El Dia de los Muertos

Halloween! This is not a Mexican custom, but in recent years, it has really caught on. It may have been Mexican kids who had lived in the US and brought the custom back. Or maybe the gringos down here started it. Whatever, the kids love it. They especially head for the areas where there are lots of foreigners, like here in La Floresta and as Rosendo the gardener told me, Chula Vista, an upscale development surrounding a golf course. One group who came here tonight included Letitia, our maid, with her two children from Chapala!

This is also a big day for firecrackers here in Ajijic. It started at 5 a.m. and has been recurring frequently all day. There is a small statue of the Virgin (there are any number of these in Mexico often associated with some appearance of the Virgin and one or more miracles) that normally resides in the small chapel to the Virgin on the north side of the plaza. That chapel is very old dating to the late 17th C. In October, the statue is taken to the parish church just a block from the plaza, but in a long procession that wanders all around Ajijic. There are special masses every day all month in her honor. The statue is even taken to the church in San Antonio Tlayacapan (the village next to us) for 1 night. Anyway, today, the statue is taken back to the chapel where it will reside until the beginning of October next year. Tonight there is a big fireworks display about 10 p.m. We are too tired (we had the 3 girls, plus visitors from Canada staying next door at Steve and Heather’s came over to see the girls and chat). Also, tomorrow Kate, Jack and Sonia arrive.

Actually, the big Mexican celebration at this time of year is El dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). It really takes place over 2 days--Nov. 1 and 2. It is fascinating for several reasons. It is a pre-Spanish and pre-Christian custom. For a while the Catholic Church tried to suppress it but finally decided to link it to All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) and try to Christianize it. While Christian elements have been added and mixed in, in essence it is still a pagan custom and very different in sensibility. In the first place, Mexican attitudes to death involve humor and whimsy. It is a time to remember friends and loved ones who have died, but it is not a time of sadness. I’ll describe some aspects of the customs, but there is too much to cover in one post. In general it starts on the Nov. 1 as relatives go to the cemetery to clean up and beautify the graves of family members with flowers, paper streamers, even altars. On some, they may have photos of the loved ones as part of the altar; usually, there are lots of candles. They bring lots of food and drink and in fact celebrate, in some cases all night and into the next day. They sing songs and recite humorous poems. There is no worry about spirits or ghosts. Cemeteries are not scary places for Mexicans.

Everywhere, they build fancy altars, some small, but others very large. In Chapala, there is an entire street where altars cover the entire front yards on both sides of the entire street. They close off the street and different groups build the altars. It is like some places north of border where neighbourhoods used to put up massive Christmas light decorations on the houses. In the paper, it says that in Zapopan (a city that is part of Metro Guadalajara) they are building a huge altar (over 2 tons of flowers) to set a record. Often these public altars honor a person. The one in Ajijic this year is in honor of a man who died recently. A number of years ago, he started a youth orchestra and enabled many young people to play musical instruments. Many musicians who played in his orchestra are giving a free, public concert tomorrow night as part of the Day of the Dead celebrations. In some cases people will make an altar for a friend who is still alive. It is intended as an honor, and not an expression of a desire to see the person dead!

A favorite image here is La Catrina. This is Lady Death; it is a skull and skeleton with dresses. They are very fanciful and artists put them in all kinds of guises. I saw one today in a wedding dress, but often they will be dressed in other costumes, including a sombrero. Again, death is not feared or part of some superstition. For example, they make sugar candies in the shape of a skull and you can have the name of friend written in chocolate on the forehead for a small gift. The ones I saw today were a bit smaller than a fist. Joel, our Spanish instructor, got them for Jim and Carole Cook who are providing their house for our Spanish conversation class.

This very different attitude to death seems to be from the pre-Spanish era. In their cosmology, they did not fear death as they thought a good death would ensure a good afterlife. The indigenous peoples were very warlike. The best death was to die bravely in battle. The next best death was to be sacrificed to the gods! Many indigenous peoples, including the Mayans and Aztecs, made generous use of human sacrifice. Warriors who were captured in battle, hoped to be chosen to be sacrificed as this would undo the dishonor and missed chance for a good death. In fact the Maya played a game thought to be a bit like lacrosse. There are playing fields (like hockey arenas) in many Mayan cities. It is believed that the winners (not the losers) were given the honor of being sacrificed! Thus, this pagan attitude to death seems to underly attitudes in Mexico. While altars often have images of the Virgin or crosses, these Christian elements on the whole are a bit superficial; the Day of the Dead seems deeply rooted in pre-Christian paganism as are the attitudes to death.