Today is Day of the Dead, or in Spanish, Día de Muertos. It is a public holiday here and a lot of the stores are closed.
According to the University of New Mexico website, Celebrating The Day of the Dead has a long history in Mexican Tradition. The Day of the dead is celebrated on November 2nd. Sometime one hears reference to “the days of the Dead” which refers to the Days of October 31 – November 2. October 31 is Halloween or All Hallows eve. November 1 is “el Dia de los innnocentes” or the day of the children and All Saints Day. November second is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead.The days of the dead are truly a celebration of life. When children dance with caricatures of death, eat skull sugar molds and learn to respect that life is brief, they learn there is a circle to life and to not fear death and then are free to enjoy and appreciate every moment.
The centre of this activity in San Miguel is the Jardin Allende.
Memorials
Unfortunately there was a thunder storm the night before and it had rained. The memorials were a bit messed up because of it. But by the evening they appeared to be fixed up again.
I spent the day just hanging around the plaza and taking in all the activities.
The cathedral, La Santa Escuela de Cristo, is particularly mesmerizing.
People were getting ready for the night.
And some were already wandering around.
Night Time
I just loved this little girl. She stayed in character all the time. People were constantly asking for pictures with her.
Parade
There was a parade scheduled and I was really looking forward to it. My expectations were high. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet them. The parade was simply a couple of bands with a whole bunch of people dressed up like you have seen in the previous pictures. I guess I was expecting floats or something.
After the parade though, people hung around and the bands played at different locations where people would dance.
My Location for November 2, 2016
