Day of the DEAD, Mexican Style

Mexico has a long tradition of celebrating " the day of the day " or "day of all saints " which is the day after Holloween. The midnight of Nov 1st marks the arrival of "all saints". Family members gather around the tombs, of those who have passed, to pay a visti and wait for their "arrival" The living members bring the traditional "zempazuchil" - typical orange flower used in mexican cemeteries - they also bring their favorite foods, drinks, bread and or objects that have or had some sort of meaing for
the person being honored. - did i see a bride's vail somewhere in one of these pics?

People in Mexico spend long hours making preparations of these "altars" as well as the also traditional Mache Paper skeletons AND the sugar made skulls with the name of the dead - or live - person who will be receiving the sugar made skull as a gift. If you receive a sugar made skull with your name on it at a "mexican holloween" party,
is not that the host is wishing you death! is just a simbol of friendship a thoughtful gift.
Heavy and tall Mache paper skeletons hold the same significance. This skeletons are very often made with very close charateristics of the dead person .. or if one is made for you, it will have some form of fun motive. it will be holding your favorite drink? playing your favorite instrument? wearing your favorite soccer team jersey?
These are always fun and people go OUT OF THEIR WAY to have the BEST ever made. If you were to receive one
as a gift, consider yourself VERY LUCKY and very important.

This Nov 1st, i was lucky enough to be in my home town in acapulco, and with camera in hand i went to the place where my grandparents and other friends have their final resting place. The sun had already set and the traffic
was out of this world. I had no idea what i was going to see, or experience, as i had never had been in anything like this before. As i enter the cemetery, i was greeted by hundres and hundres of flickering candles, the smell of the flowers and the energy of the people walking about with bunches of flowers. The mariachi band was making their round to serenade any one who asked. Kids were attending the tombs of loved ones, some times people who had beed dead way before they were born. It is truly a family affair.

I quickly located my family's plot and i sat by them, just looking around and having a quiet moment with them.
- my grand mother had just passed 12 months ago, so i was very familiar with the area-
It really amazed me the way people follow their traditions and pass those same traditions to the new generations.
NOT everyone gets visitor's that night. My grand parents headstone was looking a bit sad. only 2 candles, and a bunch of silk flowers on them. The person next to them just a plaque on the ground and one candle.
I was looking at the "loneliness" of that plaque when a little girl came by, lit the cadle and put a flower on the
ground. " he seems a bit lonely, and we don't want him to feel left out" she whispered to me when i look at her in what i now know was a puzzled look... AFTER i shot a couple of frames ofcourse ;)

A few minutes later my aunt Laura came in with my cousin. They had flowers, more candles and my grand parents
facorite dishes in real plates, real food.. real love. They quickly got to work placing everything on it.
i just stood there, snapping fotos and having flash backs when we were kids and they used to make us those same dishes. Now it was our turn.

The night also was marked by something i had never seen before. A dance by local dance group.
The perfomed several Aztec dances. The dance of the Dead - ofcourse- ,the 4 cardinal points, the dance of the fire
and the dance of the moon. All in full costume. It's moments like this that i go crazy with the camera and when the adredaline still pumping a have a chuckle to my self : " oooh, my peeps sure know how to throw a party, even
for the DEAD ONES! "

*** these photos are in no particular order, so click on each one of them for a little bigger version. They can not be downloaded and printed. the printing quality is very low. Feel free to ask, i'll be happy to email them to you. ****