November 2, 2006 - Dia de Los Difuntos

The month of November started out with the Dia de los Angeles y Dia de los Difuntos (Commonly known as Dia de los Muertos in Mexico and Spain). The first day of this two-day celebration is in remembrance of the children who have died young – “Angelitos” – and the second day in remembrance of the adults. Following tradition, the celebration consists of laying flowers and offering prayers at the cemetery, and also singing and parades throughout the streets.

On the Dia de los Difuntos, my host mother invited me to observe the celebration with her at the cemetery. She was honoring her recently deceased husband who committed suicide just 7 months ago at the age of 41 – leaving her behind with 3 boys. She honored him by cleaning off his tomb and placing flowers and evergreen branches on the grounds. The cemetery was full of people, doing the same in every corner of the place. Another tradition that has been abandoned in recent years is the bringing of food to the cemetery. It was believed that during the night the souls of the deceased would come back to partake of the food that their loved ones had left for them.