This freedom enables you to discover on your own the wonders this culturally rich time in Oaxaca presents.
For this reason, we offer you the opportunity to partake in a number of different tours to villages, but also encourage you to stay in the city and altars and comparsas around the city. You will find that there is much to see and do in the city of Oaxaca and in the outlying villages. In this way, as many activities take place the same day and often the same time, you may choose which one you feel would be more enjoyable. We prefer to serve as a bridge for our students to the culture and events so they can explore and understand what they are experiencing. For this reason, we give students the basic information and background for the holiday and take tours to the most important places in the City. In addition to visiting homes and cemeteries, one may experience the cultural richness of this time by witnessing the Comparsas during the afternoon of November 1st, theatrical performances representing the return of the dead, which take place in various outlying villages.Īt the Spanish Institute in Oaxaca, we encourage students to take part in the many activities inside and outside the City of Oaxaca. Visiting cemeteries and homes enables one to enjoy the richness of this celebration as you too will feel the power of the return of the deceased! During this time the living join together to rejoice the return of their ancestors. It is most commonly located in the cemetery and during the course of Muertos, one will find the graves wonderfully decorated with candles, flowers and food. The altars, found in the homes of the villagers and in cemeteries are honored by all. This day is often the most celebrated day of the year. In villages outside the city of Oaxaca, the celebration of Muertos is most commonly known as Todos Santos, or All Saints. November 2nd is reserved for the souls of the adults who have passed away. Upon their arrival, the children feast upon the food on the altars, as the long trip leaves them famished. It is believed that the last day of October the souls of the children who have passed away come to visit the altars beginning in the late afternoon. It is an old belief that the dead, after that long pilgrimage from the other life, arrive on earth tired and thirsty, because of this, a gourd or glass filled with water is placed on the altar for them to drink as well as the other food offerings. Another offering that should never be omitted is the oil lamp or the white or yellow wax candles adorned with black tissue paper. Traditionally, in every Altar of the Dead, the flower of dead – the sweet-smelling “cempasuchil” (marigolds) and ‘’cresta de gallo’’ a deep red flower – should not be forgotten. In the morning of October 31st the offerings are placed on the altars these offerings consist of exquisite dishes that the relatives will come to “taste” the aromas of, among these offerings we find the delicious Oaxacan mole seasoned by the housewives, one day before the delicious “nicuatole” (corn jelly) pumpkin with black sugar sugarcane “tejocotes” (small wild apples) the delicious “pan de muerto” (bread of the dead) the exquisite chocolate ground on a stone blender and a great variety of fruits from the region such as oranges, limes, bananas, jicamas, wild apples, nuts, peanuts, and also nisperos (small tart yellow fruits). Sugarcane is bound to the foot of the table giving it the shape of a triumphal arch. The altar is generally set on a table, then it is wrapped with a tablecloth, white sheet or with pricked out tissue paper. The Oaxacan altars are most commonly built October 30th and October 31st in the homes of the Oaxacan people. In each plaza one will find all the necessary items to prepare for the arrival of the dead: the ingredients for traditional mole negro, and pan de yema, traditional Oaxacan chocolate, as well as a grand assortment of flowers which will decorate the sacred altars dedicated to the deceased. In the state capital, Oaxaca City, the festivities of Dia de los Muertos begin a week before the 1 & 2 of November with the commencement of the “Plaza de los Muertos”, which takes place in each market, but principally in the Mercado de Abastos. Although Dia de los Muertos is recognized in all of Mexico, Oaxaca has become known for its traditionally rich celebrations to honor the return of their dead on November 1st and 2nd. It is an example of the harmonious relationship between Christianity and the prehistoric traditions found in the state of Oaxaca. To speak with a NRCSA staff member, please call (888) 678-6211ĭia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is the most time-honored and expressive holiday of Oaxaca.
0 kommentar(er)
