In 2005, azcentral.com staffers traveled to Mexico City with La Voz publisher Elvira Espinoza to document Dia de los Muertos activities in Mixquic, Mexico

DAY OF THE DEAD

Mixquic, Mexico

In 2005, azcentral.com staffers traveled to Mexico City with La Voz publisher Elvira Espinoza to document Dia de los Muertos activities in Mixquic, Mexico. Once a farming island of the Aztec empire, Mixquic lies in Mexico City's Tlahuac delegation and is known as the "City of the Dead" because of its traditional Dia de los Muertos festivities.

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In the final days of October, the entire village focuses on the three-day celebration. Merchants are busy setting up street stands in preparation for the thousands of visitors who will flock here in the coming days. The Parroquia San Andres Apostal Church, a Catholic church which serves as a town center of sorts, is also a hub of activity as the adjoining seminary prepares its courtyard for tourists, and villagers in the surrounding cemetery clean the tightly packed graves of their loved ones. Homes throughout Mixquic are also prepared for the three-day event as visitors will soon make their way inside for brief visits to the altars honoring the dead. Throughout the first two days of November homes in the village have an open door policy, encouraging all passersby to enter.

October 31 is a festive evening as visitors mill around the street festival. Many tour the seminary courtyard where representations of Mictlantecihuatl and Mictlantecuhtle, the lord and lady of the underworld, are on display, along with piles of unidentified skulls and bones that the villagers have found over the years when excavating in the area. The seminary courtyard, like the festival itself, is a mixture of Catholicism and ancient Mexican/Aztec cultures, and is one of the most trafficked spots during the three-day event.

On November 1st and 2nd, as flower and incense vendors fill the streets, families prepare the graves at the Parroquia San Andres Apostal Church cemetery for the celebration. Family burial plots are elaborately decorated with flower petal mosaics, flowers, candles, photos and copal (a traditional incense) burners. At 2 p.m. on November 2nd, family members gather graveside to mourn their loved ones with song, prayer and weeping. As darkness falls, the cemetery glows with the light of thousands of candles and is filled with the scent of flowers and incense. At midnight, souls are called to the cemetary with the tolling of bells from the church, and families remain in the cemetery until dawn visiting with their loved ones.

José Eduardo L�pez Bosch, a professor and expert on Dia de los Muertos, was our guide for the first day of the trip and gave us a sense of the history and complexity of the traditions we were about to witness. He was an invaluable resource, and the history video below is largely based on our interview with him.

All of the video and images below were documented in Mixquic, Mexico between October 28 and November 3, 2004. Thanks to all of the wonderful people of Mixquic who welcomed us into their lives for a brief time. Special thanks also to Elvira Espinoza and her husband Tom who graciously took us around Mexico City as our friends, tour guides and translators. None of this would have been possible without them.

 http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-documentary.html#ixzz299LEi2Yl