If you are fortunate to be here the first two days of November, you may witness one of the important cultural events of the year. Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is actually November 2, but Day of the Innocents, also called Day of the Angels, is November 1. The two days together comprise the annual event commonly known as the celebrations of the Day of the Dead.
One of the few indigenous celebrations that has found its way to modern times, Day of the Dead exists as a combination of the pre-Hispanic holiday mixed with Catholic culture.
One of the few indigenous celebrations that has found its way to modern times, it exists as a combination of the pre-Hispanic holiday mixed with Catholic culture. Not religious per se, mass usually is part of the ceremony nevertheless. The event varies in different parts of the country, but there are commonalities
among them all.
Central is the ofrenda, or offering, on an altar for the departed soul. It is a traditional belief that souls have the ability to return on these days of the year. To bring them home, to invite them to join us, the idea is to set the altar with all the things that remind us of the departed. These might include personal objects, perhaps jewelry or an article of clothing, a photograph, an object they might have created or valued. Most certainly food will be included, perhaps their favorite dish, cigarettes if they smoked, liquor they liked, maybe Coca Cola or some fruit. In various regions, the flowers may vary, but the traditional flowers are the yellow, gold and orange cempazuchiles, or marigolds, and the purple or magenta barro de Obispo, or cockscomb. In some regions, the more common flowers are paper or crepe paper in bright colors of orange, blue, purple and yellow. And the candles. There are tall candles, short candles, fat candles, skinny candles, candles of every description. At night, the light of the candles will light up the entire panteón, or cemetery.
The celebration is not a morbid affair; images of ghosts or dead people, witches, the devil, are not part of it. It doesn't honor death as such, but it does offer the opportunity to reconnect with those who have departed this life. It allows the possibility of reflection on the meaning and purpose of our existence. It's a mixture of sorrow and happiness, as well as hilarity as the family remembers.
In the gathering together to reflect upon life and death, it allows the culture, the family within the culture, the chance to feel in another way a solidarity around the mystery and even the tragedy of life without fear. It is an expression of love and offering. It is a time to open the heart to mystery of time and place beyond life, beyond death.
Life was seen as a dream to the Nahua culture (one of the major pre-Hispanic groups). In dying, the human awakens. Death was not feared, since it was inevitable. After death, the belief was that the dead made a long and maybe perilous journey through eight underworlds before reaching Mictlán, the land of the dead. The occupation of the arriving soul, as well as the manner of death, determined which afterworld would
receive him or her.
On the journey back, the belief was that the souls would not encounter the same obstacles they would have had to overcome to reach Mictlán. As if on vacation, they may return on these days, and the family is prepared to receive them, guiding them by the aromatic flowers and scents that they remember, to where
the banquet awaits.
Here in Puerto Vallarta, the panteón, or cemetery, is right off the Libramiento that leads through the tunnel. During these days, the access road is closed to traffic, but it's possible to park nearby and walk to the cemetery. The buses that usually pass by, marked by the word "panteón," will drop you off as close as the barrier allows. At the entrance, there are stalls to buy fruit drinks, soda, and flowers, both real and paper.
As a tourist or an outsider, consider this: it's a private, or family, ceremony, rather than public, despite the fact that it takes place in the public cemetery. Cameras may not be appreciated. Feel fortunate to partake and witness a ceremony that has existed for centuries. Treat it with respect.
