Dia de los Muertos is a time in Mexico where people gather together and pray for the loved ones they have lost. During this time, family and friends come together to help peoples’ spiritual journey. My time spent in these small towns observing this timeless tradition will forever be a part of me. To see how entire communities come together to sit with families is something I wish everyone would get to experience at least once in their lives. Here is Dia De Los Muertos: A Community Embrace.
A little backstory:
I was making my way towards Puebla, where my friend Pablo lives. Pablo and I met back in Loreto, and met a couple more times along the road through Baja California. Pablo invited me to his home whenever I made it to his part of Mexico.
I realized I would make it to Pablo in time for Dia De Los Muertos. Pablo and I kept in touch here and there along the road, and I asked if he could show me the traditional way in which this amazing celebration is honored. Pablo told me he had the perfect spots he was going to check out this year, and that I should join him.
Small villages, big hearts.
After hanging with Pablo around the city of Puebla, we decided to get some rest. Tomorrow would be a big day! Around afternoon time, we left to pick up two of Pablo’s cousins. They were going to join us in the camping spot Pablo used to frequent as a child, and check out the villages with us as well.
We reached the village before sundown. We went to the first house we saw with flowers outside the entrance. The path of marigold flowers is considered to be put down for the people who have passed, so they can find their way home.
What awaits them on the other side of the entrance?
A beautiful altar strewn with everything they used to enjoy before they moved on. Among other things, their favorite beverages, food, clothing, and pictures are upon this altar waiting for their arrival.
Community embrace
When we showed up to these homes, there were always large groups of people observing each altar. Sometimes, the host would offer stories of their loved ones who have passed. What they used to do, and how they lived their daily lives. Memories they had of these people from long ago.
Every house we arrived to, offered us bread. More bread than anyone could ever handle. After the fourth house, it was pretty hard to eat any more. The hosts insisted on taking the bread with a beverage! Such a kind gesture for the big crowds of people coming to their homes.
To see and feel what it meant for the whole community to come together in honor of these people? Unforgettable. Traveling from home to home, staying for some time, eating their food, exchanging conversation. Above any miscommunications or fighting that may have happened, these people come together in the face of tough times.
Helping the people who have passed, and those who are still with us, move forward. To move forward with the knowing that people are there for them no matter what. That ultimately, whatever they may need, there is always someone to give a helping hand. How comforting that must feel, even after such a traumatic event.
Gravestones
While the altars are built in peoples’ homes if the person has passed within the year, cemeteries are places to remember them forever. The people visiting the graves of their loved ones were mostly family. Each place has a different time when they set up, and by set up I mean decorate all the gravestones! We witnessed people flocking to the graves with all types of flowers. Within minutes this place was transformed from a normal graveyard to an absolute spectacle. Hundreds of people standing, lighting candles, and exchanging memories and prayers for their loved ones. Reminiscing on old times with the people they love. Sometimes, neighboring people would hear a story, and join in on the conversation. Such a beautiful way to remember someone by exchanging their story with others. This happened for quite a few hours. We decided to move forward, get some food (as if the bread they gave us the night before wasn’t enough), and head to the next village.
Sunday Service
Arriving in the next village, we observed a very similar situation. It seems the starting time for the graveyard beautification commenced much later than the previous one. I noticed something different in this village. There were not as many tombstones as there were people resting here. I came to realize there was definitely not as much money in this village, and people would have a simple wooden cross coming out of the ground. Some people, unfortunately, couldn’t even afford this.
The solution? Many shovels. People would build up the mounds above their loved ones before showering them with flowers. As I have mentioned in a previous post, money does not seem to bring a change in TRUE happiness. I have seen people walking around barefoot, who seem totally content, and actually happy with their lives. This experience was no different. To see these people building the tombs again, laughing and crying with each other all over this cemetery, was a very memorable experience.
Shortly after it got dark, the church service began. The priest spent quite some time naming each and every person in the cemetery. The crowds of people totally quiet. Remembering their loved ones in total peace and harmony. Hundreds of people standing around their beloved while the priest finished the service.
Leaving the village
It was time to say goodbye to the few people I had spoken to during this time. I made it a point to not get in anyone’s way, and spent most of the time observing from the corner of the cemetery. Re-lighting candles when they would go out around me from the wind. This, and picking up flowers that had fallen were my only contributions to this day. We left way after dark, the smell of incense burning far from the church.
‘Til next time,
Pete – A Traveling Teacher