Dia de Muertos

What it's about, and where to go

Nov 04, 2024

This video gives you an inside look at one of Mexico’s most important traditions, Dia de Muertos, from our perspective as first timers.

“It’s about family, the scents; it reminds us of our grandparents, aunts, cousins, and what they liked. They are symbols that are very much ours. It’s part of a long history of the blend of the Spanish and the Indigenous traditions, which has enriched the Mexican culture, making it what it is today.”

If you’re in the Puebla area for Dia de Muertos next year, here are some suggestions:

Visit the zocalos of the Pueblo Magicos of Atlixco and Cholula for a week of festivities. Pueblo Magicos are cultural hubs of each state, and go all in for holidays and events.
Walk/drive/Uber the Catrina trail in Atlixco. Catrinas are the large skeletal sculptures that are created and mounted every year to represent the dead, animated with color and life.
Visit the fields of cempasuchil flowers, Valle de Catrinas, to see the special flowers cultivated and picked especially for Dia de Muertos celebrations and rituals.
Paint a skull at the Cultural Center in Atlixco, Antigua Hacienda San Mateo, five minutes from the zocalo. You can purchase some artisanal skulls sculpted and painted by the center’s artists, as well.
Visit a cemetery on November 2nd to see locals visiting their loved ones; singing, praying, and adorning their graves with cempasuchil flowers, candles, and other offerings.
Visit Pajcha café to experience an indigenous Dia de Muertos ritual dance, as seen in the mountains of Oaxaca.
Catrina in zocalo de Atlixco

Join Kate Wand’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Things we missed, but heard were amazing:

Festivities in the zocalo de Puebla.
Various parades; marches of the Catrinas, in every pueblo and city on various dates from October 28th to November 2nd.
Various musical concerts and plays.

Since Dia de Muertos is a week long festivity that boasts dozens of different celebrations in each place, we suggest joining local Facebook groups and speaking with the locals to find out what’s going on. Also, make sure to subscribe to this living travel guide— next year we will be prepared with info in advance!

You will not be able to do everything, but you can map out things you don’t want to miss.