Photos from Dia de los Muertos at Xcaret, Nov 1 2008 / Day of the Dead

[John]

November 1st and 2nd is a Mexican celebration of the deceased called the Day of the Dead. Unlike Halloween, where death is treated as a scary thing, the tradition of the Day of the Dead is to celebrate, and honor, the departed.

After reading about the celebration at Xcaret, Libby and I were looking forward to attending this year's event. We invited other locals to partake in the festivities with us. Unfortunately, Libby did not feel well and had to cancel at the last moment, but Susie (Susie Q Roo) and Marissa (marissab) and I went and had a great time.

Here are some of the photos of our trip.

Plenty of marigolds were used to decorate the park. It was a nice touch, it actually gave me the feeling of the fall season - something we don't really experience here.



There were various self-serve face painting stations located throughout the park. Many of the people in the park could be seen wearing their death masks.


There were various events and performances throughout the park. This was a Mexican acapella group doing a routine. If I can get YouTube to cooperate, I'll post a short video clip of them as well.

There were candles all over the park. This central structure was available for visitors to light a candle in memory of their departed.

[John]

One of the most popular sites at Xcaret is the Mayan cemetery. Although it is normally filled with colorful tombs, and is a site to see on it's own, during the Day of the Dead festival, the tombs are accentuated with marigolds, food and drinks for the departed.

Marissa heard that it was a "must see", so upon entering the park, we tried to make this our first stop. Unfortunately, Xcaret did not provide a map at the entrance, and repeated attempts to ask the volunteer help how to get to the cemetery led us down various wrong paths. This was quite amusing, especially times when the volunteer was explaining to head izquierda (to the left), but she was gesturing to the right. Ummm, yea... we're not that clueless.

After spending 45 minutes walking through the cemetery, we discovered that a huge line had formed at the cemetery's entrance. Marissa, great idea to visit the cemetery early!

As we were questioning the authenticity of the cemetery last night, Susie did some research and discovered that it is really just an attraction added to Xcaret in 2004.

It is believed that during the festival of Day of the Dead, it is easier for the souls of the departed to visit the living. Therefore, graves and altars are provided with offerings for the souls as they return. Typically, for children, the gifts are generally toys, for the adults, tequila or cerveza. However, we have seen a variety of gifts, including Big Macs, in the past.

The marigolds are thought to attract the souls of the dead to the offerings.





Susie and Marissa

A musical act to entertain the folks waiting to get into the cemetery.

[John]

Altars are another way of providing gifts to the departed. You can generally find altars throughout town the days leading up to the Day of the Dead.

On a side note, our favorite place for viewing altars in town was on Calle Corazon. This year, there was only one altar there, hidden in the entrance to Spa Itza. Hopefully next year the altars will return!!


This alter has a figure dressed in scuba equipment.


This was creepy:

[John]

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,

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.

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.

[John]

Ah, my YouTube upload finally finished. Here's a Mexican Acapella group that we saw briefly. Not an impressive video, imho, but I took it, so I thought I'd share it.

YouTube - Spanish Acapella Group at Xcaret, Day...

[SUNBABY]

Your pictures are wonderful...is it too late to make a trip to the real cemetary? Or maybe, next year.

[pour favor]

Thanks for sharing John. It looks really cool and it's a must for next year. The grave yard is my favorite with all the amazing head stones. I so wanted to go but was still really sick, this flu bug going around is harsh! Hope Libby is feeling better.

[Libby]

Originally Posted by SUNBABY

Your pictures are wonderful...is it too late to make a trip to the real cemetary? Or maybe, next year.

Yesterday was the day to go to the real cemetery. I had been planning on going, but I've had this yucky cold. I got better just in time to party it up with Steve last night, but now I'm sick again. Next year for sure!!

[Dan-0]

John, I enjoyed looking at your photos and reading about your cool DOD outing. Thanks for taking the time!

[SUNBABY]

I was wondering how long that stuff would sit on the graves in the cemetary...like, do they clean it all up the next day or just leave it there for the stray dogs and rats to feast upon.

The last time i was there in November..like the 2nd, we saw several homes that still had altars out.

[Libby]

Day of the Dead should really be Days of the Dead. It spans over November 1st and 2nd. The family across the street from us still has their altar out today. I think people usually cover up any food they have. I learned that the hard way last year. I did an altar inside and put out sugar skulls. Pretty soon every ant in the neighborhood had found it's way to our altar! So, I just wrapped the skulls in saran wrap.

Also, I don't think people leave any food at the graves, just at the altars in their homes. I believe they bring marigolds and non-food items like bottles of tequila to the graves. It's a fascinating holiday!!