Day of the Dead is one of the most traditional and celebratory of Mexican holidays, and also the most unique. Throughout San Miguel families will gather in their homes and in the cemeteries during the days to pay homage to the love and familial memory of those who have passed on to another form of life. The holiday is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd throughout Mexico, and in Mexican communities in the US and other countries. Mexicans have a special relationship with death: they consider it the beginning of life. Like people everywhere, Mexicans fear death, but they also mock it, joke with it, tease it, dance with it, create art about it, and most of all honor it publicly. During the Days of the Dead, death is celebrated with beautiful, artful and touching traditional altars created for the occasion–in homes, businesses and cemetaries.

And how do you make a Traditional Altar, called an Ofrenda in Spanish? The Ofrenda may be set up on a table or on a straw mat on the floor. Every item on the altar has significance. The yellow marigold, known by its Aztec name of zempoaxochitl ( flor de muerto ), is the primary flower, and markets are transformed into brilliant fields of yellow in the days leading up to the holiday. It is believed that the marigold carries the smell of death, a smell that leads the dead home. Other traditional flowers of the holiday are baby’s breath ( nube ) and wine colored coxcomb ( magenta terciopelo ). A copal incense burner, placed in the center, burns with a pungent woody aroma that leads the dead, with their heightened sense of smell to the Ofrenda . Images of favorite saints and candles decorated with ribbons are placed on the altar, one candle for each deceased family member. As each candle is lit the names of the departed are called out, as if to say “Come back home, my son, your family awaits you”. The flame of the candle lights the way to guide the deceased soul home. Family photographs and objects of value to the departed are set out to give the dead the feeling of being home again. The dead care about the materials things of their former life and are comforted by their favorite possessions. Sandals ( huaraches ), shawls ( rebozos ), straw hats, saddles and carving tools are some of the items you might see on a campesino altar. Silver jewelry, silk shawls, high heels and a statue of a bullfighter are examples of objects found on an urban altar. Newly pressed clothes are placed on a chair below a wall mirror. Just as in life, each soul has a bit of vanity and wants to be admired during the fiesta.

Day of the Dead Skull

The Aztecs used papel picado or paper banners in their religious rituals and this tradition is still carried out today. Curtains of papel de china picado are hung behind the altar in designs cut-out with skeletons, flowers, birds, and coffins. Purple banners represents mourning and hot pink or bright orange banners signify the joyful return of the departed to the land of the living. In many part of Mexico, families spread a floral carpet on the ground leading to their home so that the spirit does not get lost along the way. A central idea behind the creation of the Ofrenda is to share with the dead the pleasures of life. Pulque, beer or tequila are served as reminders of the good times on earth. A former smoker will be treated with his/her favorite brand of cigarettes and Coca Cola is inevitable. The Ofrenda is an offering or helping force, and a visual expression, without judgment, of the gratitude, love and veneration the family feels for the visiting spirit of their relative. In the Mexican tradition, no soul should be left unacknowledged. 

Increasingly, Muertos (death images) are found in folk art and housewares all year round. Dancing skeletons (known as calacas ) adorn the most beautiful Mexican style homes. In San Miguel the foreign community is welcome to participate at the cemetary but in respectful attendance, without intruding on the family time.

But if you want to spend the day enjoying the many Muertos folk art creations being made by local artisans and even, in true American style, shopping during the holidays, please come to the BAZAAR DIA DE LOS MUERTOS on Saturday and Sunday, November 1st and 2nd, 10am to 7pm, Hernandez Macias #121, between Pila Seca y Codo. Muertos creations by local artisans include Patrice Wynne/ San Miguel Apron Designs, Jade Vintage Clothing, Catrinas by Guadalupe Trejo “Pupis”, Bonnie Griffith, Bernabel Garcia, Joan Elena Goldberg & Lino expressionistic ceramics, handcrafted clothing and liquors from the ancient Mexican Chichimecan culture, and many more. There will be a Traditional Day of the Dead Altar and an opportunity to discuss the holiday with the artisans you meet.

Patrice Wynne/ SAN MIGUEL DESIGNS
MEXICO CITY ART AND CULTURE TOURS
www.sanmigueldesigns.com
sanmiguelpatrice@mac.com
SAN MIGUEL: (01-52-415) 150-0058
BERKELEY/ USA: 1-510-295-4296
MEXICO CITY CELL: 045-55-1679-1044
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