The reason I stayed so long in Mexico was purely so that I could see the Day of the Dead. It is a celebration of all who have passed on and ensuring they are remembered. And Puebla was were I was going to do it!
Upon arriving in Puebla I was promptly adopted by Alan (USA) and Fabritizio (Italy). We took to exploring Puebla and enjoying the Day of the Dead together. Puebla, like all other Mexican cities, has a town square and lots of churches, but because of the festivities it felt like it had more atmosphere than the other places I had been.
(Downtown Puebla)
(Inside the cities main cathedral)
After the usual touristy stuff it was time to undertake some festivities. Locals seems to combine the festival with Halloween and almost everybody in town gets into the spirit. Both day and night the square is packed with trick or treaters and people who just love to dress up!
And the town gets into the spirit too….
(Need a costume? I know a store…)
But the real aim is to honour those who have passed on by creating and ‘offrenda’ sort of like a shrine to the person. It is done in people’s homes, offices, school and anywhere in between and they canbe elaborate! They also have competitions for the best ones. Here are a few shots from around town….
(A school group had created an entry for the competition)
People who have and offrenda in their home invite people in to see it. This is down by laying flower petals in front of their front door. These people then proceed to feed these visitors. It is incredible. We were lucky enough to have a personal tour from a local, Sebastian, where we got to meet and eat with the locals. So humbling and beautiful.
(Our ride!)
(Making tomales)
Aside from Day of the Dead stuff, we also got to visit a pyramid in a nearby town. We got to go INSIDE as well!
(The pyramid is in this hill!)
We also visited the world’s smallest volcano… It’s true!
After our day trip out we headed back to town to catch the parade. Insane!!
No Day of the Dead celebration would be complete without a trip to the local cemetery, where locals party all night long!
(If you can afford it, this could be your tombstone!)
The perfect way to end my time in Mexico. Couldn’t have asked for a better time!
