#DIA DE LOS MUERTOS ALTAR OAXACA TV#

I have been collecting day of the dead imagery since I left México at the age of 10. Santo Domingo church towers majestically over the road, and the artisan shops line both sides of the street all the way down to el zócalo, the main city square. Now I see and hear the name- Restaurante Alcalá, Galería Alcalá, Calle Alcalá-repeatedly during my stay. It unsettles me because that was my mother’s maiden name. And then I wonder: Is there room among the merriment for the size of my grief?Īfter breakfast, I walk down the main cobblestone road, Macedonio Alcalá. Outside, so much joyful screeching and cheering. I am exhausted from the journey, but I still feel a sense of freedom to do nothing but rest and then focus on my mission. On the first night in Oaxaca, I fall asleep to the sounds of a brass band and fireworks. Their deaths are so far away, yet I still sob for them with the same adolescent fervor. He died when I was 36, though he abandoned me when I was 13. Isn’t that the whole point to the days of the dead? To smile in the face of absence and loss? I lost my mother and my father young. I laugh too because that is the kind of dark Mexican humor I came looking for, the kind that makes the pain a little more tolerable. “Maybe they bury them there to lose them.” And they burst out laughing. “Maybe that’s the point,” says the first, mischief in her voice. “How do they even find the grave they’re looking for?” Though I know exactly what I am going to see I still look up at the funeral scene taking place among a row of nondescript headstones, each indistinguishable from the next, dramatically different from the Mexican cemeteries with their colorful tiles and angel statues presiding over flowers at every stage of decay. Suddenly one of them says to the other, “Look, look! You see that? That’s an American cemetery.” I praise my choice when I notice that a pair of diners seated at the next table can’t resist glancing over once in a while as they chat.

The station is showing a typical American detective show dubbed in Spanish.

#DIA DE LOS MUERTOS ALTAR OAXACA TV#

Pan de muerto. Bread of the dead.Īt breakfast at the hotel restaurant I sit beneath the flat screen TV to avoid looking at it, though I can hear the sounds of gunfire. Sugar skulls, altars fiery with orange marigolds, clusters of young people in painted skeleton faces strolling the cobblestones- everything and everyone is complicit in the theater. No other place in México builds a more convincing stage than Oaxaca: Each restaurant, hotel and shop places a human-sized catrina as skeleton hostess at the entrance to welcome clients and guests.

I should have gone to Michoacán, our home state, but I wanted to situate myself at the center of Mictlán, the land of the dead. Use the coupon DEPOSIT500 during checkout.I traveled here to the colonial city of Oaxaca to pay tribute to my parents as if honoring them on Mexican soil gave my gesture more meaning. You can save your spot with a 500 Pesos deposit and pay in cash the rest the day of the event if you wish so. The price per person is 2,200 Mexican Pesos. I hope you liked the illustration on top of this page it was made by Luis and all the participants will be part of the raffle to win the original watercolor piece. We are going to have a photo session of the evening so you will have photos of yourself and the altar as well. We will also be assembling our own altar and sharing with you our tradition with a historic and contextual approach to understand how this tradition has been changing throughout time. If you feel like, you can bring a photo of a beloved person or persons that are not among us anymore, to include it in the altar. Hot chocolate and mezcal will be part of the drinks selection that evening. We all are going to prepare delicious tamales with mole and other local ingredients to include in the altar, and also to have dinner. We planned an informative explanation and traditional atmosphere at home to share with you. We have different backgrounds and grew up with very different types of celebrations for Todos Santos / Día de Muertos. An intimate experience with your hosts Betsy and Luis, but also a special guest who will provide the spirits for the night: Samuel.

Dia de los muertos altar oaxaca