Mexico - Destination Mexico

You probably aren't thinking of going to Mexico to celebrate death but here festivities and morbidity seem to go hand in hand! Plus if you are in the country or thinking of visiting later in the year, this is a festival you won't want to miss. The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is celebrated annually on November 1 and 2 as a reunion of dead relatives with their families. It sounds kind of ghoulish but for Mexicans it's a natural celebration. They believe in a life/death/rebirth continuum and that the souls of the dead return every year to visit their living relatives - and eat, drink and be merry of course! So you see it's not that ghoulish after all...

On November 1 (All Saint's Day) deceased children are remembered with toys and colorful balloons adorning their graves. On the next day (All Souls Day) adults are honoured with displays of the departed's favourite food and drinks, ornamental and personal belongings. Shops and candy stalls get in on the act to sell skull-shaped candies and sweets, marzipan death figures, elaborate wreaths and crosses decorated with paper or silk flowers, candles and votive lights and papier maché skeletons. These are used to adorn the graves to guide the spirits home. Once the altars are decorated, incense is burned, prayers and chants for the dead are intoned and drinks and food consumed. From 6pm bells ring every 30 seconds to summon the dead. At dawn they stop and the relatives who have kept the all night vigil go home. You probably won't get much sleep either if you're staying anywhere nearby!

The most interesting celebrations for The Day of the Dead take place on the island of Janitzio in Lago de Pátzcuaro. At dawn on November 1 the locals have a ceremonial duck hunt. At midnight the cooked duck and other food is brought to the cemetery. Candles light the way as women pray and men chant through the night. The nearby towns of Tzintzuntzan, Jaráuaro and Erongarícuaro also hold interesting celebrations. You could also consider visiting Oaxaca, Patzcuaro (Michaocan), Huejutla (State of Hidalgo), Chiapa de Corzo (Chiapas), Jesús María (Nayarit), Míxquic (Federal District) and Tecate (Baja California).

Carnaval...
All of South America celebrates this raucous event in the days leading up to the start of Lent in Jan/Feb. Don't miss it. It is celebrated exuberantly with parades, floats, costumes, music and dancing in the streets. The biggest Carnaval celebrations in Mexico are in the port cities (Ensenada, La Paz and Veracruz), with the largest of all in Mazatlan. Mazatlan's Carnaval attracts over 300,000, making it the third largest behind Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans. If you plan to visit Mazatlan during Carnaval book accommodation well ahead.