Tag Archives: Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead 2024 in Mazatlán

Day of the Dead in Mazatlán has been our favorite holiday for over a decade. It is important to many families: cleaning and celebrating at loved one’s graves, making altars to remember our ancestors and friends, visiting the Angela Peralta Theater, and walking in the callejoneada or alley parade. We were a bit worried as right during Day of the Dead we had the transition to our new mayor and city council, so we were not sure who would be directing CULTURA Mazatlán. Fortunately, it’s again our beloved and enormously talented Raul Rico González and his terrific team.

  • This year the crew of the CMA (Centro Municipal de Artes) and CULTURA put together the 150th anniversary of our beloved Angela Peralta Theater with a magnificent homage.
  • We all marveled at the gorgeous colored streamers hanging over Calle Venus, “Calle de los Espíritus” as it’s known among locals, and I tried to capture that magic in my photos.
  • Inside the Angela Peralta Theater, in addition to the ballet and modern dance, the opera, and incredible costumes, we were privileged to view six nine-foot-tall EDIBLE CATRINAS by Luis Antonio Rios (Momo)! The opening of this exposition is tonight, Monday, 4 November, at 7pm in Galería Rubio, so be sure to go check them out this week.
  • Finally, I believe everyone fell in love with the light-up alebrijes or fantastical creatures that ended the alley parade. They were absolutely breathtaking!

You, dear reader, may have noticed that I have not written here since February 5th of this year. Did you miss me? In December Greg and I traveled to Phoenix to help a friend with cancer. She had five cats, and I have slight allergies. Sadly I soon had bronchitis and then pneumonia. Returning home in early January, my doctor gave me a CT scan (thank you, dear cats!) and found what he said was lung cancer! I have never smoked, ever; still common, he told me. On Feb 28th a terrific surgeon removed the largest lobe of my lungs, followed by chemo and targeted therapy. While I was able to photograph the total solar eclipse on April 8th, Day of the Dead is the first time in nine months I’ve had enough energy to even consider attending an event, photographing it, editing the photographs, and writing a blog post. I trust you’ll enjoy it. It’s great to be getting back (I still tire very easily; but I’m good!). I promised Greg I’d only be out two hours, and fortunately I was able to keep my word.

ALTAR TO OUR FRIEND JORGE MEDINA
We left home at 6:30 pm to get to Casa del Caracol by 7 to join family and my book club members at the altar in memory of Jorge Medina, our dear friend and colleague. We worked with Jorge for over 20 years on the Chicken Breakfast and loved him dearly. He died from cancer, so the fact that my diagnosis came at the same time as his passing was personally poignant.

CRÓNICAS DEL TEATRO
We then headed back to the Plazuela and entered the theater at 7:30. This year, the performance was entitled “Crónicas del Teatro” or “History of the Theater.” Hundreds of our Municipal Arts Center students and professionals—dancers, singers, musicians, scenographers, artists, make up and costumers, audio-visual, choreographers, and theater arts made this always-stellar evening possible! I swear it becomes more popular every year! The entrance was also decorated, and the folkloric ballet performed in the kiosk of the Machado, while a percussion ensemble regaled revelers on Calle Niños Heroes. By far my favorite events in the theater were the six huge edible catrinas and the homage to LA MAYA, the famous mazatleca boxer. I read a book on this incredible woman, way ahead of her time, and I was delighted to witness this tribute to her! Click on any image to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

CALLE VENUS / CALLE DE LOS ESPÍRITUS AND OUR GORGEOUS CENTRO HISTÓRICO
Departing the theater we heard the fireworks indicating that the callejoneada was about to begin. I’d promised not to do the three laps front to back of the entire parade as I usually do, so we left the Plazuela out the other side and attempted to go around the parade. Before returning to the car, however, I was hoping to get a photograph of someone dressed as a catrina under the ribbons on Calle Venus. By the time we arrived, the crowds had packed the street. As always, so many of our neighbors and visitors outdid themselves with their costuming and makeup! My favorite were the Xoloitzcuintles (iconic Day of the Dead dogs, painted as skeletons, of course), the young women, the old women, and the families and kids. I guess that’s maybe… everybody? Oops. We are so blessed to live here and be able to enjoy this tradition!

LA CALLEJONEADA
As I was getting waylaid by all the beautiful spectators along Calle de los Espíritus and the way getting there, suddenly the parade appeared! We had no choice but to watch it! This year’s catrina was In.Cre.Di.Ble. Some years they make her just too large and garish. This time she’s still as wide as the alley, and has a lot going on, but not quite so distracting as in some years. I loved photographing the performers as they marched and danced under the streamers. I especially loved the reflections of the colored streamers in the brass instruments!

I trust you have enjoyed viewing some of the pics. I sincerely hope you were able to participate in the festivities. Congratulations to Raul and the entire Cultura Mazatlán and CMA teams, as well as the various dance, art, and music schools involved. ¡Qué lindo es todo lo que hay en Mazatlán!

Alebrijes in Mazatlán!

Fernando Barraza with one of the group’s colibries or hummingbirds

Before the callejoneada (alley crawl or parade) on Wednesday night at 8, be sure to visit the Art Museum to see a beautiful display of cartonería — papier maché catrinas, hummingbirds (messengers between the spirit world and humanity) and alebrijes—those magical, fantastical, enormously colorful and detailed animal creatures from Oaxaca. These gorgeously bright creations will be hanging from that huge tree in the central courtyard of the Art Museum, as well as adorning an altar to departed artists, starting at 7pm Wednesday November 1, 2023. Then on Thursday, November 2, they will move into one of the museum’s galleries, with an inauguration at 4pm.

Adrián Carvajal with his alebrije
María José Rivera with her alebrije
Georgina Rodriguez with her alebrije

These beautiful handmade works are the product of a class taught by Maestro José Guzmán. He had 10-12 students over two months in his workshop at the Art Museum, and each student created at least three works and some people up to five or six. I can’t wait to see them illuminated and displayed!

Also at the Art Museum October 30 – November 1, 2023 is the Festival of Horror in the Arts. It is part of the Sinaloa Cultural Festival.

Festival of Horror in the Arts organizers invite you to join them!

The Art Museum, its altar and alebrije display is #7 on the Callejoneada for Day of the Dead map.

Day of the Dead Mazatlán 2018

DSC_0057Mazatlán knows how to put on some of the best parties ever, and I say that with a lot of worldwide experience, not lightly. This year’s Day of the Dead alley parade or callejoneada did not disappoint. Visitors from the interior of the country, elsewhere in Latin America, north of the border and Europe all reported to me thoroughly enjoying themselves and the revelry that is Día de Muertos in our port.

The callejoneada this year was held on November 2nd instead of the traditional 1st, due to the changeover in city government. Thousands attended the annual festivities, which are some of the most exciting and participative in the country. The parade began at 8:30, and there were performances inside the Angela Peralta Theater, as there have been in other recent years.

The alley parade wound through downtown past several traditional altars, and included at least three bands, several dance groups, costumed stilt walkers, and mobile sculptures. As is traditional, families with children were in the majority. It’s my favorite part of this night: seeing multiple generational families in costume enjoying our city and one another!

The callejoneada returned to the Plazuela Machado where several stages were set up with live entertainment till the wee hours. There seemed to be a lower percentage of costumed revelers this year, but the hundreds who dressed upped the game and looked fantastic. Local makeup artists outdid themselves with creativity and color.

New this year was that the parade began at the Plaza República, winding the three blocks to the Machado and then beyond. It gave a bit more breathing room to the official participants before being bombarded with the thousands of spectators who joined in from the Plazuela.

Also new this year were official catrinas that were sponsored, namely, four or so of them sponsored by our beloved Venados baseball team. While they were gorgeous, and this was very cool, it added a commercial element to our traditional alley-winding that I found rather sad.

Sadder still was that for the first time in many years our local Pacífico brewery was apparently not a sponsor. Not only were there no kegs in sight, ruining a joyous local tradition of people handing up their cups, but Indio beer was served in cans, by gruff people lacking the usual joy! Finally, first we lost our traditional donkey cart, which was understandable, but this year we had tuk-tuks! How in the world is that traditional to this part of the world? The beer fiasco was perhaps the most epic fail of the evening, as complaints were heard far and wide over how kodo (cheap) the new administration was; the lines for Pacífico at the Kioskos went nearly around the block, with people choosing to purchase their beer.

Another disappointment was the fact that the organizers have discovered cheap Chinese imports from the likes of Waldo and Sanfri. We were treated to mass-produced skeleton Halloween costumes rather than the gorgeous handmade garments we are so used to, and numerous inflatable plastic decorations and cardboard skulls were to be seen on the stages and posts of the Plazuela, in contrast to the beautiful handmade papier maché artwork from our local art school. I pray this error will not be repeated. Mazatlán’s art scene deserves way better!

The callejoneada for Day of the Dead this year was more Carnaval-like, with dance troops performing routines that lent themselves more appropriate to Fat Tuesday than to Day of the Dead, and one of the wheeled calacas/skeletons lit with lights in a similar manner to a carroza/float in the Carnaval parade. As is usual we did have Carnavál royalty participate. I can vouch that those gorgeous women even look good dead! 😉

My favorite costume was that of my friend Linette: the death of Lady Liberty. While I hope and pray for my birth nation that it is not true, her costume rang too close to home; I appreciated its poignancy.

DSC_9917

Every year we seem to attract more people to this incredible event. It has outgrown the Plaza Machado and especially this year spillover could be seen in Olas Altas and beyond. An important recommendation for next year is to raise the stages higher. With so many people it is nearly impossible for anyone beyond the second row of standing spectators to see what’s going on on stage.

Every restaurant in the Plaza and along the parade route seemed to be sold out. Our group stayed to cenar/eat a late dinner, and when we left about 1:30 am the Plaza was still full of energy. I so enjoy watching how vociferously death sings in the late evening on the Plazuela after the callejoneada.

Day of the Dead remains one of the highlights of Mazatlán’s local cultural scene. It is a jewel in Mexico’s holiday offerings; not the traditional celebrations of Oaxaca or Janitzio, but full of spirit and reflecting our local culture. It is my true hope that some of the missteps this year are due to the fact that the new administration just took over the day before and thus had little time to prepare.

Kudos to the maestros and artists who contributed! Mazatlán is incredibly blessed with your talents and generosity! Day of the Dead in Mazatlán, as Carnavál, is truly a festival of the people!

 

 

My Favorite 2015 Day of the Dead Story!

XoloAnubisThis year’s official theme for Day of the Dead cultural activities in Mazatlán was Mictlán—the world of death in Aztec mythology. Navigating the nine levels of Mictlán towards the evening star in the heavens was said to take nearly four years and was full of challenges. The dead needed help, a guide, and they found it in a dog—Xoloitzcuintle—a carnation of Xolotl, the god of fire, lightning, sickness and deformities, twin brother of Quetzalcoatl.

Xolo effigyClay dog statues have been found ritualistically placed in the tombs of Aztecs, Mayans and Colima Indians, as have the skeletons of actual dogs. Sort of reminds you of Anubis, the Egyptian dog-god, lord of the underworld, doesn’t it? They are both black, guide the dead, and have pointy, stand-up ears!

Well, a modern-day incarnation of Xoloitzcuintle apparently lives in El Rosario, and her name is La Tigresa!

For the past year, every time Tigresa hears the funeral bells of Our Lady of Rosario ring, she walks into church and politely sits down to attend the funeral mass. When the mass is finished, she walks in the funerary procession, in front of the casket, all the way to the cemetery. There she stays with the body until the last person has gone home.

La Tigresa distinguishes between the bells of a funeral mass and those of ordinary mass, which she never attends. If there are two simultaneous funerals, Tigresa walks in between the two coffins, treating both equitably. If there’s a funeral in the morning and another in the afternoon, she attends both. If the body is taken back home after mass, that’s where she heads, too.

Photo from the Noroeste by Hugo Gómez

Photo from the Noroeste by Hugo Gómez

I want to thank my good friend Lupita, who shared this story with me from Sunday’s Noroeste. I just love it, and hope you will, too! We’ve got to meet La Tigresa!

Xoloitcuintle is, of course, a breed of dog here in Mexico, often shortened to “Xolo.” These beautiful, often black, hairless (and therefore flea-less) dogs were almost extinct, but concerted efforts to rescue it have been successful. It is believed to be one of the world’s oldest and rarest breeds, dating 3000 to 7000 years. In pre-hispanic times they were considered sacred, with healing properties both for the body and the soul.

The name is a combination of the god’s name, Xolotl, and izcuintli, which means “dog” in Nahuatl, though there are those who say the name means “he who snatches his food with teeth sharp as obsidian.” The breed has three unique features that baffle biologists:

  1. The absence of teeth between the molars and the incisors.
  2. A body temperature a few degrees higher than is normal for a dog.
  3. The dog sweats through its skin rather than by panting its tongue.

La Tigresa is obviously not a Xoloitcuintle breed, but would, indeed, appear to be an embodiment of this guardian of the underworld!

Día de Muertos in the TAP

One of the main catrinas, my friend Lilzy and me

One of the main catrinas, my friend Lilzy and me

Regular readers of this blog know that Day of the Dead in Mazatlán for us closely rivals our port’s ultimate party, Carnavál. And that is saying A LOT! So much so that, this year, I willingly woke up at TWO A.M. (!) in Seattle in order to get the earliest flight back to Mazatlán in order to attend our traditional callejoneada—CULTURA moved the event up one day to avoid the overtime hassles of having people work on Sunday. I got home just in time to welcome two of my girlfriends, Jessica and Lilzy, for a makeup party prior to the evening’s events.

Walking with the two gorgeous main catrinas to escort the dearly departed from their altars around El Centro to the ever-after was wonderful as usual! This year the donkey-drawn beer carts were replaced with motor-driven versions (two donkeys did head up the parade), at least four bandas took part, and there were hundreds of people who made the effort to paint their faces and dress the part of calacas and catrinas.

Below is footage from 2012’s alley parade, or click here to view a photo album of this year’s callejoneada.

Very exciting to me this year was that for the first time ever—I’ve stood in line for hours in previous years, to no avail—we were able to get tickets to the events in the Angela Peralta Theater. I have heard how awesome that event is, but we were never lucky enough to make it to the front of the ticket line. And, yes, many of you ask us why CULTURA doesn’t give us tickets, since we promote them so much. But, they don’t.

Even though I was out of town working, my wonderful husband Greg stood in line and scored us a pair of tickets! Then my good friend Jessica gifted us with two more, so a couple of friends could join us. After standing in line for the tickets, gentlemanly Greg didn’t even go in, but let the women have the opportunity!

The theme this year was Mictlán, honoring pre-hispanic Mexico. Entering the theater the very first act was a tribute to the Aztecs. Going on to the stage we saw two large dance performances: one looking out to the theater (in the seats) and another looking in towards the back of the stage (a wedding). All were gorgeous.

Walking through the hallways and stairways inside the theater was a bit like a spook house, but emerging out onto the upper deck some calacas were playing classical music and singing opera, and below was an aerial dancer wowing the crowd. Throughout the theater were located multiple altars honoring the dearly departed, and multiple dance and visual art installations.

Click on any photo below to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

Both Carnavál and Day of the Dead show just how strong our local arts community is. Young people practice for weeks to prepare for these big events, and hundreds of people dress up, make up, and bring their families and friends to participate in the events. We are so blessed here with every type of musician, singer and dancer, from classical to banda, as well as to artists of every form of visual and performing art. Many thanks to Cecilia Sanchez Duarte, who devotes the major part of three months to making events in the theater come to life, and to all the makeup artists, costume and set designers who contribute their skills as well! Such a terrific event, and the tickets are free! If, of course, you can get them!

The last two days have been family time, with altars at home to reflect on those we’ve loved and lost, visits to the cemetery, and raising a glass and a song to celebrate their lives. Day of the Dead is, indeed, yet one more of Mexico’s great contributions to our planet. I trust you’ve enjoyed the long weekend and used the opportunity of the holiday to connect with family and friends!