As I said in my previous post, whenever someone wants to visit me, I ask several questions, such as what type of climate do you prefer, what activities do you enjoy, what type of wild creatures are you willing to tolerate or look forward to seeing. For my son, he preferred cooler weather and wanted to come down for my birthday. Since not much is happening here around my birthday, I suggested his present to me would be to celebrate Day of the Dead with me. He asked me several times to be sure, but I assured him that nothing would make me happier than to celebrate this holiday with him.
As I did when my sister visited me for Mexican Independence Day, we did not spend the time in my village, and in the case of my son we spent the weekend in Tlaquepaque – a town in the state of Jalisco that celebrates Big Time. Day of the Dead is a MAJOR holiday, and as I feared, by the time the dates of the visit were confirmed, most of the hotels in Tlaquepaque were booked solid. However, I was able to find rooms at hotels which were close to the plaza where all the action would take place. Once the reservations were confirmed and bus tickets bought for the trip between Cofradía and Jalisco, I notified my friend Claudia and her daughter Sofia so that we could get together during my visit.
Of course, the first thing we wanted to do was to have our faces painted. I was afraid my son’s beard would interfere with that, but the artist managed. As for me, it was a different story. The artist was using a different type of paint than I had experienced in previous years – not as heavy, so it did not give the appearance of an actual mask, but it was still beautiful. My eyes are sensitive to eye makeup, so I expected my eyes to tear and eventually smear the makeup. Good thing we took pictures right away, since the tearing was heavier than usual, and by the next morning I had an infection/inflammation. We went to a hospital clinic that was in the plaza where I received prescriptions and after a while needed to go rest in our hotel room while my son Michael, Claudia and Sofia continued with their day.
That first day, more and more people arrived to celebrate. By lunch time, it was so crowded that we could barely move. It reminded me of New York City at Christmastime with people shoulder-to-shoulder. The second day, it was much less crowded during the early part of the day, so we could see many of the displays that were just unapproachable the night before.
When it was time for lunch, there was a waiting list for every restaurant, so we picked the one with the shortest wait time, and we were not disappointed after we were seated. Two dancers performed for the customers, and it was very impressive.
That first night, there was a procession which we followed. People in costume would stop at various places in the street and tell stories. At the end, we were in the cemetery, and they introduced the speakers, who were actually members of the Toastmasters Club, and for one of the ladies, it was her first time telling a story in public.
While there is something magical about Día de los Muertos at night, it was also very nice to see all the altars and other decorations and displays during the day. All in all, I am glad that my son got to have the experience of Mexico during this special holiday.
Please enjoy the videos and photos, and if you are planning one day to see Mexico, consider spending a day or two in Tlaquepaque. It has so many things to do and experience – great restaurants, shops, museums, outdoor sculptures by our famous artists. You will definitely not be disappointed.
mex-pat.org 