EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

Halloween is a rather new phenomenon in Vallarta.  Probably started by the gringos and drag queens; but about 5 or 6 years ago the kids picked up on it.  Now it is a huge holiday.  The kids do not go from house to house, but bar to bar.  Mostly along the Malecon.  For those of you who are a new reader and unfamiliar with Vallarta, the Malecon is a wide street that runs right along the water front in old Town.  Most of it was turned into a pedestrian only street about four years ago.  Although it is a tourist attraction and the restaurant, shops and bars that line one side of the street are mostly for tourist, most of the people there are Mexican.  Families love to stroll along the beautiful street in the evenings,  so it was a perfect place for the kids on Halloween.

I reserved a table at the Cheeky Monkey that was right on the balcony.   Jennifer went in costume, I did not,  When someone asked why I did not, I told them that I was in costume.  I was dressed up like an old man (they just stared at me).  We got the corner table so we could not only watch everything but throw candy off the balcony.  I bought four huge bags at Costco and in less than two hours, we were out of candy.  The food is barely passable, but the drinks are cheap and it was a perfect spot to see the passing parade.  Thousands of people milled about, many in costume, but some just begging for candy.  It was so much fun.  Unfortunately my camera is afraid of the dark and refuses to take good pictures after sunset (especially at a distance).  We took a cab there planning to walk back along the Malecon and I thought I could get some good shots there.  There were also huge paper mache statues along the street but guess what.  The battery had already died.  Sorry!

The Day of the Dead was an old Aztec tradition for honoring the dearly departed.  The Indians had it in May but the Catholics changed it to the 1st and 2nd of November to coincide with the Catholic All Saints Day.  Yes I know that is two or three days if you count Halloween, but is still called the "Day" of the Dead.  Hey! it is Mexico!  It is not supposed to be scary like Halloween but a reverent day to morn family members who have died.  Families will erect altars in their homes and two side of the City Hall are dedicated to shrines of both family members and some famous Mexican people.  City Hall is called the Presidential Palace for reasons only know to Mexicans.  If you asked a cab driver to take you to City Hall, he would have not idea what you wanted.  The ground around the shrine is covered with mosaic squares of different colored materials (dated back to the Aztecs).   They use lots of colored paper, flowers and always food for the dead.  There is a traditional Day of the Dead bread, but they will also add others that the deceased liked to eat (sometimes even a cup or coffee or a bottle of Tequila).  Of course there are lots of flowers (both real and fake).  Unfortunately for you, there are no photos.  My camera battery was dead that night.  I had planned on returning the following day to take photos, but was too tired and lazy.

However Jennifer, Vickie and I did visit the cemetery the next day.  I had been there before (I wrote a blog on it three years ago) but they had never visited the cemetery.  It is a hoot!  The square in front had all kind of stalls selling drinks, food, and lots of decorations for the graves.  All the graves are cleaned and covered in flowers and decorations.  Family is very important in Mexico (well, that and using any excuse to party).  The cemetery had been full for years, so families return to honor people who died a long time ago.  I did notice one tomb that had not been cleaned.  It was black and the marker had been knocked over and was broken.  I guess the entire family must be deceased.  I also notice that most graves are marked by large slabs of marble or sometimes small buildings but some had only a very small stone cross with a plastic Jesus marking the spot (must have been a very poor family).  After touring the cemetery we joined the festivities in the park.  Lots of people had painted faces and some were in costume.   Most of the women (and some drag queens) dress as La Catrina.  She had become the symbol of Dead of the Dead.  She consists of the skeleton of a woman in very rich clothing.  She was originally designed as a cartoon to mock the vanities of the rich.

They had a parade that was really fun to watch.  At the head was a huge paper mache  skeleton riding a bicycle.  Lots of bands, horses and people in all sorts of odd costumes.  One rider held a very small screaming child in one hand and had a beer in the other.  (Don;t you just love Mexico?)  There were mariachi bands, but must appeared to be high school bands.  All of them playing at once (but playing different songs creating a calliope of sound).  The crowd screamed and yelled their approval and everyone had a great time (most of them drinking beer).  Mexico is a crazy fun place to live.  Life is never dull here.  I love it!