Dia de Los Muertos Observances Run the Gamut

Oaxaca cemetery  Dia de los Muertos

Oaxaca, Dia de Los Muertos Altar

When most people think of Dia de Los Muertos, what comes to mind are the elaborate altars and candle-lit cemeteries of Oaxaca.  The Days of the Dead observances in Oaxaca are elaborate with much effort and artistry going into these celebrations meant to welcome the decreased back into the community of the living for a short time. Read about these below:

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2015/11/dia-de-los-muertos-in-oaxaca-rehearsal.html

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Dia de Los Muertos, Pomuch, MX

Woman cleaning family bones, Pomuch, Campeche

By way of contrast, there are the Dia de Los Muertos observances on the west coast of the Yucatan Peninsulat in Pomuch, a small community near San Francisco de Campeche. These are "bare bones", literally, and starkly contrast with the elaborate beauty of the observances typified by those of Oaxaca. Read about this at:

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2016/12/pomuch-campeche-dia-de-los-muertos-you.html

 

The Beauty of Latin American Holy Week

                                     

Viacrucis Aquatic, Granada Nicaragua

Holy Week in Latin America, Semana Santa, is a spiritually intense time and this spiritual

intensity is reflected in the beauty of its rituals.  This article provides links to a few that

are among the most spectacular of these.

The sawdust carpets of Antigua Guatemala are world famous.  Created as a holy surface for 

the religious processions to walk over their stunning beauty is short-lived.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-anatomy-of-sawdust-carpet-lent-in.html

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Huertos, which translates as orchards, are elaborate structures made of fruits, vegetables and 

palm leaves, meant to symbolize an earthly paradise.  

 

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-huertos-of-guatemala-and-nicaragua.html

The sawdust carpets of Sutiava in Leon, Nicaragua are very different from those of Antigua.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2017/05/art-as-sacrifice-sawdust-carpets-of.html 

The Via Crucis Aquatic of Granada, Nicaragua is a unique event.  It is one of very few Stations

of the Cross performed on water in boats.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2018/04/via-crucis-aquatic-granada-nicaragua.html