Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) is an annual holiday in Mexico celebrated on November 1st and 2d. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It celebrates the dead with joy and humor rather than mourning. It coincides with the Catholic All Saints Day. Family graves are cleaned and decorated, and home altars are embellished with offerings like candles, photos, foods, flowers. Special holiday breads and sugar skulls are baked, and charmingly colorful folk-art skeletons engaged in a variety of activities.

I still have not been able to experience this tradition while in Mexico, and who knows when I would be able to since this time of year is prime time for The Christmas Light Pros

We saw the Day of the Dead stuff everywhere in Mexico. The Skeletons that are dressed up [fancy] were so cool. Ernesto were on the hunt to bring one home with us. However, the best one we saw would have been a little hard to transport. It was made of paper and stood about 4ft tall. Usually the males are wearing a tux and the women have fancy dresses. This particular one wore a blue dress, feather boa, and huge hat. Ernesto was really inspired by these katrinas, as they are called in Mexico, so he decided to make his own mask and wear it for Halloween. I was so impressed by his creativity. I always knew he was good at drawing, but he just doesn't do it very often. He started a few weeks ago with a balloon. He did paper mache over it, and then painted a traditional design on it. So cool!

When he put on the mask, along with the tux [I bought him at a consignment shop] it was one of the best costumes I have ever seen. Here he is standing with Cleopatra.

Smita gets great outfits every year; she loves Halloween. She takes time to think of what she wants to be, and I like to not think too much about it. That is why I wore her Cleopatra outfit from last year. She was a geisha this year and her outfit was great. In addition to the kimono and face paint, she added the accessories, which really made it authentic. (sandals with socks, paper umbrella, and fan.

We were invited to a party Friday night and it was so fun. There was a DJ outside and we danced the whole night. It felt exciting to dance with this new mysterious man.