Dia de Los Muertos

Our neighbors at Maya Pedal, the deceased, throw quite the party. For a couple of weeks families have been heading up the hill to clean, paint and prepare the cemtary for the Day of the Dead. The children have all been flyijng their kites that they've constructed out of bamboo, string and scraps for the big day.

The morning of November 1st there was a parade of people carrying crowns and meals to spend the day with their loved ones.I figured this type of day would have a somewhat dark and depressed feeling about it, but the opposite was true (for the most part). Houses open up to seel corn and rice milk, vendors fill the entrance of the cemetary with cotton candy, tacos, fruit and corn. The commotion of cars, red tuk tuks (golf cart like taxis), people and animals sends off a lively vibe. Inside the cemetary the coffins are placed inside small cement/wooden structures above the ground (I forget what they are called). They are all covered in fresh, bright paint and flowers.

The families sit in front of or beside the small hut structures and have their meal. They serve a plate to their loved one, and we were told that if anyone is to eat from that plate the spirits become enraged and often the guilty man, woman or child becomes very ill.

Now, for the most beautifully symbolic part of the day: the kite flying. Kites fly high above the cemetary guided by the hands of children as they stand atop the graves. Some of their faces glow with smiles, others look like they are in an Olympic compettion, and some of the youngest children are simply holding or pulling their kites along behind them.

The symbolism of the kites is too rich for words...the spirit of the wind...I could feel it.