MattWhat happens when you throw together a national celebration of the dead and some greasepaint? You get the two of us looking like this as we honoured the dead and celebrated with the entire city.
We were in San Miguel de Allende for Day of the Dead (Nov 1 and 2) in Mexico. Dia de Muertos, (Day of the Dead) is an Aztec inspired custom when ancestors can visit their families who are still alive on earth. It is a unique Mexican holiday, famously captured in Disney’s Coco movie and one not to miss
We didn’t know what to expect and were a little nervous that getting our face painted would be seen as disrespectful. But like any good adventure you need to jump in with both feet (well, cheeks in this case) and see where it takes you. We were not disappointed and felt welcomed into the celebrations.
Matt all painted up
One of our favourite parts of the celebration was, in fact, having our face painted like Catrina. Catrina is a skeleton dressed in European high fashion, derived to make a satirical point regarding the people of Mexico and the government around 1910. Application of Catrina's faces are provided by Maquilladas (face painters), and range from a simple white face with black eyes, to bedazzled spectacles of multi colours and garish hues. The Victorian era costumes are proudly displayed and many people go the extra mile so you will find anything from skeleton clothes to full Victorian garb on men and women, vying for photographic splendour and to honour of the ancestors who have passed on.
Walking around with our faces painted all day was a really neat adventure. We alternated between posing for other people’s pictures and asking random strangers if we could take their photo.
Heather all painted up. The butterfly was very interested!
My favourite group photo was with Danielle. Dad wanted to take a picture of her with us, so we posed together. I asked her in English how old she was, Dad jumped in and proudly told her: you know English you can answer. The child replied with perfect enunciation ‘I am 9 years old!’ Clearly, her English is significantly better than my Spanish!
Another important part of the Dia De Muertos celebration is the Altars (altars) we saw. We learned lots about the lives of the strangers that had a public oferta. Each oftera has a picture of the deceased and items that they enjoyed in their life. This reinforced for us that people passing away can be a celebration of memories, instead of a morbid hush-hush tradition.
Typically the oferta are small sugar replicas of real life things, but on more than one occasion we saw actual bottles of tequila and beer. We mused that our family and friends would likely choose beer, planes, potato chips, canoes and tents to put on our ofertas!
A large oferta on public display
If we can swing it we will be back in Mexico for future Dia de Muertos celebrations because it was just so much fun! The public areas of the town were packed with people and at the cemeteries was a general sense of celebration that was truly memorable (as well as a beautiful spectacle with all the candles on the altars.)
Have you ever taken part in a local ritual or tradition that you were initially nervous about joining? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Practical Tips for Visiting Mexico on Day of the Dead:
- Book your hotel early as it is a popular time of year to visit - everywhere in town was sold out.
- The paint came off pretty easily with soap and water, but a few Q-Tips were quite helpful to get the gunk from close to our eyes.
- Think about someone you might like to remember. Buy some of the sugar ofertas that person might like and build our own altar in their honour
- Plan to go to the cemeteries in the evening as a part of your celebration.
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