Dia de los Muertos  Day of the Dead

Calavera is Spanish for “skull” and in Mexico, it has a much deeper meaning. There is a long tradition of art depicting skeletons in Mexico. Calaveras means skulls and by extension of course skeletons. Dia De Los Muertos is not celebrated on Halloween and it is not tied to this now secular day of trick or treating.

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The Day of the Dead is actually a week of joyous celebration because the dead get to come back and celebrate with their families and loved ones.

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The Nobel Prize-winning Mexican writer Octavio Paz explains in his book Labyrinth of Solitude."The Mexican ... is familiar with death, jokes about it caresses it, sleeps with it, and celebrates it. True, there is as much fear in his attitude as in that of others, but at least death is not hidden away: he looks at it face to face, with impatience, disdain or irony.

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In Mexico, the Aztec culture believed life on earth to be something of an illusion – death was a positive step forward into a higher level of conscience. For the Aztecs skulls were a positive symbol, not only of death but also of rebirth.

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The Day of the Dead that is celebrated throughout Mexico for centuries before Christianity came in. Prior to the Spanish indigenous peoples of central and Latin America celebrated and paid their respects to those who had passed away.  The Aztecs had a month-long festival that was dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl who was the ruler of the afterlife. 

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Pan de Muerto (“Bread of the Dead”) is a traditional Mexican sweet bread that is commonly made during Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos).

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Beautiful Campeche

Visiting Merida

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Living in Chelem, Yucatan