Tonight was Haloween. I have two kids, so it is big deal for them. For those who doesn't know what it is, it is simply a night where kids (and adults) dress up as whatever characters they want, and go around the neighborhood doing "trick or treat". This is a fun event for the kids and in my neighborhood there are kids and adults both look forward to this day for just some social interactions and family fun. So tonight, I am late. I just tucked my 'sugar-high' kids in. There was no wild party, just some time outside with neighbors.
Tomorrow and day after is Dia de los Muertos. In Houston, we have a lot of latino population, primarily from Mexico. I personally have many friends who are either from there or their family is from there, so it is another festival that my family like to celebrate.
Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Mexican festival where people essentially remember their loved ones in a sort of 'mocking' way. As if they are mocking death itself in a form of a festival. Critical aspects of dia de los muestos are as follows:
If you are thinking about The James Bond Movie Spectre featuring Zocalo area in Mexico City: no it is not that extreme! Did you know that Mexico City didn't celebrate that festival in such a grandios way before the movie? After the movie though, it is almost as grandious every year now :) Call it the James Bond effect.
I like the fact that it is spread along two days. During the first day, the souls of children are invited down to reunite with their families and the second day the souls of the adults are asked to come down and celebrated with their favorite food, drinks, and the people they loved most. These two days our loved ones come down to meet us and celebrate with us. I always feel, that our loved ones never really leave us, they stay with us in our memories. But these two days of the year, we can detach them from our memories, and sort of feel and spend time with their thoughts and memories in physical space. If that is not cool, I don't know what is! I always like to do a mockery of the death itself, and this gives me the opportunity.
Google Mexico has a nice video on the subject which I think is iconic. Hope you like it!
