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 ....?

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