Festivities around the world are important cultural events. They are opportunities to celebrate and commemorate significant occasions, bringing people together to bond and honour their heritage through entertainment, sharing traditional food, art and craft exhibitions and so on.
One such meaningful event in Mexico is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which occurs each year on 1 and 2 November (dates may vary slightly in some regions), a holiday to remember and celebrate the lives of relatives and loved ones who have departed. It is believed that during this holiday period, a bridge between the living and the dead is created, allowing the spirits of the deceased to return for a brief visit with their families and friends.
While customs and traditions differ throughout the country, one of the most notable cities hosting Día de los Muertos is Oaxaca City, located in the southern part of Mexico in the state of Oaxaca. This stunning city is filled with colourful facades, wrought-iron balconies, cobblestone streets, quiet neighbourhoods, and well-preserved colonial-era architecture. The city centre is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The activity around the Zócalo (main square) is bustling, where musicians and artisans entertain passers-by while street vendors sell their wares.
As I wander through the streets, exploring the city, I delight at the artistic expressions unfolding on the walls of the buildings, where large and vibrant murals tell stories of Oaxaca’s culture. The city is renowned for its talented artists and artisans across various forms, from paintings and sculptures to ceramics and textiles.
Everywhere I look, it is brimming with colour and even more so now that preparations for Día de los Muertos are underway. Garlands of marigolds arch around doorways, calaveras (sugar skulls) appear on window sills, and papel picado (perforated paper) is strung together and hung across the streets. Each feature represents an important symbol during the celebrations that I will unpack as the journey progresses.
An important ritual for families prior to the festival is to visit the cemetery and prepare the gravesite of their loved one by first cleaning and tidying the site, building an ofrenda (altar), and then decorating it with marigolds, candles, and incense to help guide the spirits back to the living world. During the celebrations, families gather at the gravesite to pray, sing, share stories and memories, and bring food and drinks to picnic with their dearly departed.
Using Oaxaca City as the starting point, I look forward to travelling through villages and towns to learn and explore their customs, traditions and crafts. I am excited to walk through the markets and try their culinary delights, as Oaxaca is well known for its flavourful dishes.
Heading south, my journey will take a looped anti-clockwise approach, finishing back in Oaxaca City. Let’s go.
km od začátku : 0023
Villa de Zaachila
Villa de Zaachila is a small town that gained renown for its bustling weekly open-air market, known locally as tianguis. As I strolled through the market, I was greeted by the heady scent of freshly cut flowers and the earthy aroma of recently harvested produce. Practical items like tools and pottery intermingle with artisanal goods. It is a visual spectacle with goods piled high on tables. Some were precariously balanced on crates or laid out on rugs spread across the ground. While many vendors hail from Zaachila, others journey from the neighbouring villages, such as San Bartolo Coyotepec.
San Bartolo is famous for its barro negro (black clay) pottery, a traditional art distinctive to Oaxaca dating back to the Zapotec civilisation, which occupied the region for more than 2000 years until the 16th century. The pottery originally had a matte greyish colour. It was used as a functional household item until the 1950s when Doña Rosa, a ceramic artist, found a new technique that made the pottery black and shiny. She did this by changing how she handled the clay. Before it dried completely, Doña Rosa polished it with a quartz stone to make it smooth. Then, she baked it at a slightly lower temperature than usual. After baking, the clay turned into a shiny black color. While this new type of pottery is incredibly beautiful, it comes with a trade-off; it tends to be more delicate and less durable in comparison. Consequently, contemporary pottery is designed for decorative purposes rather than practical use.
As part of the preparations for Día de los Muertos, I had the opportunity to see the creation of sand rugs known as tapetes de arena. Families and communities spend weeks or months planning and gathering materials, such as coloured sand, flower petals, leaves, and sawdust, for the sand rugs. Then the pattern is carefully outlined and filled in with the material. The depicted design is typically vibrant and playful, symbolically welcoming the spirits of the dead back home. Once completed, they are decorated with candles, incense, and personal mementos. As the materials blow away with the wind, the sand rugs symbolize the impermanence of life. As the spirits receive the family’s offerings and blessings, they peacefully return to the afterlife at the end of the celebrations.
Another delightful feature found on streets and used as decorations in the home is the papel picado. This traditional Mexican folk art consists of cutting intricate designs into colourful tissue paper. Hung as a banner, rows upon rows line the streets, creating a festive and vibrant atmosphere. The patterns cut into the paper are often highly detailed and delicate, symmetrical in nature, depicting motifs, such as geometric shapes, flowers, animals, and religious symbols.
To finish my exploration in Zaachila, I walked along Calle Coquiza. This street connects the church with the cemetery. Día de los Muertos-inspired art lines the brick walls, including the cemetery's, demonstrating that this ritual celebrates and honours departed relatives.
km od začátku : 0034
Zimatlán de Álvarez
Zimatlán de Álvarez is closely intertwined with the history of the region. Before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, the region was inhabited by indigenous Zapotec people, who were known for their advanced civilisation, developing writing systems, agricultural practices, the divinatory calendar, and impressive architecture.
When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico in 1521, they began their conquest of the Aztec Empire. As they established Spanish rule, they used the same tactics and strategies to expand their territories over Oaxaca, which Zimatlán is part of. With colonisation came the assimilation of the Zapotec people into Spanish culture, where Christianity and European customs were introduced. With time, the cultural and religious changes within the Zapotec civilisation merged with the beliefs and practices of Catholicism.
This influence is present in the celebrations of Día de los Muertos, where the pre-Columbian indigenous practice of honouring deceased ancestors is fused with All Saints’ Day, a Christian tradition dedicated to honouring Christian saints who don’t have their own specific feast days. Over time, these two traditions merged, blending indigenous beliefs with Catholic practices. As a result, Día de los Muertos celebrations shifted from August to coincide with All Saints' Day on 1 November, reserved for honouring children who passed away and All Souls' Day on 2 November, reserved for deceased adults.
A short distance east of Zimatlán is Cultivos El Viejo, a flower field where marigolds are cultivated in preparation for Día de los Muertos. The marigolds, known as cempasúchil in Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs), are native to Mexico and grow in abundance. It has vibrant orange and yellow colours with a strong and distinctive fragrance. Used to decorate altars and gravesites, the flower’s bright hues are believed to illuminate the path for the spirits to return, while the scent is meant to entice the spirits to visit the ofrendas (altars) created by their families.
A touching Mexican legend tells the story of a young couple's love being cut short following the young man's tragic death. To honour him, the heartbroken girl created an ofrenda adorned with marigolds, believing their vibrant colours and fragrance could guide his spirit back to the living world.
While setting up the ofrenda, a tiny, iridescent hummingbird appeared, representing her lost love's soul. The hummingbird returned each Día de los Muertos, sipping marigold nectar and comforting her. Over time, she found solace, knowing their love transcended death.
This legend symbolises the enduring love between the living and the deceased during Día de los Muertos. Marigolds and hummingbirds serve as a bridge, allowing the living to cherish and celebrate the memories of those who have passed away.
As I stroll through the marigold fields, the air is thick with the sweet scent of the flowers. I bask in its gorgeous colours as I reflect on the traditions that have embraced these flowers for generations.
km od začátku : 0053
San Martin Tilcajete
It would have been easy to pass by San Martin Tilcajete if I didn’t discover that this small village, off the main road, was well-known for its colourful hand-carved figurines called alebrijes. Anyone familiar with Disney’s movie Coco, which is about the celebration of Día de los Muertos, would have noticed two alebrijes featured prominently: Pepita, a large winged jaguar with vibrant feathers, and Dante, a small goofy dog with a long, curly tongue.
Alebrijes are whimsical sculptures of fantastical creatures, often featuring a combination of real and imaginary animals. These sculptures are usually carved from copal wood and meticulously painted with intricate patterns and designs. While they are not officially part of Día de los Muertos traditions, their fabulous and cheery designs have made their way into the celebrations.
While woodcarving has been part of San Martin for a long time, the whimsical woodcarving style is credited to Manuel Jiménez, a local artist who adapted it from papier-mache sculptures pioneered in 1936 by Pedro Linares. The term alebrijes is also attributed to Pedro, a Mexico City artist who allegedly hallucinated fantastical creatures with bright colours and exaggerated features after suffering a serious illness. When he recovered, he was inspired to realise these creatures in papier-mache and paint them vividly.
Sometime in 1980, Manuel attended a workshop where Pedro Linares was demonstrating his designs, and he took those concepts and applied them to woodcarving, creating the Oaxaca alebrijes. Manuel’s captivating designs garnered attention and popularity in his community. His work inspired others in the village, sparking a growth of alebrije craftsmanship and establishing the art form as part of San Martin’s cultural heritage, which later was recognised as a form of Mexican folk art. They are often seen in festivals and parades.
The elaborate details on the alebrijes are achieved by applying vibrant colours using fine brushes and repeating dots, lines, and geometric motifs with small implements. The inspiration for the patterns is often drawn from indigenous Zapotec designs. These sculptures embody the fusion of indigenous and contemporary artistic traditions in Mexico.
As I visit some of the workshops in town, I look forward to attending a workshop and painting my own figure to take home with me.
km od začátku : 0089
La Catrina
Who would have thought that when the artist José Guadalupe Posada created an etching of a skull wearing an extravagant, European-style wide-brimmed hat, it would become such an iconic symbol in Mexican culture? La Calavera Catrina (The Dapper Female Skull), a name coined much later in the 20th century, was etched around 1912 and made several appearances in broadsheets (2-page large format newspapers popular at the time) after Posada’s passing. Each appearance, typically referred to as ‘calavera’, meaning skeleton or skull, was accompanied by satirical text covering current social and political topics. It was also used to humorously depict the Mexican upper class’ imitation of European fashion and lifestyle, hence the enormous European-style hat that was in fashion in the early 1910s.
In 1930, a monograph publication containing more than 400 of Posada’s engravings was released, where the term “La Calavera Catrina” is believed to have been first officially used. Diego Rivera, a renowned Mexican artist, provided the foreword to the publication. Inspired by the etching, Rivera incorporated La Catrina into his 1947 artwork “A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park”. This 50ft (15m) mural depicting 400 years of Mexican history has La Catrina centre stage, Posada to the right, a young Rivera to the left and Rivera’s wife –the most famous female Mexican artist – Frida Kahlo, slightly behind.
It is in this mural that La Catrina is, for the first time, created with a full body. She is elegantly dressed in a long white gown adorned with a feather boa and her trademark wide-brimmed hat. Rivera added elements that referred to Mexican indigenous cultures and transformed La Catrina from a satirical figure into a symbol of Mexican heritage.
La Catrina is widely associated with Día de los Muertos, representing the idea that death is an inevitable part of life and that all people, regardless of their social or economic status, will eventually meet death. It is a reminder of the equality of death and the importance of embracing one's mortality.
These days, La Catrina is sometimes referred to as the Grand Dame of Death, but she was not the first lady of death. That honour belongs to Mictēcacihuātl, the goddess of death, who is believed to be the guardian watching over the bones of the dead and governing the festivals of the dead. In Aztec mythology, Mictēcacihuātl ruled the underworld Mictlán with her husband, Mictlāntēcuhtli. With traditional images appearing less in festivities and La Catrina rising in fame, she may become the modern embodiment of Mictēcacihuātl.
La Catrina is a fascinating figure whose evolution goes further back than Posada’s etching when calaveras were part of Aztec traditions. They were also found in European murals as early as the 15th century, called Danse Macabre (French for Dance of Death). This shows people’s fascination with skeletal figures and the concept of death. With similarities between the Aztec and European cultures regarding death and honouring the deceased souls, it was inevitable that there would be a gradual melding between holiday observations and the symbol of calaveras over time.
Today, it's common to see people emulating La Catrina by dressing up and painting their faces to resemble skulls.
km od začátku : 0119
Tlacolula de Matamoros
For one of the biggest and best markets to explore in Oaxaca, I am told the Tlacolula market is a must-see experience. Taking place every Sunday, vendors set up early in the morning with more fresh produce than you can imagine. Trestle tables are set up with bowls or boxes covering every inch, filled with all sorts of fruit and vegetables, depending on the season.
I could smell the sweet aroma of papayas with their orange flesh while I pondered whether to pick the golden yellow ‘Atualfo’ mangoes or the larger, slightly tangier ones. Banana varieties were abundant, but I was much more enticed to taste and savour guavas or pomegranates. And then there was the pineapple, looking ripe and ready to devour. I could imagine the sweet juice running down my arm. The avocados, a fruit generally treated like a vegetable, were a beautiful deep dark green to purplish-black. I gave one a gentle squeeze and knew it was good to eat.
I pressed on to select the best vegetables I could drop in my basket. Fresh tomatoes, a Mexican kitchen staple, came in many shapes and colours. I looked for those with that typical sweet and slightly fruity tomato fragrance. I added a bunch of cilantro because I knew it would give any food a burst of flavour. Huge bunches of onions, the size of oranges, sat alongside fresh garlic bulbs, radishes, cucumbers, zucchinis and yellow squash – each an essential ingredient for salads and sides.
Of course, I couldn’t go past the versatile potato to make the delightful papas con chorizo (potatoes with chorizo) dish, which I could easily use as stuffing for burritos, enchiladas, or even on its own. And each dish is nothing without Mexican spices, like cumin, coriander, anise seeds, smoked paprika and more. However, the most important spice is the chilli. More than 60 types are produced in Mexico, and it is a fundamental ingredient in Mexican cuisine, adding depth, heat and complexity to any dish.
An unusual food widely consumed in Oaxaca is chapulines, meaning grasshoppers. I know it’s a strange food item, but they are popular here and eaten as a snack once toasted on a grill. I will certainly give this a miss, but I would be very interested in tasting traditional barbacoa, where red meat is slowly cooked for several hours in a pit until it is so tender that it falls off the bone. What makes this dish superb is the marinade, and its secret ingredient is the humble orange. The acidity in the orange tenderises the meat, breaking down the proteins and turning it into that delightful soft morsel that melts in the mouth.
During the Día de los Muertes, food and drinks are a big part of the celebrations because they are offerings placed on altars inviting the deceased to visit. Often the food offered is the ancestors’ favourite meals. One of the most popular offerings are tamales, parcels of dough from corn flour (maize is a staple crop in Mexico) with sweet or savoury fillings wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks and then steamed. Another very important offering is pan de muertos (bread of the dead), a semisweet bread decorated with bone-like formations and dusted with sugar.
Aside from fresh produce, the Tlacolula market is filled with goods such as sugar skulls, marigolds, candles and incense, all necessary items to build an altar to receive the spirits of relatives after placing their favourite food to entice them to visit.
km od začátku : 0130
Teotitlán del Valle
Teotitlán del Valle is a small village nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains. It is predominantly inhabited by Zapotec indigenous people whose ancestors established the area around 1465. Weaving is at the heart of this community, where skilled artisans use traditional looms to produce exquisite wool rugs. With their vibrant patterns, these rugs feature Zapotec diamond-shaped motifs, each carrying different symbolic significance, depending on the weaver’s intention. They also produce modern art reproductions from famous artists like Diego Rivera, Picasso and Matisse.
To craft these rugs, artisans begin by washing the raw wool. The next step is carding, a process of brushing or combing the wool to remove impurities and create a uniform, smooth texture. The resulting yarn is spun into wool balls and dyed using natural materials, which provide a permanent and long-lasting effect. Examples of plants used for dyeing are needle bush for yellow to brown, indigo for deep blue, Mexican marigold for yellow and orange, and the cochineal insect for red and purple dyes.
To the Zapotecs, the cochineal red is like “red gold, the king of all colours”. The cochineal insect feeds on cactus leaves, especially those of the prickly pear cacti. Only the female cochineal insect can transform cactus sap into carminic acid, a vivid red pigment. Cochineal insects are collected from the cactus, ground into a powder, and added to boiling water in various quantities to achieve the desired red tone. Obtaining the right pH balance is very important for cochineal dye. Lemon juice is added to the dye bath to ensure the colour bonds with the fibre. The colour becomes permanent after boiling for 1-2 hours.
Initially, the rugs were woven for the rural market and mainly used as blankets by men. As trade opportunities expanded beyond the region, these blankets became sought-after items displayed on walls as tapestries or used as floor rugs. This shift prompted artisans to experiment, creating finer tapestries for decorative purposes.
Weaving is an integral economic activity in Teotitlán. Nearly 150 families operate family-run businesses, with some offering workshops and demonstrations for visitors. Traditionally, the men operated the large looms and dyed the fibres while women washed, carded, spun the wool, and prepared the dyes. Nowadays, most families have multi-generational involvement, with each member skilled in every aspect of the process.
During Día de los Muertos, one tradition in Teotitlán involves the church bell ringing before 3 p.m., signalling the arrival of departed souls. Families gather inside their homes to light candles and incense before the ofrenda, taking a moment for reflection. In the evenings, they visit the cemetery to pay respects and remember their ancestors.
km od začátku : 0145
Santa Maria del Tule
One of the main reasons I chose to visit Santa María del Tule is to see its most famous landmark, a 1600-year-old Montezuma cypress tree, known as 'Tule Tree'. It takes first place for being the stoutest living tree in the world, standing at 140ft (42m) with a girth measuring 137ft (42m) and a diameter of 38ft (12m).
Looking at its trunk, it would be easy to assume that the tree consists of three trunks instead of one. Was it possible that three seeds sprung up simultaneously and became conjoined as they grew? Certainly, Alexander von Humboldt, a prominent early 19th-century German naturalist, declared that to be the case when he visited in 1803, stating: “that sabino (Spanish for cypress) which is such a surprise to travelers is not a single individual but a group of three trunks united”. Of course, DNA analysis was not possible during his time, and his assumption would have been based on his observations and the knowledge available then. Fast forward to the late 20th century and the advent of DNA profiling. Using a technique called “random amplified polymorphic DNA", or RAPD for short, the genetic makeup of the tree’s branches was examined. It was concluded that the tree’s genetic composition was very similar and that, likely, it is a single tree, not three. As such, its circumference and position as the widest tree in the world remains uncontested.
This species is usually found in wetland environments, where they thrive in waterlogged soil. The Tule Tree, however, is located in a churchyard, which can be explained by the fact that Santa María used to be a lake surrounded by marshland where many cypress trees grew. Unfortunately, environmental degradation, increased urbanization, and irrigated farming have altered the natural flow of water, diverting it away from the aquifers that sustained these magnificent trees. In the 1990s, the Tule Tree was showing signs of slowly dying due to a lack of water, pollution, and increased traffic. Fortunately, local authorities took action and now ensure it is watered regularly.
The Montezuma cypress is also Mexico’s national tree. This tree is native to the country and is often associated with the Aztec and Maya civilisations, who regarded it as sacred. The cypress was often planted near important landmarks such as temples, palaces and ceremonial centres.
The tree is so revered in Santa María that an annual celebration in its honour takes place on the second Monday of October. The festival is one big party with traditional Oaxacan entertainment, tasty food and local beverages.
Before I return to Oaxaca City, I will tour the tree, looking for interesting shapes in its gnarled trunk. If I look hard enough, I may see figures of jaguars and elephants in its knots. This is also why the tree is sometimes nicknamed the ‘Tree of Life’.
km od začátku : 0156
Oaxaca City
As the Día de los Muertos celebrations wound down and I returned to Oaxaca City, I took the opportunity to explore its sites and historical landmarks, beginning with a walk through the suburb of Xochimilco. Located north of the city’s centre, Xochimilco is its oldest suburb. Although close to the city, the vibe here was peaceful, where massive murals reigned supreme, giving plain, boxy buildings visual appeal and excitement. The cobblestone streets climbed further and further up the hill, but the everchanging wall art made the ascent unnoticeable.
From Xochimilco, I went to Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, a beautiful Baroque church and former monastery. Situated at the north end of the city centre, the monastery has been transformed into Oaxaca’s cultural museum displaying indigenous and colonial artifacts. The museum is divided into several thematic rooms illustrating the state’s history from 10,000 years ago, when the first nomadic group settled in the area, to the rise and fall of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilisations (approx. 1500BC-1521AD), followed by the early 16th-century Spanish conquest, the 18th-century independence from Spain and modern times. The bonus was a further series of themed rooms focused on traditional Oaxacan activities, such as ceramics, goldsmithing, saddlery and my favourite, gastronomy.
Oaxacan food is famous for its delicious mole negro or black sauce that is so complex that it requires more than 30 ingredients to make it the traditional way. The sauce can take days to prepare, and each family will have its own variation passed down through the generations. Some of the primary ingredients are chilli, chocolate, nuts, seeds and spices. When finished, this incredibly rich and tasty sauce is served atop a piece of chicken or pork with rice on the side and a stack of tortillas.
And if the chocolate flavouring in the sauce is not enough, then a champurrado will fill that void. This thick, warm drink is made with masa harina (maize/corn flour), cinnamon, milk, Mexican chocolate and piloncillo, a solid form of unrefined cane sugar. The ingredients are slowly cooked in a pot, producing a dark, rustic, mildly sweet hot chocolate. Delicious!!
This brings me to the end of my journey, where the festivities of Día de los Muertos and its traditions, blended history and vibrant celebrations have left an indelible mark.
