October 2019

The village of Tzintzuntzan is famous for its celebration of the Dia de Los Muertos. In this former capital of the Tarascan people, the indigenous Purepecha culture is still strong in the town as well as in other villages around Lake Pátzcuaro. The Dia de Muertos (Nov 2) is a hybrid celebration of the European "All Souls Day" - brought by the Spaniards- and indigenous practices of honoring their autochthonous forefathers. Mesoamerican cultures believe that the souls of the ancestors will return to this earthly plane one day each year on this day to check on their families and make sure they are not themselves forgotten. The national holiday is celebrated all over Mexico, Central America, and the southwestern United States, but the old customs are particularly strong in this area. Families decorate the graves and stay up all night in the cemetery, sitting around the gravestones, remembering the dead and sharing stories. Graves are covered with bouquets of marigolds or zempazuchitl, and surrounded with offerings of food, pictures of the deceased, and thousands of candles. In Tzintzuntzan, as in many other areas where the Día de los Muertos is celebrated, the wake has become a major tourist attraction, forcing change and interrupting the peaceful life of this otherwise serene community.