El Muerte no Espera

So again, I'm a little late on my blogging (I haven't even written about Mexico City yet which was about a month ago! Soon...) but I guess Día de los Muertos was only five days ago. What a beautiful tradition to witness and be made a part of! I think I gave you a little rundown about this holiday in the I See Dead People post so I won't go into it too much, but just tell you about my experiences. Really quick...
The basic elements of all ofrendas include:

-a crucifix

-the image of the person to whom it is dedicated

-at least two candles (many had tons more)

-a glass of water (to keep the dead hydrated on their journey)

-a plate of salt

-at least two lamps (lighting the way)

-one oil lamp

-incense

-flowers, preferable the orange “flor de los muertos” called Cempasúchiles (there was a full in-service in my suite to teach me how to say this word one day last week)

Other elements that are often included are food, sweets, bread, and favorite things of the person being honored. 

Day of the Dead is on November 2nd so the Saturday before, I went into Puebla with my host sister to look at some Ofrendas. The Casa de Cultura had a lot set up that we got to walk around and look at. Here are some of them. 

In the center you'll see a white skull called a "calaverita de azucar" which is made of sugar and is decorated with cool designs and colors. I got to make some with the preschoolers on Friday and it is a lot harder than it looks! They are very common on the ofrendas and in vendor stands during this holiday.

Papel Picado is very popular on this day and on the ofrendas. Also, a bottle of beer or two is a common occurrence.

I spy person-shaped bread...

Lots of skulls...

Also some social commentary. This one is dedicated to the death of democracy.

Full dishes of food are placed on the ofrendas as offerings to the dead.

These were always fun to look at. Any character can be made into a skull. At some of the local stores, there is almost any scene, from a gynecology appointment to a bar, with skeletons for people. 

This was an ofrenda to assassinated periodistas around Mexico.

Whoever said some fresh poultry wouldn't be appreciated?

An ofrenda for all the babies in limbo.

There were also some being set up in the zócalo of Puebla and in the Palacio Central (main government place). Those included ofrendas to the dead innocent of the narcotics war as well as personal ofrendas to family members.

The eve of Día de los Muertos, this past monday, we took a spur of the moment (as in "stop studying for midterms and meet us outside in five minutes") taxi trip about an hour away to a little town called Huaquechula to look at some ofrendas. We didn't know where to go and were at first told that it was all over. But whoever told us that wasn't considering the fact that these families with ofrendas keep vigil all night. We were pointed in the direction of one, walked into a little courtyard with lots of tables, chairs, and a big ofrenda set up in the corner. Of course we had no idea of the protocol and were just standing there awkwardly being stared at by pretty much everyone in the place. Finally the daughter of the woman being honored, welcomed us in, told us about the ofrenda, offered us a place at one of the tables and we were served bread and a chocolate drink. We stayed there for a bit and then left with one of the nieces who agreed to bring us around to some other ofrendas. We were taken on back roads of this small rural town and would never have been able to find them without her. So thank goodness for her kind heart and also to a bit of skillful flirting of one of the boys in our group. 

Each house we came to, we looked at and admired the ofrenda and paid our respects to the dead and then sat and ate. Ohhhh, we ate. Apparently it would have been rude not too. There was lots of pan, tamales, soup (called pozole) and hot delicious drinks. The family just serves everyone who comes by and it really is an honor to eat with them and celebrate the life of their dead family member. It was not a sad or morbid experience at all, but really beautiful and full of life.  They stay there all night, honoring their dead and feeding everyone that comes to visit. I was so glad I got to participate in this tradition with them, even if we were stared at every step of the way. They welcomed us into their tradition with so much gladness and hospitality and I was very grateful. 

The title of this blog means "death does not wait" and it seems as though this is a reality readily confronted and respected by the Mexican people. It is not feared or treated with sadness. The ofrendas honor the dead but also traditionally are offerings to help the dead in their passing to the next life, when they are between their earthly life and eternal life with God. They have an attitude of "the best is yet to come" and truly, it is.