El Día de los Muertos: La Semana de las Fiestas

The past two weeks in México have been filled with preparation and celebration of  Día de los Muertos, a very important mexican holiday which honors and celebrates loved ones, friends, or important figures who have passed away. Let me give you a little background of this very special holiday:

The Day of the Dead holiday has been celebrated for perhaps thousands of years in the valley of Mexico. It used to be celebrated in the beginning of August in conjunction with the Aztec Calendar, in honor of the Goddess Mictecacihuatl, or "Lady of the Dead" (which now resembles La Catrina, which you can see all over Mexico). It is now celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November, coinciding with the Catholic holidays of All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day. Modern day Día de los Muertos mixes both Catholic and Indigenous beliefs, but it's really amazing to see such strong indigenous traditions still being practiced and honored. The 1st of November is in recognition of passed kids and infants, and the 2nd is to honor adults. This holiday has now spread all over the world, and is practiced in  places such as Brazil, Europe, the U.S., and in other Latin American countries. However, it's prevalence is still most strongly felt in Mexico.

As is custom on Día de los Muertos, people go to cemeteries to be with their deceased loved ones, where they set up not only the favorite foods and beverages for those passed away, but they also bring toys, flowers, pictures, and other rememberances. This is to encourage the souls of the dead to find their  way back to their families in order to spend time with them. Here's a pretty cool picture explaining what is generally put on the altars, and their significance:

All the cemeteries throughout Mexico were buzzing with life (ironic?) during these past few weeks. Here's a cemetery we visited right before the festivities started:

This is how they can look during the week of Day of the Dead.

Most families also do personal altars in their houses. We did our own little altar in the Casa Hoy house, and we dedicated it to all the fallen travelers.

The preparations for Día de los Muertos are extensive. Weeks before the actual holiday, you could go into the markets and buy calaveras (candy skulls), velas (candles), cempazuchitl (marigolds), and pan de muerto (dead bread) for the altars. What I love about Día de los Muertos is that it's a celebration of death, not just the mourning of passed loved ones. Dead ones aren't just put in the past, they are honored every year in a beautiful gathering, and you will even see people laughing and being cheerful as they remember past experiences they had with the deceased. It's just a very different view of death, and very eye-opening.

For Día de los Muertos, the majority of the volunteers and I headed down to Oaxaca to experience a Oaxacan Day of the Dead, and also to visit the city. It was my first time being back since studying abroad there almost THREE years ago! So it was quite the amazing experience to be able to go back to such a special place and visit some good friends :)

There were altars and tapetes all over Oaxaca city:

 The chicos decided to join in on the festivities and dress up as skeletons one night before we went to a Panteon.

 Unfortunately, we got to the cemetery a little too late to see people giving offerings and talking to their loved ones, but the cemetery was absolutely beautiful with such an intense energy. I've never felt an energy like that.

Here's a video of a really cool calenda that passed through the center of the city.

While in Oaxaca, I had the opportunity to stay with my two lovely and dear friends, Amber and Jonathan. We spent time bummin' around the city, eating delicious food, drinking mezcal, shopping in the markets, and just catching up! If you ever make it to Oaxaca, look for Jonathan in Carmen Alto (by the Church of Santo Domingo) selling his amazing hand-made jewelry!

Beautiful Oaxaca :)

Back to the grind in Cuerna! This week I've been working in Santo Domingo Ocotitlán, with CultiNatura Orgánicos, and at La Huerta de Lucia, and just getting back into the groove of things. I also had to say goodbye to SIX volunteers this week, as they either went back to their respective parts of the world or embarked on more traveling journeys throughout Central America, the U.S., and Europe! Good travels volunteers, will miss you lots! On the positive side of things, two more volunteers joined the Casa Hoy team from Australia, and there are now two wonderful interns who will be working with Casa Hoy for the next few months. Welcome new volunteers and interns!!

Also more exciting news: My dad, step mom, and little bro will be coming here in a week to spend Thanksgiving vaca down here. VERY EXCITED!

Hasta el próximo! Nos vemos :)