Día de Muertos

I am moving to Zihuatanejo in mid October. To experience my 1st Dia de Muertos should I stay in Zihuatanejo, book now for a trip to el DF or ....?

Go to Patzcurro if you enjoy crowds and paying 200 to 300 % for rooms. Its a more laid back event in Zihua mostly celebrated by gringos from my limited observations

We really like Patzcuaro, and have visited literally dozens of times, but.....

Dia de los Muertos there is HUGE! Three years ago driving down, we were delayed and arrived in Patzcuaro on October 30. The RV park was two miles out of town, and it was gridlock for a mile before the park. It took us over an hour to make the last mile. Realizing what we were in for, we headed into town early, 9 am, on the combi, knowing nothing would open before 10. Good thing we did. An hour later, gridlock again.

It is more of a performance in Patzcuaro and surrounding towns than a celebration. The cemeteries are amazingly decorated, but largely for the tourists, not for the families. Tours of the cemeteries at night are very popular, and there is absolutely no privacy for the families visiting and sharing with their departed ones. Yes, it's amazing to see, but is it what it's really all about? Not in our opinions. We really enjoyed being in Patzcuaro a couple of days after when the marigold displays are still around and drying. There were still a number of altars still up, and no crowds. The crowds are absolutely insane. If you are planning to go this year, it might already be too late to get a place to stay.

The marigold show is absolutely amazing! The native marigold has a small flower, but will easily grow up to 5 feet in height and be totally orange with blossoms. The hills from about Guadalajara to part way down the mountain from Patzcuaro on the way here turn orange. It is quite a site.

Here, like in most places, it's a happy time, filled with good memories, good food and drink to share with the departed. A time to clean the burial site and buy new plastic wreaths and flowers. Go to the burial site and talk to the departed, remember the good times. Many homes, including ours, have an altar set up. The street behind the mercado is closed off and there are loads of stalls selling flowers, real and plastic, skulls, that kind of thing.

Us? We'll celebrate here and remember with joy those that we have lost, both human and animal.

I am moving to Zihuatanejo in mid October. To experience my 1st Dia de Muertos should I stay in Zihuatanejo, book now for a trip to el DF or ....?

If you are going to live here then I invite you to start off on the right foot and not see Día de Muertos as a festive carnaval-like attraction but rather as the somber and very personal event that it actually represents. Yes, here in Zihuatanejo and in other tourist areas as well as in some of the cities where U.S. culture and marketing is emulated you'll see Halloween and costume parties by folks looking to entertain tourists or using it as an excuse to consume alcohol. But its origins here and elsewhere are meant to honor and remember our deceased loved ones and friends. About the limit of decency that is congruent with the tradition are the concursos de altares where people dedicate public altars to their dearly departed. But for the people who follow the traditional principles and origins of Día de Muertos it is a sad and emotional time. We clean up our family tombstones (if we have them) and we make an altar in our homes with photos and favorite things of our dearly departed including food, drinks and articles that remind us of their life. Lots of families who honor the old traditions spend a lot of time crying and aren't really in a festive mood. But of course being a tourist destination as always we try to put on our best face for the public.

So yes, you can go to Pátzcuaro, Tzintzuntzán, Oaxaca or Huixquilucan and enjoy massive if not somewhat opulent rituals, or you can get up early on the morning of November 2 before the sun gets vertical and mosey on over to the Panteón de Agua de Correa and see how locals humbly remember their departed loved ones. But if you're going to Pátzcuaro you should've made reservations like last year because it is doubtful anyplace nice has any availability. People, mostly Mexicans, usually make reservations at least a year in advance.

Día de Muertos Zihuatanejo 2005

We were in Zihuatanejo for that particular zocalo gathering. It helped to teach me what Dia de los Muertos is really about. It caused us to start having our own celebrations of life, when we are at home. We assemble an alter and invite family and friends over to bring mementos to add and stories to tell. It can get quite emotional and I highly recommend it to other readers of this note. There is no better way to keep the memories of loved ones alive than to share the images and stories with others.

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Curly!

Thank you. That aligns with my sentiments.