What are the Days of the Dead?
This is an ancient festivity that has been much transformed through the years, but which was intended in Prehispanic Mexico to celebrate children and the dead. Hence, the best way to describe this Mexican holiday is to say that it is time when Mexican families remember their dead and the continuity of life.
Two important things to know about the Mexican Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) are:
1. It is a holiday with a complex history, and therefore its observance varies quite a bit by region and by degree of urbanization.
2. It is not a morbid occasion, but rather a festive time.
The original celebration can be traced to many Mesoamerican native traditions. In the Aztec calendar, this ritual fell roughly at the end of the Gregorian month of July and the beginning of August, but in the postconquest era it was moved by Spanish priests so that it coincided with the Christian holiday of All Hallows Eve (in Spanish: "Día de Todos Santos.") This was a vain effort to transform the observance from a profane to a Christian celebration. The result is that Mexicans now celebrate the day of the dead during the first two days of November, rather than at the beginning of summer. The modern festivity is characterized by the traditional Mexican blend of ancient aboriginal and Christian features.
Generalizing broadly, the holiday's activities consist of families (1) welcoming their dead back into their homes, and (2) visiting the graves of their close kin. At the cemetery, family members engage in sprucing up the gravesite, decorating it with flowers, setting out and enjoying a picnic, and interacting socially with other family and community members who gather there. In both cases, celebrants believe that the souls of the dead return and are all around them. Families remember the departed by telling stories about them.
The Days of the Dead can range from being a very important cultural event, with defined social and economic responsibilities for participants, to being a religious observance featuring actual worship of the dead, to simply being a uniquely Mexican holiday characterized by special foods and confections. In general, the more urban the setting within Mexico the less religious and cultural importance is retained by observants, while the more rural and indigenous the locality the greater the religious and economic import of the holiday. Oaxaca is an ideal location to observe this special holiday.
From: Salvador, R. J. (2003). What Do Mexicans Celebrate On The Day Of The Dead? Pp. 75-76, In Death And Bereavement In The Americas. Death, Value And Meaning Series, Vol. II. Morgan, J. D. And P. Laungani (Eds.) Baywood Publishing Co., Amityville, New York.
Travel program to Mexico, an overview:
On this travel program to Mexico, planned especially for OSURA members, we will see the very best of Mexico at one of the most fascinating times of the year to be there. We’ll set the stage with four nights in the heart of Mexico, the capital city, where we’ll learn about the Prehispanic history of the country by visiting the historic Plaza of Three Cultures, the Zocalo (main city square of every city and village in Mexico), and the magnificent archeological site of Teotihuacan. We’ll explore the art of the country with visits to the studio homes of Mexico's most famous artists, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, the stunning Dolores Olmedo Museum, and the colorful Saturday Bazaar.
On Tuesday we’ll fly to the southern state of Oaxaca, where we’ll spend five days exploring the city and the many small villages around the area, each famous for a different type of folk art. In the villages, we’ll visit the craftsmen and women in their homes and learn about their distinctive art forms. Each day the bustle of activity in the colorful public markets will grow more intense as home and business altars are made ready for the three important days, October 31, November 1 and November 2, which are fast approaching. On October 31, after the impressive procession of the Virgin of the Rosary, we’ll visit two cemeteries and watch families preparing the graves of their loved ones while preparing to spend the entire night welcoming back their spirits.
November 1 is one of the most important days of the year in Mexico, the day spirits return to the family homes. As our final evening in Oaxaca, we’ll spend the evening with one family in the wood-carving village of San Martin
Ticaljate, as Epifanio Fuentes and his family warmly welcome us to their home. They’ll explain the altar and the special foods, drink, and activities which characterize this unique night. The Fuentes will host a party for their family, for their visitors, and for the returning spirits of their ancestors; this will be a celebration of both life and death which we will remember long after we return to the United States.
Throughout the trip we will learn about contemporary issues in Mexico (and consider how these influence the United States) and other economic and social problems which confront Mexico today.
Itinerary (B = breakfast, L = lunch, D = dinner)
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Mexico City cathedral,
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Day 1 | Friday, October 24, 2008 (D)
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Arrival in Mexico City
Activities depending on time of arrival
Welcome dinner at a local restaurant
Overnight, Mexico City
Day 2 | Saturday, October 25, 2008 (B, L)
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Buffet breakfast in the hotel
Tour areas to the south of Mexico City, including the magnificent museum home of Dolores Olmedo, who called herself the “constant companion of Diego Rivera” who has an outstanding collection of Rivera’s artwork, as well as some of the most famous works of Frida Kahlo, magnificent Prehispanic art, and colorful Mexican folk art
Visits to the two studio homes of Frida Kahlo (in Coyoacan), the “Blue House,” and the studio home of her husband, Diego Rivera (in San Angel)
Buffet lunch with Mexican specialties in the pleasant courtyard of the Saturday Bazaar
Stroll the shaded and fascinating streets of the Saturday Bazaar which overflows two parks near the Rivera home to see some of the best of Mexican art
Dinner on your own
Overnight in Mexico City
Day 3 | Sunday, October 26, 2008 (B, L)
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Buffet breakfast in the hotel
Drive over the Continental Divide to Cuernavaca, the City of Eternal Spring, located on the Pacific slope of the mountains
Visit to the palace of Hernan Cortes, where he ruled an empire in new Spain which was larger than all of peninsular Spain
View the mural (commissioned by US Ambassador Dwight Morrow) by Diego Rivera which depicts the founding of the city Guided tour of the Robert Brady Museum, an eclectic collection of art from all over the world, housed in a former bishop’s home
Free time to enjoy the Zocalo (city square) of Cuernavaca
A late luncheon at the magnificent Las Mananitas, one of the finest restaurants in Latin America, with time to enjoy the gardens and sculpture, followed by a visit to the best silver stores in Mexico, just across the street
Late afternoon, return to Mexico City
Dinner on your own
Overnight, Mexico City
Day 4 | Monday, October 27, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Breakfast in the hotel
Driving tour of the historic district of Mexico City, view the murals of Diego Rivera in the National Palace, the seat of government for the country. These murals give an overview of the Prehispanic history of Mexico.
Visit to the Plaza of Three Cultures, one of the most important sites in the entire country, and the location of the surrender of the Aztec chief to Cortes in 1521.
Lunch near the archeological site
Tour of the vast archeological site of Teotihuacan, to see the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon
Dinner with Mexican specialties in the restaurant Fonda del Refugio (highlighted in a recent New York Times travel section article)
Overnight, Mexico City
Day 5 | Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Morning flight to Oaxaca
Orientation tour of the small city of Oaxaca, with a visit to the impressive Church of Santo Domingo and the Regional Museum of Oaxaca (the wonderfully-restored Ex-convento), the huge city public market (just a block from the Zocalo), the crafts market, and the chocolate “factory.”
Lunch on the Zocalo in front of our hotel
Group dinner at the Asador Vasco restaurant overlooking the Zocalo, where we’ll enjoy some great Mexican romantic music (dancing encouraged!)
Overnight in Oaxaca
Day 6 | Wednesday, October 29, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Visit several small villages today, each known for its distinctive art or craft:
- Ocotlán: to see a small museum in a church monastery, restored by the Rodolfo Morales Foundation with examples of the special art of the village, that of the Aguilar family, followed by a trip to the home of Josefina Aguilar, the best-known producer of clay figures in the village. We’ll see a demonstration of the creation of these figures that are sold in some of the finest galleries in Mexico and elsewhere.
- Santo Tomas: to meet the women in their open air collective, where colorful cotton belts, table runners, and purses are produced on backstrap looms
- San Martin: famous for the woodcarvings of Oaxaca, where we’ll meet the family of Epifanio Fuentes and observe the whole family participating in the production of their famous woodcarvings
- San Bartolo Coyotepec: famous for the black pottery seen all over Mexico, where we’ll watch Valente Nieto, son of Doña Rosa (who rediscovered the process for making black pottery) demonstrate his mother’s famous techniques.
Picnic lunch as we travel
Dinner at the Casa de Mi Abuella restaurant, one of the most authentic restaurants for Oaxacan foods, maybe we’ll sample those fried grasshoppers Oaxaca is famous for!!
Overnight in Oaxaca
Day 7 | Thursday, October 30, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Sandpainting in Oaxaca,
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Visit to the social service program for the street children of Oaxaca in downtown Oaxaca, with a tour of the facility which provides nutrition and education for over 500 poor children. We’ll make a donation of children’s vitamins to the program.
Travel by bus to a mountainside Zapotec-speaking village of Teotitlan del Valle, to meet the family of Soledad Vasquez, whose family’s original designs have made their tapetes the most sought-after hand-woven wool rugs in the area. Soledad will demonstrate the preparation of natural dyes such as cochineal and indigo
Short stop to admire one of the largest trees in the Western Hemisphere, the Tule Tree, where we’ll have a guided tour by the special guides who live in the village of Santa Maria de Tule. We’ll learn about their famous “rain of sweets” on the feast day of Candelaria (February 2, an important day in Mexico).
Brief visit to a mescal “factory,” to see how the famous liquor of Oaxaca is created from the maguey plant.
Lunch in the village at a local restaurant in Teotitlan
Dinner on the lovely patio of the Cathedral Restaurant in Oaxaca
Overnight in Oaxaca
Day 8 | Friday, October 31, 2008 (B, L)
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Guided tour of the magnificent mountaintop archeological site of Monte Alban, inhabited for hundreds of years by both Zapotec and Mixtec groups
Typical Oaxacan lunch on the site, as we look over much of the valley of Oaxaca
Remainder of the afternoon free to prepare for the visits to the cemeteries in the evening
October is the month of the Rosary, and so October 31 is marked by the procession of the Virgin of the Rosary through the streets of Oaxaca as this special month of devotion to the Virgin comes to an end
Dinner on your own
Evening visits to the cemeteries....one of the highlights of the entire program as we observe the candlelit cemeteries and decorated graves of those family members who have departed but whose spirits will return to be with their loved ones for tonight and tomorrow night
Overnight in Oaxaca
Day 9 | Saturday, November 1, 2008 (B, L, light D)
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Morning visit to the village of Arrazola, where we will visit with the sons of the master wood carver, Manuel Jimenez, Isaias and Angelico, whose work is regarded as the best (and most expensive) examples of Mexican wooden figures. Senior Jimenez died two years ago, so the family will be observing the return of his spirit to be with them for this short period of time. Don Manuel is generally credited with starting the interest in woodcarving in Oaxaca, and he was considered the master carver of Oaxaca during his lifetime.
Farewell luncheon at the Hosteria Alcala
Late afternoon free to prepare for the Days of the Dead observances and inspiring visit to the village of San Martin. The family of Epifanio Fuentes will welcome back the spirits of the dead of the their family with candles, special foods, tequila, music, and Oaxaca’s own contribution, mescal. It is a truly a night to remember for all of us!
Overnight in Oaxaca
Day 10 | Sunday, November 2, 2008 (B)
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Breakfast at the hotel
Depart for home
• Note: This itinerary has been prepared months ahead of the actual trip. There may some very slight changes to take advantage of new opportunities, especially due to the Day of the Dead observances.
Travel Seminar Leader
Vivian Harvey
Vivian Harvey has been living and working in Mexico for 18 years and has traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, and Guatemala with university students and faculty members. Prior to moving to Mexico, she was the Assistant Dean in the College of Human Ecology at The Ohio State University for ten years. She is the Educational Programs Coordinator at the Cemanahuac Educational Community, where she works with college faculty members across the United States and Canada to establish cooperative academic programs with
Cemanahuac for graduate and undergraduate credit. She also leads several trips each year in Mexico and Guatemala for groups of artists and art teachers.
Her educational background includes a degree in education from the University of Michigan, and two graduate degrees from The Ohio State University, one in early childhood education and the other in family studies.
Travel land fee:
The land fee, which includes land fee insurance and meals: $1895 (twin) U.S. Funds Only
• Note: Add $350 for single supplement
• Sorry, credit cards cannot be accepted for the land fee/land fee insurance, but the cost of the air travel can be paid with a credit card.
This travel fee includes:
• Hotel, double occupancy, 9 nights
• All breakfasts and lunches, 5 dinners, with coffee or tea.
• Guidance, including all admission fees and honorarium fees for speakers and demonstrations
• Group contribution to the Streetchildren program (Participants will be invited to bring a donation of a bottle of vitamins.)
• All tips, including baggage in airports and hotels, maids tips, and tips for bus driver (no other tips for guides are expected or accepted.)
• A large booklet of information about Mexico City and Oaxaca, given to participants prior to the trip, also a bibliography
• Airport transfers, by bus or airport vans (group flights)
• All land transportation by bus or airport taxis
• Considerable information prior to the trip, in printed material sent by mail and probably one or two meetings in Columbus to discuss the program and give an overview of Mexican history and culture
• Group travel insurance for the land travel is included. (The additional cost for this ($155.00) has been included in the land travel portion of the program for each participant.)
(Air travel, personal expenses, and 5 dinners are not included in this fee. Information on air travel is below.)
Registration information is available from OSURA.
Flight Information
A group flight has been arranged by Ann O'Neill of CarlsonWagonlit Travel.
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Ann O’Neill
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
843 Bethel Road
Columbus, OH 43214
614-459-7776 or 800-966-1606
aneill1440@yahoo.com
At this time the exact cost of the flight is not known. We’ll have this by about January 1, 2008.
No special visas are required, but a valid passport for travel to Mexico in 2008 is necessary.
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Flowers arranged on a grave,
procession of the Virgin of the Rosary,
church in Ocotlan.
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