There’s more to Día de los Muertos than face paint and sugar skulls. In Mexico, the annual Day of the Dead celebration is celebrated to honor the lives of ancestors and to acknowledge the ever-revolving cycle of life and death. It’s definitely not the “Mexican version of Halloween.” In 2008, the holiday was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage as “a defining aspect of Mexican culture.”
When is Día de los Muertos?
Día de los Muertos is celebrated every year on November 1st and 2nd, just after Halloween in the United States. In 2023, the celebration falls on a Wednesday and Thursday.
What is Día de los Muertos?
Día de los Muertos, one of the world’s most distinctive holidays, is the result of hundreds of years of intermeshing between colonial and Indigenous cultures. The festival’s roots stretch back nearly 3,000 years to the ancient traditions of Mexico and Central America’s Indigenous tribes (often grouped under the umbrella term, Nahua), primarily the Aztecs, who saw death as an ever-present part of life. The Nahua people believed that after death, a person had to make a journey of several years through nine arduous levels in the land of the dead to reach Mictlán, the soul’s final resting place. During August, family members of the deceased would leave offerings of tools, food, and water on graves and elaborate altars to aid their dearly departed along their unearthly travels.
However, when Spanish conquistadors came to the Americas in the 16th century, they brought Catholicism with them (as well as their iron will). In Europe, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day were celebrated on the first two days of November. While All Saints’ Day commemorated all of the canonized saints, All Souls’ Day paid tribute to the souls of commoners. During All Souls’ Day, practitioners would decorate graves with flowers, wine, bread, and candles—it was believed that on these days, the dead would return to their family members and the offerings were meant to help them feel welcome. So, when Catholicism was brought to Mexico, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day collided with the original Aztec holiday and Día de los Muertos was born.
Though Día de los Muertos is primarily celebrated in Mexico and Central America, it has become increasingly popular among Latino communities living abroad.
Photo by sljones/Shutterstock
How is Día de los Muertos celebrated?
Customs vary across the country, but core traditions remain the same wherever you go: People erect and decorate ofrendas (altars) with pictures and mementos of loved ones. A rainbow variety of papel picados (elaborately cut paper banners) are strung from ceilings. Festival participants will often paint their faces to resemble skulls or create costumes that resemble skeletons or dead versions of significant Mexican historical or cultural figures, like icons such as Frida Kahlo and Pancho Villa. The best known is La Calavera Catrina, an artwork created by José Guadalupe Posada in the early 1900s, which has since become a folk icon.
Although Día de los Muertos seems somewhat grim with its focus on death, it’s actually a joyous holiday. During those two days in November, it’s believed that the borders between the spirit world and the living are at their weakest, and the dead are able to return to drink, dance, feast, and, well, live it up with their relatives. Ofrendas may be built in private homes or public squares and decorated with marigolds, candles, sugar skulls, atole (a hot, corn-based beverage), red rooster combs flowers, favorite foods of the deceased, and, of course, pan de muerto (an irresistible sweetbread that’s decorated with crossbones). However, since all the food and drink can’t literally be enjoyed by the departed, the living partake in the ceremonial foods while dressed in their elaborate costumes.
During Día de los Muertos, people will erect elaborate altars to commemorate passed loved ones.
Photo by sljones/Shutterstock
Where is Día de los Muertos Celebrated in Mexico?
Día de los Muertos is observed throughout Mexico and along the southern U.S. borderlands. To experience it yourself, here are six destinations where Día de los Muertos festivities are particularly lively:
1. Janitzio
One of Mexico’s most famous Día de los Muertos celebrations takes place on the small island of Janitzio in Lake Pátzcuaro, located in the Mexican state of Michoacán (directly west of Mexico City and below the state of Jalisco). Every year on November 1, thousands of visitors gather in the local panteón (cemetery) to watch as the Indigenous Purepecha people perform lively Día de los Muertos rituals late into the night. There are processions with music and folk dance performances, but the most impressive sight might be when local fishermen in rowboats illuminate the lake with torches. Fun fact: Pixar’s Coco (2017) was partially inspired by the festivities that take place at Janitzio each year.
How to get there
The nearest airport is in the state capital, Morelia, which is about 90 minutes away from Pátzcuaro by taxi. You can also take a direct bus from Mexico City’s western bus terminal to Pátzcuaro. Once in Pátzcuaro, local boats depart frequently from the muelle (dock) for Janitzio.
The village of Xoxocotlán is a 20-minute taxi ride from Oaxaca City.
Photo by ML Harris/Shutterstock
2. Oaxaca
The southern Mexican state of Oaxaca is known for its mezcal distilleries, traditional artisans, and generally well-preserved culture. During Día de los Muertos, colorful celebrations occur in Oaxaca City as well as in smaller villages across the region. From October 31 through November 2, the largest graveyard in Oaxaca City, Panteón de San Miguel, is decorated with pan de muerto, marigold flowers, candles, and other offerings.
Just a 20-minute taxi ride from the city in the Oaxacan village of Xoxocotlán, both the Panteón Viejo and Panteón Nuevo cemeteries attract crowds to candlelit gravesites backed by live mariachi bands.
How to get there
You can fly into the Oaxaca City Airport (OAX) from Mexico City (the flight is about one hour). OAX also receives daily international flights from Houston and Los Angeles. Once in Oaxaca, taxis and buses between the city and smaller villages are plentiful.
In the Yucatán, Day of the Dead celebrations are known as Hanal Pixan, or “feast for the souls.”
Photo by Loes Kieboom/Shutterstock
3. Mérida
In Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, Day of the Dead celebrations are known as Hanal Pixan, or “feast for the souls.” During the holiday, many families in the Mayan region prepare elaborate traditional dishes for the return of their ancestors (in addition to participating in evening processions and setting up ofrendas in their homes). Intricate altars go on display in the zócalo (main square) of the Yucatán capital, Mérida, and the decorated gravesites in local cemeteries are also well worth seeing.
How to get there
The Mérida International Airport (MID) receives daily international flights from Houston, Miami, and Toronto. You can also connect to Mérida from Mexico City on flights from Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX), which take approximately two hours.
Mexico City’s Day of the Dead parade was inspired by the opening scene of a 2015 James Bond film.
Photo by Quetzalcoatl1/Shutterstock
4. Mexico City
In Mexico City, Día de los Muertos can be a week-long affair. The highlight of the capital’s festivities is arguably its parade, the Desfile de Día de Muertos, which was first held in 2016 and inspired by the opening scene of the James Bond film Spectre, which features a crowded procession in the city’s streets.
Usually, though, thousands of people gather in Mexico City’s Plaza del Zócalo to watch performers parade around dressed as colorful alebrijes (mythical creatures) or the elegant La Calavera Catrina. On the outskirts of the capital in the southern Xochimilco neighborhood, decorated canals and chinampas (floating gardens) set the scene for special night Día de los Muertos rides by trajinera (gondola boat) on November 1.
How to get there
Mexico City International Airport aka Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) connects 52 domestic and 50 international destinations spanning Latin America, North America, Europe, and Asia. Flights to the international airport are available via United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aéromexico, Volaris, Interjet, and more.
5. The Teotihuacan Pyramids
A trip to the Teotihuacan Pyramids should already be on any visitor’s to Mexico’s bucket list, but visiting this UNESCO site is particularly special during Día de los Muertos. Thirty miles northeast from Mexico City, Teotihuacan was constructed between the first and seventh centuries A.D. by the Aztec Empire in reverence to the sun and moon. Every year, the Festival Chaman Teotihuacan is held at the ancient site, where hot air balloons take to the the air and papel picado, painting, as well as pottery classes fill the day. Candlelight celebrations, bonfires, and ofrenda decorating occupies the night. Admission is free for all.
How to get there
Benito Juárez International Airport is the most convenient airport to fly into for this event. From there, the Teotihuacan Pyramids is just an hour’s drive out of the city—it’s best to rent a car for convenience’s sake.
6. Ciudad Valles
The Mexican state of San Luis Potosi is famous for its seemingly unreal, cerulean blue waterfalls. Visitors can also find multiple Día de los Muertos celebrations throughout the region, but one of the largest and most famous takes places in Ciudad Valles. Here, Mexican tradition blends effortlessly with Indigenous Huastec culture. Día de los Muertos celebrations take place during a festival called Xantolo, where all the mainstream hallmarks of the celebration (the building of ofrendas, the making and eating of sugar skulls, and feasting) can be found. However, these activities take on a much more spiritual context for the Huastec, some of whom see the holiday as being more important than Christmas; it’s a way to connect with the festival’s Indigenous roots and acknowledge the strength and accomplishments of one’s ancestors. Barnyard animals are often raised and sacrificed to celebrate Xantolo.
How to get there
The nearest airport to Ciudad Valles is the San Luis Potosi Airport, which is an hour and twenty minute flight from Mexico City International Airport or an eight drive from the capital city. From San Luis Potosi Airport, it’s a three and a half hour drive to Ciudad Valles, so it would be best to rent a car when traveling to this remote location.
