese’s Pieces. A treat I prefer much more, and that can be enjoyed all year round.
Guy Fawkes night is a far bigger deal. That’s tonight, and the skies around even my rural location are being lit up with fireworks. It’s traditional to throw a mannequin of a Catholic conspirator onto a bonfire, hence it’s alternative name, Bonfire Night. I prefer to celebrate in as realistic fashion as possible. Now, where’s Mrs P….?
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LOL… that last bit is TOO funny. A post on Guy Fawkes night might be of interest to at least some of us. I have to confess to knowing rather little about it. As for Halloween, it’s a fun holiday here, a big party, really. I get a little peeved when kids show up at the door for candy with no costume. I had one this year show up in street clothes, and I asked him what his costume was. “I’m going as a muslim,” he said. “Lame!” I replied. I had put more energy into my costume, and I was GIVING not getting candy. But I gave him a candy anyway.
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Pingback: Dia de Los Muertos | The Fragile
Did some part of this comment not come through?
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Great photo and I agree, that it used to creep me out too. Now it is another party day, a day to enjoy one’s friends, to remember the friends we have lost, and cherish the family and friends we have left…….
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Thanks, Tancho. It’s from El Museo de la Muerte in Aguascalientes.
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I grew up with celebrating el Día de Los Muertos and have fond memories of my whole family united around a table eating, and drinking “colada morada”. On the other hand I was not brought up with skeletal figures hanging around or decorating our walls. So the ones that were gifted to me on my trips to Mexico (I’m sure with the best of intentions), are still packed away.
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Very interesting. Once I got the idea that the skeletons were generally happy in the afterlife, the whole sense of being creeped-out left me. But it did take a bit of getting used to.
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Different customs, in different countries south of the border… all with a unique setting. “Pan de Muertos” is always good and a tradition, but I could eat “pan” regardless of the day.
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But do they all celebrate Día de los Muertos?
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In Ecuador it’s called “Día de los Difuntos”.
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Ah…how positively proper sounding.
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Oh this is so beautifully put! Thank you. Like you I am drawn to Dia de los Muertos because it embraces everyone.
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Indeed it was very touching to see how F created an altar with ofrendas for his lost loved ones. And of course the public displays are amazing. Saludos.
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I have yet to time my visits for Día de los Muertos, although I’ve come close. I think I’ll have to be there in person to really understand these celebrations.
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It’d be very interesting to see how it’s celebrated in Mérida as that place has its own culture that’s distinct from other parts of Mexico. When are you and Paul going down next? Saludos.
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I suppose Mexico’s view of death is one of its prime attractions for me. Ever since I wrote my first two stories at four (both about rather grisly deaths), the topic has fascinated me. And the fact that Melaque strips out the tradition and gets down the basics is one reason I like living here in the tropics.
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You certainly live in a spot with its own interesting idiosyncrasies. In Aguascalientes, there is the Museo Nacional de La Muerte, which I visited with F in the Spring. It’s a fascinating view into the history of attitudes towards death in Mexico. It awaits its own blog post. Saludos and thanks for commenting.
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It’s a great tradition. Thanks for noticing.
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Thanks for commenting. One day I’d like to see Día de los Muertos in your neck of the woods.
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Kim, Día de Los Muertos is like Memorial Day in the U.S. only it is better in my opinion! I like what you said so much…”gone, but not forgotten. May you dance forevermore in the afterlife.”
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Memorial Day has a more specifically military tradition. I like the fact that Día de los Muertos includes everyone. Thanks for commenting.
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