“Dia de los Muertos” as Day of the Dead is known
in Oaxaca, is a celebration not to be missed that lasts anywhere from two weeks to months, depending upon one’s perspective.
For those of us who come to observe, October 31 and, more importantly, November 1 and 2 are the days not to be missed at the cemeteries and the zocalos where activities surrounding this most important holiday always abound.
However, if you come in the days and even weeks before then, you will see markets brimming with the sugar cane, flowers, bread, calaberas (sugar skulls), and other adornments used in the construction of the home altars everyone constructs, be they rich or poor.
Even in our small pueblo of San Pablo Etla, we have local bands that criss cross the hilly dirt roads followed by a costumed and very animated dancing troupe assembled from the youth of the village.
They gather for the “comparsa” which is a traditional musical parade followed by a small play acting out battles with the devil which involves lovers, elders and various other masked characters. There is beer, dancing, live turkeys and general enthusiasm all around.
The women in these pueblos busily embroider for months ahead of Dia de los Muertos to earn the money they need to buy the mole, fruit, flowers, and special treats enjoyed in life by their departed family members. They assemble these items on their altars to entice these spirits to come back for a night to drink, eat and enjoy their worldly indulgences.
For me, it is an amazing experience to observe all this but even more, I enjoy visiting with the ladies, who come down from their mountain villages to deliver the most amazing embroidered blouses you can imagine!
Artist, traveler, and social entrepreneur, Adele Hammond divides her time between Hood River, Oregon and the home where her heart is, Oaxaca, Mexico. The raw texture and color of Mexico became a part of her life when a year abroad with her family in a small Zapotec pueblo outside the city of Oaxaca gradually evolved into an extraordinary five.
Adele blogs about the culture, the crafts, and the people of Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico as well as her experiences in working with indigenous artisans there. Her travels take her down the back roads and into the workshops and homes of these people, where their diverse, ancient traditions and crafts are still being practiced today.
Her business, Latin Threads Trading, showcases and brings to a world market the work of these talented artisans while encouraging enterprise and empowering individuals to flourish independently and through their communities.
