“The cemeteries turn into areas of happiness and celebration, with much drinking and eating.”
El Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, November 2, is more traditionally known as El Día de Los Fieles Difuntos in Mexico, (literally – day of the faithfully departed). It is a holiday unique to this country and celebrates the departed souls within families. The day itself coincides with the Catholic All Souls Day and the Anglican / Catholic All Saints Day. The holiday is a time when families celebrate the lives of those they have lost . The night of November 1st has been traditionally held for the souls of the children and November 2nd for the departed adults. Altars, or ofrendas, are constructed on the actual tombstones of the deceased family members or in the homes. The ofrendas are decorated with cempasúchitl (yellow marigold flowers), calaveras (decorated candy skulls), incienso (incense), papel picado (special Mexican-cut paper), fruits, foods and pan de muerto (bread of the dead).
Recuerdos (momentos) and pictures of the dead are placed on the ofrenda to make the returning souls feel right at home. Favorite liquors, candies, foods and cigarettes are there for the dead to enjoy as they did in life. Some ofrendas are extremely intricate in design and structure. On the night of November 2nd, a procession is made to the family cemetery plots. The graves are decorated with flowers and momentos and brightly lit with hundreds of candles. The cemeteries turn into areas of happiness and celebration, with much drinking and eating.
The holiday itself seems to be losing some of its popularity to the American Halloween, which falls two days prior. However, in some areas of Mexico the holiday holds firm and is celebrated with the same fervor as before. Areas such as Patzcuaro and Oaxaca are especially known for there celebrations. Here in the Zihuatanejo area, the holiday is not as widely celebrated as in other parts of the country.
However, Galería Ixchel Maya hosted a traditional Aztec dance for the dead in front of an elaborate ofrenda. The dance was performed to thank the Dead for Life and to celebrate their prior lives and energies. The ofrenda (see front-page picture) was created for all the departed souls of Mexico.
On a more personal note, I was able to participate in building an ofrenda in the home of my boyfriend and put my own momentos for those who have departed from my family. This was the first time in my life that my thoughts for my lost loved ones were not filled with remorse, but rather, with happiness and laughter. El Día de los Fieles Difuntos shows us all that the inevitability of death should be embraced and never feared.
-November 1999
