Hola, and welcome back to OnVallartaTime! We continue to be busy settling into our new place, going shopping both for regular market stuff but also for the apartment, and of course going to the beach to cool off! The beach is by far the best antidote to the heat and humidity, which continue to be hard on us. But, the temps do seem to be going down little by little.

Today’s post is about what goes on in Mexico while Halloween (All Hallows Eve) is being celebrated in the US. Here in Puerto Vallarta there are no trick-or-treaters, or very few anyway. On Halloween night there were a few older kids in costumes on the main street hitting up tourists for candy or spare change, but most of the people were in their homes preparing for the next day, Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

Images of Catrina, perhaps the best known of the symbols of the Day of the Dead. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the picture)

 When the Spanish conquered Mexico in the 1500’s, the process of “mestisaje,” or mixing, began. Most of today´s Mexicans call themselves mestizos, a mixture of European (Spanish) and Native American. Likewise, many customs are a mix of Spanish and pre-Hispanic origin. The Day of the Dead is the best example of these.

Going back to pre-Hispanic times, Mexicans have celebrated death as a part of life. Even today they have a somewhat different relationship with death than we are used to — for lack of a better word, it’s more intimate. For example, death is a recurring theme in Mexican art. It’s just natural, right? In pre-Hispanic times it was believed that people didn’t really die as we think of it, but instead transitioned to a different plane. They were still around, just in a different place. It was believed that on the Day of the Dead, the veil between our plane and that of the dead was the thinnest, and the souls of the departed could cross over.

A painting of the Godfather at our local brewpub, Los Muertos Brewery. Not specifically for the Day of the Dead, this image illustrates the recurring theme of death in Mexican art.

  Street art in our neighborhood with a stylized skull, signifying death.

 In pre-Hispanic times the Day of the Dead was celebrated in mid-summer. After the conquest, the Spanish priests moved it to the date of the Catholic holiday that it most resembled, All Saints Day, or All Souls Day, November 1st. The land of the dead became Purgatory. Thus we have the current Mexican Day of the Dead.

In many Mexican homes, they construct a special altar for the day. It often has three levels, representing heaven, Purgatory, and earth. It’s decorated with vivid colors, usually including blue and purple. Pictures of departed family members, and sometimes sugar skulls with their names on them, are placed on the altar. At the foot, they put the departeds’ favorite foods, and maybe a bottle of tequila, and of course lots of “cempasuchitl,” the Nahuatl word for marigolds. Marigolds are placed near the altar, and marigold petals often mark a path to the door. It’s believed that the distinctive color and aroma of marigolds will attract the souls of the departed. Then the entire family has a celebration, and their departed loved ones can be with them, for just that one night. The celebrations are not just at home. The cemeteries get spruced up for the Day of the Dead also. Many families will build an altar at the crypt or over the graves of their loved ones, and they bring a picnic and celebrate there.

Peggy and I didn’t go to any cemeteries (it feels like intruding) nor did we go to any private homes. But stores, hotels and other places of business get decorated too, sometimes traditionally. The following are pictures of some of the decorations we saw around our part of town.

 Sculptural representations of skulls for sale.

Catrina and her date painted on a store window. 

A stylized altar in a place of business. Note the pumpkins, a nod to US custom.

An altar at a beach bar. That’s Bob Marley, R.I.P.

A traditional-style altar, in a store.

Another very traditional altar.

Well, that’s it for OnVallartaTime for today, all about the Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Hope you enjoyed it! Finally, here’s a picture of us cooling off at the beach, courtesy of the Swell Beach Bar Facebook page.