As I mentioned before, it was difficult to find our way around the park. We knew there were things to see, but we didn't really know WHERE they were, or WHEN they were occuring. They did provide a schedule of events, but it was complicated to understand, and we eventually gave up and decided to just wing it.
Throughout the park, there were literally dozens of food vendors selling tacos, tamales, brazo de reyna, empanadas, and a variety of other local cuisine. We did not know that there was a central area for these food vendors, so we just found a random table, that appeared to be quite popular, and ordered some food. Unfortunately, the tables we were at must have been the folks who couldn't get a spot in the central area... for a reason.
The food looked good, but it was nothing to write home about. The one exception was that the women were making hand pressed tortillas - if you ever have the chance to have fresh hand pressed tortillas, do your taste buds a favor and give them a try!
As I mentioned before, there were various self-serve face painting stations available. Since we were not in creative moods, we didn't think anything of them. However, we did happen upon a place where some volunteers were putting on make-up for those who were interested. Susie easily convinced us to get some masks.
The symbol of the skull, or calaca, for the Day of the Dead is quite common. According to Wikipedia,
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As with other aspects of the Day of the Dead festival, calacas are generally depicted as joyous rather than mournful figures. They are often shown wearing festive clothing, dancing, and playing musical instruments to indicate a happy afterlife. This draws on the Mexican belief that no dead soul likes to be thought of sadly, and that death should be a joyous occasion.
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Susie requested a cat-like mask, whereas Marissa and I opted for more traditional calacas.
The finished products:
We finished the day off by seeing the 2nd half of the Xcaret music and dance performance. For anyone visiting Xcaret in the future, this is a must-see performance. This was the 2nd time I got to see only the 2nd half... some day I hope to see it in it's entirety.
All in all, for 250 pesos, it was a nice place to see and experience some of the traditions for myself.