Magical Settings

Patzcuaro

DEC 2023

One of the things I have always loved most about Mexico is the relationship people have with their dead. Instead of being a sad and tragic event, Mexicans create a celebration around the deceased, which reaches its peak during Dia de los Muertos (it is celebrated on November 1-2 each year). It is a time when the spirit of the dead is believed to be closest to their loved ones on Earth. Hundreds of families gather in graveyards all around the country to decorate tombstones with marigold flowers, candles, photographs, food, and alcohol.

This year, I had the great fortune of visiting Patzcuaro, the place where Dia De Los Muertos is said to have originated. To describe it as a “magical setting” is an understatement. It was one of the most beautiful acts of humanity I have seen in a long time. There is so much joy, color, music, and love around the most inevitable part of life – death.There were many learnings for me during those days, but mostly, it shifted my perception of what a relationship to death can look like.

If you haven’t seen the movie Coco yet, I strongly urge you to do that also because you get a good sense of what is believed to happen during Dia De Los Muertos. The matriarch, Mama Coco, is based on a real woman living in Patzcuaro. A friend of mine had a mezcal with her a few years before she died, which is a story I love.

Below, you can see the many photographs I took of this trip. Everyone would be lucky to go see it at least once in a lifetime. It’s a bucket list occasion, for sure!