Dia de los Muertos 2017

November 1, 2017

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico – a colonial-era city of festivals during All Souls’ Day

We decided to meet up with some friends at the colonial-era city of San Miguel de Allende, about 3 hours north of Mexico City in the Mexico highlands. It is widely known for its festivals, in particular the day of the dead festival – All Souls’ Day or Dia de los Muertos.

In the heart of the city near El Jardin Plaza

We rented a 400-year old stone house a block away from the main plaza El Jardin. It was a fantastic place with gardens, everything built of solid stone and tile. The stone walls were too thick to let the wifi through, so we were confined to only getting a signal in the dining room.

The main plaza is where the festivities took place. We could see the dramatic pink towers of the church there – the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel - from our balcony.

San Miguel de Allendeis a popular ex-pat community, with many Americans and others living here fulltime, and some snowbirds here for half the year. I love all the buildings around the old town main plaza area made of stone, with the cobbled streets running in all directions. This city, like much of Mexico, is blessed with a wonderful climate where so much grows in abundance – flowers, fruit, cactus. I am always drawn to this architectural mix of Spanish and pueblo.

The day of the celebration

For the All Souls’ Day celebration, we hired a team to paint our faces up for it. Fantastically-painted faces are seen everywhere here, so it seemed like a good thing to do. It was a lot of fun watching everyone get painted up (there were 8 of us).

The main plaza exploded with activity after dark. So many people had staked out a part of the sidewalk around the central park and decorated it using endless flowers, skulls, candles, creating entire scenes that looked like they were devoted to family histories. And the extravagantly costumed people were fantastic, posing for photos as the plaza became packed with people. Once it became so thick with people you could hardly move, a long parade of loud clanging musicians wound their way through everyone. Wild craziness.

We visited the two cemeteries as well. One was small and not so crowded. The larger main cemetery was a sight to behold, packed with people and many flower vendors at the entrance. It seemed like it had no room left for any more flowers. It was filled with music from at least 8 different bands. I saw one brass band playing two feet from a band of acoustic guitars. It was crazy. But that’s partly what makes Mexico so cool and interesting.

I felt a sense of sadness in the midst of all the gravestones and urns, yet it was so festive at the same time. I am reminded of some esoteric teachings that maintain a death is to be celebrated as a life successfully completed, not to be mourned for one’s own personal sense of loss.

We visited a mummy museum in the nearby city of Guanaguato, which is full of brightly colored houses and an underground street system.
They say that anytime is a good time to visit San Miguel de Allende. There is no bad time, though winter is considered high season, with its clear days and chilly nights.

Guanaguato's famous Alley of the Kiss

According to this tragic legend, a young woman named Doña Carmen fell in love with Don Carlos, a humble miner, despite her father’s strict disapproval. To see each other in secret, Don Carlos rented the house directly across from Carmen’s, and they would lean across their balconies to share kisses. However, when Carmen’s father discovered them, he became enraged and, in a fit of fury, fatally stabbed his daughter. Heartbroken, Don Carlos kissed her one last time before she died.