Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), Morelia, Nov 2008

We made a last-minute trip to Morelia, a 3 hour drive west of Mexico City. Morelia had been recommended by nearly everyone (neighbors, astronomers, Heidi's co-workers, my Spanish teacher). A little bit down the street from Morelia is Patzcuaro, which lies at the center of Mexico's Dia de los Muertos celebrations.

We managed to find a hotel in Morelia, and then came across flyers for a Dia de los Muertos tour that evening. Not being the tour types we hadn't considered it, but an hour later we'd found a babysitter (*) for Piper and had paid some pesos to a tour guide, who promised to take us on a 7 PM - 7 AM all-night trip to Lake Patzcuaro and several other destinations. So, we left and Piper slept. (In theory: when we got back, the lights were still on and the sitter still up: she couldn't figure out how to turn off the lights... )

After Christmas and Easter, Dia de los Muertos is about the most important Mexican holiday. It's the night of November 1-2, and is the time when dead souls come back to visit. (Same days as the Catholic holidays All Saints and All Souls days, though in Mexico it was going on as an Aztec tradition for perhaps several thousand years.) It is in general much more upbeat than glum... though moods were quite different in the four places we visited. All of them shared the general concept of family members making shrines and having a fiesta for the departed, either at home or at a cemetery, with candles, food, and flowers (mostly marigolds).

Q: Is is OK to take pictures during this? I wouldn't be snapping shots off at a stranger's funeral in the US. But, the consistent answer was yes: the dead want to be remembered, and the living family members want as many people to participate as they can.

(*) According to my colleagues, the concept of a one-night babysitter is not a common one in Mexico. You can have a nanny, who's always there, but you don't normally just rent someone for the night.

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Morelia

We met up in Morelia with our guide (who was super, but whose name I forget). The Zocalo (main square) seen here was the site of an awful grenade attack that killed 8 people on Mexican independence day this past September.

Tupataro

	Tupataro is a tiny town with a small square, which had a few shrines set out. This woman was selling turkey mole as well.
	Shrines here were general, and not for specific people.
	There were horses, who may have had a significance lost on me.

Inside houses in Cuanajuo

	We went to Cuanajo, which is apparently famous for furniture, but we did not see any! We wandered around for a bit, until finding a few homes (planned beforehand by our guide, I believe) to go in.
	This shrine was on the main square. The wooden horses are a Cuanajo-only tradition (the city is known for its wood craftsmanship), for carrying around the souls. They are decorated with lots of fruit.
	Photo of the woman, along with loaves of pan de los muertos (bread of the dead), with her name on them. She died this year.
	We went over to a small house surrounding a big courtyard. Family and friends were there (50+ people). In this case there were two teenagers (see their photos) who had died this year in a car crash. Interestingly, the dead are always referred to in the present tense ('He is my brother, not was'). When we showed up they were doing a reading.
	Out come the tamales! Everyone gets about four per person to start, and they keep coming. A lot of people were festive; not many were teary. It's a social occasion, moreso than an American-style funeral.
	Horses are decorated with what the boys would like to have when they return. One was weighed down with a big 3l bottle of Coca Cola around its neck.
	The beverages also flow freely. He is pouring drinks of tequila + Squirt.
	Tres hombres. #92 was handing out tamales earlier.
	We're now at a different house, with a similar celebration. In this case the mother/grandmother of the house had died in the last year at age 83.
	Tamale dogs help the celebration.
	The woman in the middle is the daughter of the woman who died. She was a well-known political and community leader, and her kids were talking about the extra role she had in a Hollywood movie (which one?).
	We were offered many more tamales, etole (a hot corn meal drink), more tequila...
	Walking back, past a street party of some sort.

Cemetary at Tzurumutaro

	Look -- it's Mexicans selling things! There were a healthy number of taco stands set up outside the Tzurumutaro ('place of thorns') cemetery.
	During 364 nights of the year, the cemetery is dark and the plots are marked just with small wood crosses -- there are a few American-style tombstones, but most are buried just with piles of dirt. On this night, the piles are all covered with marigolds and candles (both to signify the Sun -- so the dead can find their way at night).
	There were a lot of people here but one thing was missing: Mariachi bands. Not to worry though: my colleague tells me that the Mariachis keep busy all night long serenading the visiting dead at Mexico's most famous cemetery, next to Chapultepec in Mexico City.
	Family members spend the night in the cemetery, with the souls of the dead returning and staying until morning...

Boat to Cemetary on Isla Pacanda, Lake Patzcuaro

	Around 1 AM, we got on a boat on Lake Patzcuaro and headed to Isla Pacanda. The most famous (*) of the Dia de los Muertos sites in all of Mexico may be Isla Janitzio, seen here. (Note the 40m tall sculpture of independence fighter Jose Maria Morelos on top, which one can climb up during the day.) There is a famous cemetery on the island... but rumor has it that it is over-touristed, so we bypassed it and went to Isla Pacanda instead. (*) Oaxaca is well known too -- maybe next year.
	A bit before this, our boat crashed head-first into another boat, while both were in the middle of the lake. These are big metal 50-person covered motorboats, driven from the back, navigating at night in the fog with minimal visibility even under normal conditions... though it was a bit surprising.
	The cemetery is at the summit of the island, a 10 minute walk uphill through the dark night from the boat dock. No moon, but Orion is out!
	At the cemetery, there's no taco stands, and it's a little bit quieter and less dense than the other cemetery. Family members still spend all night out, decorated with candles and marigolds.
	Various offerings of food to keep the dead happy when they return.
	Sleeping in a wheelbarrow.
	Back at the boat dock, about to return to Morelia.

Morelia again...

	The next morning, Piper woke up immediately but we tried to sleep for a few hours of course. Eventually she won out, so we headed to the Zocalo again, where there were a number of shrines and statues set up.
	Morelia is a gorgeous place... it's a UNESCO world heritage site (*), and in the downtown square mile or so, everything is old. Remove the cars and it looks like it was 300+ years ago. I didn't take any pictures of Morelia besides this one of a random building, but I'm sure you can find some should you desire. (*) OK, everything in Mexico seems to be one of these. Check out the list though: indeed, Mexico has about 30, and the US about 20 (mostly a subset of the US National Parks, with some native american sites as well). There are 800-some worldwide.
	Driving up to Morelia from Mexico City, we passed more than one truck fully loaded with marigolds. They're used in everything -- but just for a few days.
	Piper plays tricks in the park.
	A portion of the (over-rated) Morelia Mercado de Dulces (sweets market).
	Piper at our hotel just before leaving.

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Last modified Fri Nov 21 23:55:28 2008