Day Of The Dead

Yesterday was the Day of the Dead….. It’s not as gruesome as it sounds, and no, it’s not a George Romero celebration. The Day of the Dead in Latin America is a very big holiday in which families go to the cemeteries to honor their loved ones who have passed on by cleaning up the graves and adorning them with flowers. The students in the house walked with Gladis (the school director) and her family to the cemetery at the other end of town.

Before the entrance to the cemetery, there are lots families from the surrounding countryside set up on the street and in stalls to sell fresh cut flowers and greenery of all kinds. Inside the cemetery itself, there are throngs of people busy with their flowers and cleanup. There’s a quiet, friendly air, it’s not somber or particularly sad, just respectful.

Gladis buying flowers....


After cleaning and decorating the graves of several of Gladis’ relatives, our group moved out to the street to have some breakfast in one of the many stalls set up to serve food just outside the cemetery. We had tamales and hot chocolate, and some wonderful muffins and bread.


After that, it was a stroll back to the house where Mama Chaito (Gladis’ mom) was preparing a big midday meal for the family.

Mama Chaito, the supreme cook
This holiday reminds me a lot of Thanksgiving in the US, with lots of family and food. The traditional meal for the Day of the Dead in Guatemala is fiambre, a combination of a lot of different kinds of vegetables, cheeses and meats, all put together in a big mix.



Another tradition associated with this holiday is kite flying. The traditional idea is that people attach notes for their departed loved ones to the kites and send them skyward to be read by the spirits up in heaven.
After the meal, some of us students walked to a nearby field at the foot of a huge hill to watch lots of families flying brightly colored kites. I’m not sure many of them had attached messages, but they sure were having fun.

Aguita Volcan spews smoke and ash periodically - it's behind the larger Santa Maria (viewed from the cemetery)