The Day of the Dead, El Dia De Los Muertos, with its roots in a pre-Colombian holiday called Mictecacihuatl (named for the guardian goddess of the dead) is surely one of Mexico’s most beautiful and magical holidays. Communion with those who have passed into the next world is the foundation for this wonderful day; the event is expressed with decorated altars, countless flowers, and families gathering to clean, paint, and place flowers on their loved ones’ graves, and then to party, in the graveyard, with the dead. The intermingling of the personal—families joining with their dead—and the social—the shared experience of doing so–lends this day its special magic. There is, of course, a fiesta as well, for all Mexican holidays call for a party!
Sayulita has always recognized the importance of El Dia de los Muertos, and as a tourist town, has done its civic best to encourage visitors to immerse themselves in the experience of this magical day. This year, the pueblo went all out, with the plaza and surrounding streets gorgeously decked out with flags, pennants, handmade altars, and small, make-believe graves—for real dead people. With hundreds of candles flickering, as evening fell both Friday and Saturday nights, the scene was utterly, inspiringly beautiful. We’ve had a hot, humid, exhausting run of heavy weather this past few weeks, and this magical weekend did much to lift everybody’s spirits. Our congratulations to all the Sayulita people—Especially Lily Scott and Belen Sandovan, for organizing and putting this great event into motion.
The Day of the Dead commenced On Saturday, November 1st, and you could see people preparing altars and hanging flags and setting everything up all day long. We have long had altars in the plaza for this holiday, but there were more this year, and more elaborate ones, especially the spectacular altar devoted to legendary Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, which occupied the plaza’s central bandstand. This elegant piece of work was the creation of Belen Sandovan and her husband and partner Cesar Godoy, with whom she runs the shop, Esto Es Mexico. This shop, incidentally, offers a colorful, lively compendium of all things relating to El Dia De Los Muertos, in multiple mediums.
Another new addition was the double row of make-believe graves, with the names of deceased people, lining both sides of Calle Marlin along the plaza’s south side. Where restaurants and rowdy bars usually plant their streetside tables, there were graves. The Day of the Dead indeed.
Everybody in town, residents and visitors alike, seemed to be on hand Friday night to wander around and admire the scene. The local Radio Sayulita, 88.1 on your dial, was there as well, broadcasting live from the plaza. All in all, it was a wonderful scene.
We went back on Saturday to get better daylit views of the altars, and discovered more had been added. We also took a bike ride over the Playa de los Muertos, en route stopping in the graveyard to see what was up. There were families gathered, cleaning and painting their loved ones’ graves, placing bouquets, and simply spending time with their dead. Per tradition, we knew this graveyard “party” would go on into the night, and as we returned to town after a swim at Los Muertos, we passed many family groups carrying flowers, headed for the graveyard.
Saturday night, the fiesta continued, with a mariachi band and a polished dance troupe performing a series of traditional Mexican dances on a stage just west of the plaza. This organized live performance of traditional Mexican song and dance was a captivating added attraction to the Day of the Dead fiesta, especially for those lucky visitors who came for a week not knowing what to expect, and stumbled onto one of the most magical moments of the year here in Sayulita and in all of Mexico.
