It’s Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead – again here in Puerto Vallarta, and while the name conjures images of old horror movies, The Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition dating back thousands of years and comes to us through pre-Colombian Aztec culture (not to be confused with Dawn of the Dead, which dates back to 1978). While the Day of the Dead comes from the area we now know as Mexico, there are several other similar traditions in other Central and South American cultures and even several European countries have their own festivities. Due to much migration in recent years, the Mexican flavor of the holiday is now being celebrated in the United States and Canada, although the Roman Catholics have always celebrated a similar holiday, All Saints Day and All Souls Day, on the same dates as the Mexican tradition.
One of the elaborate altars on display at the Puerto Vallarta Ayuntamiento (city hall) this year.
So what is the Day of the Dead? It’s actually two days… on November 1st and 2nd of each year, people set up small and often elaborate altars in homes and businesses (even in schools and government offices) to remember dead relatives. The altars are decorated with sculls called Calaveras often made of sugar or chocolate with the name of the deceased written on the forehead, pictures of the deceased and food and drink that were favorites of their passed relatives. Traditionally November 1st is set aside for deceased children and is often referred to as the “Dia de los Angelitos” or the day of the little angels while on the 2nd adult family members are remembered.
This altar is for Marco "El Texano" Nazareth a young professional boxer from Puerto Vallarta who tragically died earlier this year in a fight with Omar Chavez.
Here in Puerto Vallarta, the day of the dead starts at dawn with processions to the graveyard, where family members clean graves, leave flowers, food and gifts for the departed. “Pan de Muertos” or bread of the dead is a popular treat both eaten by the living and left as an offering for the dead. It is believed that on the Day of the Dead it is easier to contact the departed and many will take the opportunity to commune with the departed. Often, families will have picnics at the graves and the atmosphere can become quite festive as families and friends share anecdotes about the deceased and drink to their memory.
Many foreigners find the celebration somewhat macabre, with everything decorated with skeletons and sculls, and often assume it is associated with Halloween or some sort of occult worship. In reality, the Day of the Dead is a time set aside for the living to remember friends and family, to rejoice in the living memory and to accept the death of loved ones. In that sense, the day of the dead is more about the living than the dead.