Dia de los Muertos, Part 1

It's almost Dia de los Muertos, and all of Oaxaca has been getting ready, it seems, for weeks now. The Catrinas have been popping up all over for the last month or so.

If I had to pick a favorite it would probably be this one.

This group is also quite attractive.

I like the way this one is casually hanging out between the tables of diners.

This bride seems to be waiting for a drink at the bar.

This calavera seems to be having a pretty good time, but sadly when I visited him the day after I took this picture his glass of mescal had disappeared. Maybe he drank it.

Other signs of the season include Pan de Muerto;

Edible calveras made of all sorts of stuff, including amaranth;

Kids dressed up;

Papel picado;

And miscellaneous dead things.























Halloween is slowly making its presence known in Mexico. Some people find this to be a fun and harmless addition to tradition, others think it's cultural imperialism. I think it doesn't matter which one it is, because Halloween is fun, and fun is extremely highly valued in Mexico -- it's right up there with your family, Jesus Christ, and tortillas.

So, you have ghosts instead of skeletons in some places.

And whatever this is, in the supermarket (ok, maybe this is supposed to be a traditional calavera, but it looks like a sad vampire zombie thing to me);

More kids dressed up, including some in not exactly traditional Mexican style;

And Jack O'Lanterns, which you can only find made of plastic or ceramics, even though pumpkins do exist here.