The Day of the Dead Comes Alive in Oaxaca

By Marion Bayer, Siesta Tours, Inc.

The Day of the Dead, El Día de los Muertos , is one of Mexico’s most cherished traditions, when the spirits of the departed are welcomed back by the living. This tradition is especially prevalent in indigenous communities, where pre-Columbian rituals and Catholic customs have combined to create a unique celebration of life and death.

Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s most indigenous areas, is renowned worldwide for its Day of the Dead celebrations, when families gather at local cemeteries to honor their ancestors. This custom is important for the descendants of the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples that have inhabited the area for more than 4,000 years. Participants in the Day of the Dead believe that the well being of the living depends on treating the dead with respect. The living ask the dead to safeguard their homes, health and livelihoods during the coming year. In exchange for this protection, the living remember and honor their ancestors during Day of the Dead.

Although customs vary from state to state and even from village to village, traditional Day of the Dead activities begin with the construction of elaborate altars, both in the home and at the cemetery, with offerings of flowers, candles, incense and the departed's favorite foods. The idea is to catch the dead souls’ attention with offerings that are colorful, flavorful and pungent. In some communities, paths from the street to the altar inside the home are marked with marigold petals so that the souls can find their way home. Other activities include all-night vigils at the cemetery, costumed dancing, brass bands, processions, pageants and fireworks.

As a tour operator I see the same sights and participate in the same activities every time I bring a group to Oaxaca. However, one experience during the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca proved to be one of the highlights of my personal and professional life. I was conducting a two-week tour in Oaxaca that would conclude with the Day of the Dead celebration. We had spent the first week of our tour visiting archeological sites and artisan villages, and were planning to spend the second week enjoying the activities in town.

In Oaxaca, the Day of the Dead officially begins on the evening of October 31 and continues through November 2. However, festivities begin several days earlier, with the creation of altars in every home and business. On the plaza in front of the cathedral, competing groups of students mold giant three-dimensional sand paintings depicting tombs, skeletons, ghosts and other aspects of death. Teachers lead parades of schoolchildren in costume through the streets. In Oaxaca, the celebration is citywide. Even non-believers participate.

Our guide, Florencio Moreno, a local anthropologist, had made arrangements for our group to spend the night of October 31 at the cemetery in the nearby village of Atzompa as guests of a family of potters. We had visited Rosy and Norberto Porras the week before, during one of our day trips to the artisan villages. On the eve of Day of the Dead, we returned to their home. At one end of their pottery workshop the family had created a colorful home altar, with photos of their departed, flanked by fruits, flowers and candles. We were treated to Oaxaca’s famous hot chocolate, served in bowls made by Rosy, and pan de muertos, sweet egg bread that is a tradition for Day of the Dead.

Florencio had stopped at the flower market earlier, where he purchased great bunches of marigolds and cockscomb, flowers that are traditional for the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, and several boxes of candles. We loaded the flowers, candles and several folding chairs into a wheelbarrow and trundled the block or so to the village cemetery. We were going to help the Porras family decorate the gravesite of their grandfather.

Entering the cemetery

Although it was now midnight, we were one of the first groups to enter the cemetery. Accompanying us were Rosy and Norberto, their two young sons, Norberto’s parents and several aunts and uncles. Norberto and his father immediately began to clear the gravesite of weeds. A bottle of mescal was brought forth and passed around. Once the area was cleared, we proceeded to decorate the grandfather’s headstone with the petals of marigolds and cockscomb, interspersed with dozens of candles.

Other families brought radios with them and the music added to the gaiety of the night. Rosy and Norberto’s sons toasted marshmallows over candle flames while we tore petals from the flowers and placed them in intricate patterns around the headstone. Norberto’s father regaled us with stories about the grandfather, which I translated for the group.

At one point, I stood up and surveyed the remarkable scene in front of me. When we first arrived at the cemetery we were one of the first groups; now almost every gravesite was in the process of being decorated. The cemetery was ablaze with hundreds of candles, and in the distance, the lights of Oaxaca replicated the lights from the candles. It was surreal, like looking at candles in front of a mirror.

The mescal continued to make its rounds. Several members of our group were sharing jokes with Norberto’s father, using a smattering of Spanish, English and pantomime. The women in the family kept the candles burning as they chatted amongst themselves. The boys were sleepy and eventually curled up on blankets brought for that purpose. When we ran out of flower petals, we strolled over to other gravesites where we were offered food and more drink. In the distance we could hear firecrackers going off. The air was filled with the scent of copal incense and the radios played on.

Around 3:30 in the morning we said our grateful goodbyes to the Porras family. I was very conscious of the honor of this experience. Not only were we the only non-members of the village at the cemetery, we were the only non-indigenous people present. The Porras family’s invitation provided an experience none of us will ever forget.

Oaxaca is lovely any time of the year. Located in the southern tip of the Sierra Madre Mountains at an altitude of 5,100 feet above sea level, the climate is temperate year-round. In the summer the average high temperature is 83˚F; in the winter the average high is 80˚F. Oaxaca’s historic district and the pre-Columbian archeological site of Monte Albán have both been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Artisans in neighboring villages are noted for their distinctive handicrafts of hand looming, pottery making and woodcarving. Although a favorite destination of visitors from Europe as well as the U.S. and Canada, Oaxaca remains relatively untouched by foreign tourism, a place where you can still “savor the flavor” of Colonial Mexico.