Los Muertos

"Assured that the dead would be insulted by mourning or sadness, Dia de los Muertos celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties, and activities the dead enjoyed in life. Dia de los Muertos recognizes death as a natural part of the human experience, a continuum with birth, childhood, and growing up to become a contributing member of the community. On Dia de los Muertos, the dead are also a part of the community, awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones.

The most familiar symbol of Dia de los Muertos may be the calacas and calaveras (skeletons and skulls), which appear everywhere during the holiday: in candied sweets, as parade masks, as dolls. Calacas and calaveras are almost always portrayed as enjoying life, often in fancy clothes and entertaining situations." ~ National Geographic

"I found myself in Sayulita, Mexico with one of the greatest loves of my life. On one of our last nights there we walked down the dirt road to our casita. Suddenly we heard the blare of a mariachi band behind us.

As we turned and looked, we saw what appeared to be the whole village walking towards us—several hundred locals, some in tears, some with their heads hanging, others smiling. In the middle of the crowd of people was a group of men carrying a very basic wooden coffin.

We stood watching as the procession grew closer; the men carrying the coffin took a sharp right hand turn towards the beach, while everyone else kept walking towards us and up and over the hill to Muertos Beach. The men carrying the coffin walked across the beach and gently placed the coffin on a small boat and pushed it out. The boat went out an around the inlet to Muertos Beach.

The event left us both contemplating the symbolism, the magnitude, even wondering who the deceased person was and what their life had encompassed. The symbolism of the boat going out to sea was powerful, considering the person might have spent time as a fisherman, as was the symbolism of life (and, in this case, death) returning home to the great Mother Ocean.

Like the funeral we witnessed in Sayulita, it is best to recognize the beauty in returning to the forces that brought us here (like Mother ocean) and to celebrate our non-attachment."

~ Peter DeHaas, Elephant Journal