Mexico

Published on February 3rd, 2023

Día de los Muertos in Oaxaca

Continuing with Chapter Two of the Mexico Trifecta…

After a fabulous week in Mexico City, it was time to move on to the primary impetus for this entire trip: witnessing the age-old celebration of La Día de los Muertos in Oaxaca. I’d long wanted to experience this festival authentically – in the land where its roots can be traced to the ancient Aztecs three millennia ago.

First off – a little background on all this “Dead” stuff…

While “La Día de los Muertos” (The Day of the Dead) might seem a somber, frightening affair (and btw, has absolutely nothing in common with all that pumpkins and “trick or treat” nonsense in late October that I so fondly remember as a youngster) – in Mexico, it’s actually a very positive, festive time.

Rather than mourning, the holiday is a joyful celebration when families gather together to remember friends and loved ones who have passed, and indeed – invite their spirits back with glowing altars (“ofrendas”) laden with their favorite foods and other earthly delights.

Which – speaking of “…favorite foods and other earthly delights” – segues nicely into..

OH MY – THE EEEATS!!!

Not only is Oaxaca one of the best Mexico locales to celebrate the annual Dia de los Muertos, but it also happens to be THE #1 best place for foodies like yours truly! So needless to say, upon arrival – I wasted no time before grazing the abundant street food (like “elote”, pictured left – fresh grilled sweet corn on the cob, slathered in an irresistible mix of garlicky lime crema, crumbly cheese, and chili powder).

Along with wandering the labyrinth of tasty aisles at Oaxaca’s many mercados (e.g. Mercado Benito Juarez (watermelon infused “agua fresca” – yes please!), Mercado 20 de Noviembre (known for its sizzling meats in “Pasillo de Humo” – “Smoke Alley”); Mercado Central de Abastos (home to Doña Vale’s crunchy “memelas” – made famous by the Netflix documentary on Latin American street food).

“tejate” may not look very tasty, but trust me… es muy rico!

Frothy “tejate” (a pre-historic maize and cacao drink drunk directly from small painted bowls); Mexican “horchata” (not red like here in Ecuador, but creamy white, made from rice milk), “tuna” ice cream (nope, not the fish, but rather, a red fruit from the prickly pear cactus}; giant “tlayudas” (similar to pizza, but a massive tortilla topped with beans, Oaxacan cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, et al).

Oh and… more than a half-dozen different “mole” (pronounced “MOH-lay”) sauce variations (mole negro, rojo, amarillo, verde, Coloradito, etc.) of course!

And though I actually prefer authentic street eats to dollops of fancy “foam” atop tidbits on pricey tasting menus, nonetheless, whilst wandering around one late afternoon, I happened upon one of the very best restaurants in all of Oaxaca…

ORIGEN

So (naturally!), it took all of 15 seconds for me to hop on inside and order the 7 course Origen tasting menu (1,580 pesos / ~$70). Not only worth. every. peso. but… actually, quite the bargain for such a renowned, upscale restaurant!

SKELETONS EVERYWHERE!

While the two festive parades I happened to catch in Mexico City were amazing, Oaxaca took the party trimmings over-the top! Most every square inch of Oaxaca was festooned with Day of the Dead marigolds, skeletons, and elegant “La Catrina” lasses at every turn.

And indeed, for my week-long stay in Oaxaca, I opted for my own little apartment (NOT an evil “airbnb”, mind you!) nestled amid the cobbled streets and colorful buildings of the Jalatlaco neighborhood. Retaining much of its Colonial heritage (not to mention a legendary culinary scene) Jalatlaco proved both convenient (but a 15 min. walk to most every corner of Oaxaca central), as well as among the most festively decorated corners of Oaxaca City.

THE TEXTILE MUSEUM

Given my once obsessive love affair with creative art quilting for nearly a decade, I hold a special fondness for all manner of fabrics (color & texture could easily be my middle name). So naturally I couldn’t resist an afternoon visit to Oaxaca’s Museo Textil.

A small two-story affair (free admission), the museum includes both hand-woven contemporary works, along with a most impressive array of more traditional textiles and clothing from the many different regions of Mexico. Not only did I get my fill of fiber art, but it was here – just around the corner that I stumbled upon the Origen restaurant. The perfect way to polish off the day with two of my creative loves: the textile arts, and the culinary arts!

THE TLACOLULA MARKET & TEOTITLÁN “ALFOMBRAS”

While I deliberately kept nearly my entire week in Oaxaca free to aimlessly wander the cobbled streets, eating, shopping and simply soaking up whatever serendipity might come my way, I did have one burning excursion that I hoped to navigate a bit further from the city: The Sunday market in Tlacolula and especially – the tiny Zapotec rug-weaving village of Teotitlán Del Valle.

Among the ages-old pre-Hispanic “tianguis” (open-air markets reliably held on particular market days each week in central towns all across Mesoamerica), the Sunday Tlacolula market lies about 30 km from Oaxaca City. You can of course take a ubiquitous “Viator” or “GetYourGuide” day tour there (for a mere $70), but honestly? Personally, I find the rampant proliferation in recent years of such organized “cookie-cutter” tours – sad, as well as disturbing. Indeed, this life-long veteran traveler can’t help but wonder…

“Old School” (grumpy) veteran traveler can’t help but wonder…

Whatever happened to the thrill and serendipity (and yes, often challenges) that can only come from taking independent travel whim by-the-horns, and hopping on a local bus – often not knowing for sure just what you might find, nor even where you might end up?

And so I did.

I simply noodled out just what corner of Oaxaca City I needed to skip to on Sunday morning, and which public bus would likely deposit me at the Tlacolula market. And for little more than 11 pesos (~50¢) not only did I arrive safely at the market in less than 30 minutes, but even better – I enjoyed the fun of mingling with, um… you know, the LOCAL PEOPLE I’d traveled so far to meet – as opposed to a van-load of jabberin’ English-speaking *tourists* just-like-me!

lol END. OF. RANT. 😀

And the market did indeed prove HUGE and amazing – with a myriad of colorful artisanal trinkets, along with traditional eats served up steaming at every turn. Furthermore, with another little bit of investigative shoe-leather research at the market, I figured out how to catch another local bus that would kindly drop me by the tiny Zapotec village of Teotitlán Del Valle – famous for its authentic handmade wool “alfombras” (rugs) – on the way back “home” to Oaxaca City.

The results? Not one, but (g-knows I couldn’t help myself!) TWO beautiful wool treasures to grace the walls of my dear Casa River View back in Cuenca. I also saved a bundle by purchasing these beauties directly from the weavers at about 1200 pesos each (~$60) vs. similar rugs selling for $100+ back in Oaxaca (Footnote: or… I just happened to check… closer to **$600*** online!!!)

AND FINALLY – THE MAIN EVENT!!!

THE best Day of the Dead Experience of all…

As I said earlier – my entire three week trip to Mexico, was predicated on finally realizing a life-long travel “bucket-list” dream: experiencing the ancient festival of “La Día de los Muertos” – authentically, full-tilt, in the land where the ancient Aztec people first dreamed up the party.

Ecuador’s “guaguas” bread babies for Día de los Difuntos

Nowadays, there are various flavors of Día de los Muertos festivities popping up all over the globe, with remnants of the festival’s many customs turning up in such far-away corners as Italy and the Philippines. Indeed, to a less flamboyant degree, even my beloved Ecuador observes the ritual (i.e. “Día de los Difuntos” – Day of the Deceased). Here (coinciding with the Catholic holiday of All Souls Day), my Cuencano friends and neighbors bake “guaguas de pan” (sweet pastry in the shape of babies), sip “colada morada” (a spiced fruit porridge”), and visit the local cemetery to spruce up the graves of their loved ones with flowers.

Ah but in Mexico (and especially in Oaxaca), the celebration is a non-stop over-the-top spectacle of colors, parades, rambling musicians, and sheer JOY starting a week or more before midnight on 31 October (1 November, “El Día de los Inocentes” when the spirits of the “angelitos”/”little angels” – children who have died – return); and climaxing the following night when the spirits of the adults that have passed are welcomed back with glowing altars set with their favorite foods and drink (mezcal, naturally!)

I of course did my usual copious research on all this many weeks before I even bought my air ticket to Oaxaca. And again, it was clear that the pricey commercial tour companies (that charge local operators up to *50%* in commissions!) offered any and all manner of guided day trips, night time cemetery visits, younameit.

No. way… Did I want any part of being herded around by private shuttle in a cookie-cutter Disney-esque version of a three thousand year old festival.

Happily, with a bit more digital shoe-leather and perseverance, I unearthed what appeared to be a truly authentic Día de los Muertos experience. A private, all-day and half-the-night affair offered by a local Oaxacan lad limited to but a dozen participants. Fully 16 hours (from 9 am to 1 am the following morning) the entire tour was a family-affair – with transportation by public bus to his family home on the outskirts of the city – where his mother cooked a feast of traditional dishes, his uncle plied us w/ plenty of homemade mezcal, and his sisters (uber-talented artistas!) painted our faces pasty-white with traditional dark sunken skeleton eyes.

But first – the local bus dropped us all off at the family’s “cempasúchil” (marigold) patch. Thought to attract and guide the souls of the dead from cemeteries back to their family homes by both their golden color and pungent aroma – these bright blossoms are arguably THE most quintessential symbol of the entire Día de los Muertos festival. And to be able to start the sunny Oaxacan morning picking the tall blooms straight from the field was truly a most genuine way to begin a full day of authentic El Día de los Muertos customs, foods, activities, and fun!

THE FOOD…

Salvador’s mother and sisters cooked us a most bountiful array of traditional eats – from steamy mugs of hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon, chili powder, and nutmeg; to loaves of “pan de muerto” (decorated with sugary bitty “muertitos” – little dead people), to succulent “memelitas” – thick corn tortillas smothered in homemade mole negro and topped with fresh Oaxacan cheese and chunks of roasted cactus.

BUILDING OUR “OFRENDA”, PAINTING FACES…

We had plenty of fun activities to while away the day awaiting nightfall. Foremost was building our own special Day of the Dead “ofrenda”/altar – stringing peanuts, and piercing a bazillion of our precious marigold buds with half-toothpicks, then punching them into Styrofoam to trim the skull, etc. above the altar.

Some of us also painted ceramic skulls – then placed them on the altar in honor of our own loved ones that have passed. Note my brightly painted “Arleen – Bill” skull complete with a candle – lovingly tucked on the altar in remembrance of my dear madre y padre.

NIGHT DESCENDS and the SPIRITS COMETH…

And finally, after dark we all piled into a couple of taxis and headed for the local cemetery. The place was crammed with people, and alive with music and frivolity. All happily lingering among the graves, and reminiscing about loved ones that had passed. Indeed, my own feelings as I politely perched next to Salvador atop his grandpa’s grave with a shot-glass of mezcal to toast the dear, departed fellow?

Priceless. The perfect ending to a most incredible Día de los Muertos experience!

#########

Phew! Another 2,000 words here (not to mention more than 40 edited images) – and I still have to churn out at least a few details on the final chapter of this three week Mexico Trifecta (Puerto Escondido). I’d hoped to publish this Oaxaca chapter in January ’23, but heck, these tomes don’t write themselves, after all. So no surprise I missed the deadline I’d set for myself by a few days. With any luck though – hopefully, I’ll managed to finish off the complete Mexico Trifecta saga by February’s end – so stay tuned…

Dyanne

P. S. New here and curious who I am? Check my bio to learn more! Better yet, subscribe to my email list (so you never miss a single post) and get a pdf of my 30+ Best Travel Tips (trust me, at least one is sure to be a revelation).

About the Author

Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!

Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail