A visit to the Cemetery.
The most traditional thing to do, and the most meaningful, is to go to the cemetery to visit the graves of deceased family members and friends who are being commemorated on this day. People bring flowers –predominantly the typical Mexican marigold– and clean the graves; also, some people like to bring food (the same kind one puts on the altar) and make a sort of picnic around the grave, lighting candles and incense for the souls of the dead.
Beautifully adorned graves in a cemetery, keeping company with the dead.
In small, picturesque traditional towns –denominated by the Mexican government as Magical Towns, no joke– the visit to the cemetery is usually done by night and turns into a spectacular event: the whole field transforms into a sea of lit candles, the smell of incense and marigold scenting the air, and musicians playing traditional songs to serenade the dead, while families gather around the graves to eat bread and tamales and drink café de olla – coffee prepared in a clay vessel with a touch of cinnamon and sweetened with unprocessed cane sugar. Some even install altars on the graves, a worthy effort since the celebration goes on all night. I can assure that witnessing all of this is an unforgettable experience and one you should plan on partake if you happen to travel to Mexico during these days.
The Cemetery lit up at night for the The Day of the Dead celebration in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Coffee and Hot Chocolate at Home.
While visiting the cemetery is the most traditional thing to do, many other people just celebrate by having a get-together and chatting over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, while indulging on some Day of the Dead bread. This is the popular way to celebrate among the younger generations; in fact, most workplaces and schools organize small gatherings like these on November 2nd. Many families celebrate at home like this as well, having a relaxed chat that centers on remembering the dead relatives.
Watch an ad hoc film: Macario.
Each holiday comes with its associated seasonal movie reflecting the spirit of the festivity – like Scrooge, or my favorite movie to watch on Christmas: Edward Scissorhands.
Day of the Dead is not the exception, for every year one can expect multiple screenings of the movie associated with it: Macario.
1:1 scale sugar skulls sold at the market in the movie.
Macario is a Mexican film from 1960 – from a period known as “The Golden Era of Mexican Cinema”– that takes place in a small town during the Day of the Dead festivities in the colonial times (late 18th and early 19th century). Macario is a country man of Indian lineage, head of a big family who are perpetually hungry due to their extreme poverty; he finds himself so disappointed with his life, which has been always defined by lacking and sacrifice, that he becomes obsessed with the idea of being able to eat an entire turkey by himself, without sharing it with anyone; that represents his ultimate dream of having something that is only his own. When Macario finds himself in the position to finally make his dream come true, he has encounters with the Devil, God and Death –embodied as a somber, starved-looking man–, all of which ask him to share the turkey with them by appealing to different aspects of his psyche. Macario takes his decision and it alters his life and his family’s forever.
A walk past the Cemetery in Macario.
Traditional Mexican nightmares?
Even though it is a bit dated, Macario offers some really interesting visuals and a representative view into the traditional lives of people in Mexico as a Spanish colony, especially the contrast between the lifestyles and worries of the rich and the poor, which is a central theme in this film. It is truly a pity that Macario is a black and white film and that HD didn’t exist back then when it was filmed, since the beauty and richness of some the locations shines through even in poor definition.
A view into the Underworld.
There are some particularly impressive scenes, especially those picturing the celebrations and decoration of the Day of the Dead in the streets of the town, as well as a very memorable view into the underworld, represented by a very large cave covered in myriads of lit candles. The interesting aesthetics and folklore are worth a look.Writing and exchanging Calaveras.
During Day of the Dead, some people write verses called Calaveras (Spanish for human skulls). Calaveras being sort of short poems written about someone, which are meant to be humorous and a bit cheeky. It is important to note that Calaveras are written about a living person in a playful way as if they were dead, not about the dead themselves. Traditionally, they are formulaic and typically go like this: they talk about a person’s character or distinguishing feature in a way, then Death –embodied as a skeleton or calaca– appears before them and tells them their time has come, then the living person tries to get himself out of the situation, but usually in the end Death ends up outsmarting them and taking them with her anyway. It is supposed to be a facetious, light hearted practice, and some people do friendly exchanges of them to celebrate Day of the Dead.
On November 2nd, most newspapers publish a special supplement with Day of the Dead themed cartoons and Calaveras written about politicians, actors and entertainers, celebrities and public figures, commonly taking the chance to use humor as a vehicle for social or personal criticism about them or their actions.
An old newspaper supplement with Calaveras written and illustrated by Jose Guadalupe Posada, the creator of the iconic character La Calavera Catrina (Meaning "Elegant, well-dressed skeleton"), the one with the flower and feather hat.
The altar: What happens with it?
On the afternoon of the 2nd, my grandmother will shout “now you are free to eat out of the offering”. The food is not to be touched until then! Otherwise, according to my grandma, the dead will come to your room in the night and pull your feet (if you have seen The Conjuring, you know you don’t want that to happen). Normally, the only edible food at the end are the sweets and the fruit, since the savory dishes usually go off and the bread gets hard and dry from being left out (one can still eat it by dipping it in hot chocolate or coffee, though).
And that’s it. This year I had intended to share some photos of the small celebration that Guitar Güero and I had planned, however, we just got into it and forgot to take pictures or document the evening. I guess Eckhart Tolle would have been proud of us for being in the present moment. I made tamales – for the first time ever! What kind of Mexican am I? – and we sat before the altar full of lit candles and incense to enjoy them and talk; we also saw Macario afterwards, so that’s another badge of Mexicanity earned by Guitar Güero right there.
Vegan tamales that I made for our Day of the Dead celebration.
I hope you enjoyed this little series of posts with an insider view on Mexican culture regarding its most colorful and unusual celebration: The Day of the Dead. Now Saturn Satori will go back to its regular broadcast where fashion and style merge with literature, cinema, philosophy and pop culture. Thank you for reading!
