Morelia - Day of the Dead

Morelia – Day of the Dead By Dorothy Bell Photography by Bill and Dorothy Bell “I think I would like to be buried in Mexico next to a big family. That way I would hear mariachis and laughter. I would hear sweet whispers of respect and smell the candles, marigolds and incense. I would be fed delicious foods and drink the best of tequilas. I would hear stories of people I wish I had known.” Day of the Dead and Halloween have only skeletons in common. What is meant to scare in the US and Canada has a significantly different interpretation in Mexico. The Day is not for sorrow, but for remembering and respecting the departed. Many believe a 3000 year old Aztec ritual that was originally celebrated in August dedicated to Mictecacihuatl “Lady of the Dead" and Queen of the Underworld. The festivities were celebrated for a month and after the conquest, remained a persistent celebration much to the chagrin of the Spanish who considered the practice pagan and sacrilegious. So with a “if you can’t beat them join them” attitude the celebration was moved to the beginning of November to coincide with the Catholic All Saints and All Souls Day. Mictecacihuatl has relatively been reborn so to speak and recently morphed into Katrina, the “elegant one” the popular female skeleton Image with a wide brim hat. She was created in 1913 by Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada and later replicated and made popular by famed Mexican muralist Diego Riviera in his mural “Dream of a Sunday in Alameda Park.” Katrina, the rich upper class lady does not escape death; it comes to all of us, the rich and poor. Death, the great equalizer; a natural part of our existence. This is Day of the Dead. Not to be feared by children or commercialized by Hallmark. It is a time to honor the life and passage of loved ones. Last year my husband Bill and I spent Novemer 2, theDay of the Dead in the Morelia, the Capital city of the State of Michoacán in the center of Mexico. Michoacán is an interesting place to celebrate this particular day. Patzquaro is known for its revelry, Morelia for its captivating “Katrina” statues and the highlands as being the birth place of the monarch butterflies. Most of Mexico’s ancient cultures, the Toltec, Aztecs and Zapotecs to name a few, all believed that the butterfly was the rebirth or reincarnation of souls. We walked about Morelia’s Centro or city core and were amazed at the displays and beds of marigolds everywhere. There was joviality in the air as we strolled by tiny park benches and down large pedestrian walkways. Vendors sold cookies and cakes with skulls or skeletons. The sugar skulls appeared most often with bight accents for the eyes – some red and blue. Children would be given these skulls as a treat, often with their name printed on the forehead. Store after store had displays and Katrina mannequins. Restaurants had special menus or” living statues” or should I say living skeletons entertaining and enticing potential customers to enter their establishment. As much as the mood was playful, urban and charming in Morelia, the neighboring city of Patzquaro was somber and reflective. Patzquaro is Morelia’s Indian cousin, so celebrations, fiestas and lifestyles are always somewhat different. Here in this Indian Colonial city, the mood was far more personal. While the rabble-rousers, tourists and cameras went to Janitzo, the Island on the lake, the focus of the event for this city was the graveyard just outside of town. We walked inside the walled Pantheon and with a somber demeanor, we walked the grounds that had been decorated and visited the night before. The cemetery was crowded with loved ones who talked in whispers to each other. Candles had burned all night and left ponds of wax on the graves and pathways. The ground was a carpet of marigolds with little brown patches of earth between the graves. The air was heavy with incense, and duty. Love and respect. People were sitting on the ground or standing at the gravesite of a departed. Talking. Mumbling. Music rang out from another corner of the yard; an old love song. There were full bottles of tequila, letters and of course an overwhelming abundance of flowers. These are a few of their favorite things. And more marigolds than you have ever seen. The same color as the church in San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. A golden yellow; almost orange. It was a moving experience not a cultural one. I told Bill I wanted to be buried in Mexico next to a grave of someone who had a big family. I would like to hear the mariachis and touch the flowers every year. Become a Friend on the Riviera Nayarit Click Here

Day of the Dead - Dia de Los Muertes

Mexico Celebrates Day of the Dead Tara A. Spears It may have started out as a somber religious event but today Mexico celebrates on November 1 and 2 with vibrant enthusiasm. These days are typically observed with friends and family in remembrance of their passed loved ones. The families spend the day playing the departed’s favorite music, eating the departed’s favorite foods or spending the day at picnics around gravesites. It is a fiesta to honor the good memories of a loved one and to celebrate life. November 1st is especially reserved in remembrance of any children that have passed. Family members and friends adorn graves with toys and gifts in honor of the little ones that have died. Some gifts may even include their favorite foods and drink. Mexicans believe that the departed’s spirit will return to spend the day with them so in return the family has a huge party to celebrate. They decorate with the traditional Zenpasuchitl marigold flower. Candles are lit to serve as a guide for the spirits to make it back home. The photos are from the Jaltemba Bay area.November second is reserved to honor the adults that have passed. Family typically decorate using the Zenpasuchitl (a type of marigold) flower and candles besides photos and some of the loved one’s favorite things: it’s not unusual to see tequila or actual food at gravesites besides lovely floral arrangements. For weeks before you will see thousands of skulls and skeletons on sale to be used to decorate this festive day. Baked pastries and bread in shape of bones are available in markets. Some stores even sell skull candies. They symbolize a person "cheating death" because the person ate it. You can even buy them with your name on it and put it on the altar at home. Once you break a piece of this really hard candy then it´s said that you have cheated death. Involving the children in the preparations for the celebration of El Dia de los Muertos, whether making the ofrenda, or altar, arranging flowers, or packing the food for the cemetery, seems like a positive means of de-horrifying death. As the family honors the dead, children learn that death is a natural part of the life cycle and therefore, not something to fear.

After a couple of days here...

Well we've been here a few days now and I can tell you, It is HOT and Humid. If you don't get the majority done by noon and the rest by 2pm forget it. 2 fans installed in the patio, 3 more to go above the RV. Sunshades were delivered and will be installed in the next few days. RV and the roof have been washed (Thank you Luis). Azullejos have been picked and will be delivered tomorrow morning and I think Pierre will start tiling on Tuesday. Lot's going on! Dalia and Miguel just left to go back to school in PV. Sponge Bob Square Pants Piñatas 13 of them have been made for Angelica, I did the faces :) People always say what do you do all day in Mexico. This is some of it, and a siesta here and there. Adios por ahora muchachos.

Last Day # Post 13

First full day here. Very warm last night, hard to sleep. Up this morning I made coffee and Brad went to get cereal and milk at the corner store. Had breakfast and then Alejandro came to help Brad fix the fan. After some fiddling and trying and changing, got it working. I did some cleaning and translating. Then later Angelica came to help me clean some more. Tomorrow Alejandro and Brad will go to Tepic to buy some material for sun screens and 5 fans for the roofs outside. I'll go buy food and things we need, and laundry. It's such an exciting life here, lol, similar to Canada work, fix, clean. Cheerrs!

Day 12

Well I can tell you now our last post was a little bit of a lie. To surprise our friends here we said we were staying in Mazatlan for a couple of days. We arrived about 3pm and saw Stuart, Donna wasn't home. Then we went and saw Angelica and Luis, Alejandro wasn't home, then we drove by Hinde and Jaime's saw Dabbie and stopped by Mola and Mary's and only Viri was home. So we invited them to come over for a beer at 7pm. got to the RV and Were greeted by Chantel, Pierre and Roxanne, talked awhile then went and had to try to tidy enough for our company. What a mess, very dirty RV. The only big problems were one fan not working and the air conditioning and heat not working (not that we care about the heat). It is very. hot here! You just sweat and sweat. We are glad to be back! More later, lot's of cleaning to do.

Old Timers

Down a very bumpy side road that kept knocking my luggage off, is where we saw this couple out for a purpose, or maybe just a ride together.

Close up of previous photo

Guaymas - Holiday Inn Express

The rich and the poor side by side.

Chandler AZ

No Time to fix Brad's signal problem. On to Tucson AZ.

Oct 10th Cold Cold Morning

Just stopped for coffee to warm up a little.

Day 11

All I can do is laugh. Checked yhe settings of the Video and all was good. Except that it was pointed way to high so most all you can see is the cloudy sky. Hahahahaha Maybe by the time we head home I will get it right. Left Los Mochis about 8:30am and had a nice ride to Mazatlan. No rain, knock on wood. This. afternoon was a scorcher! Maybe 32C. Feels like your head is frying, out in the mid day sun. Cheers! Be at the RV in a couple of days.Gonna stay here for a couple and unwind. Hasta pronto amigos!

Video

There is no Video. Seriously I am usually not so tech challenged. I didn't check the settings and it took close to 1600 still shots. Spent the night deleting them. Argh!

Day 10

First of all When I said Mazatlan I didn't really know how far it was :/ We are in Los Mochis or to be more accurate just on the outskirts on Hwy 15 at the Zar Hotel. Had some problems keeping my luggage on today. it all made it but the rain cover for the small one has a few holes. It was a cloudy day and they were calling for thunderstorms but we made it here without getting wet. I will upload the video of part of the ride today after we go for dinner. I will post the link to it here. Tomorrow Mazatlan? haha

Day 9

I left Tucson at 6:10am to go find Brad. It was cold, cold, cold again. Found him about 7:30am (not ready to go) lol. He got packed had breakfast, gased up and headed for the boarder. Got to KM 21 about 8:40am and after the go here go there, got going at 10:00am. Had a good ride, this afternoon was HOT,HOT!HOT! There's just no middle ground :/ Long day for me, not much sleep, up early and a bit of riding. Shower, beer and bed. We are staying in Guaymas tonight at the Holiday Inn Express. Leave tomorrow for Mazatlan. Tomorrow I will try to film some of the ride and put it on Youtube. Stay tunned!

Day 8

I was right on both accounts, I am in Tucson and brad is in Nogales. We went to go up to Old Town and the museum and I pulled over to adjust my bags that were falling off and that was the last time I saw Brad. Looked at the Old Town and the Museum and couldn't find him. So I came back to Tucson and he went ahead to Nogales. We will meet up in the morning to cross the boarder. It was much warmer this morning thank goodness. We didn't get really far because Brad's left turn signal kept coming on and then off without him touching it. So we went to the Harley shop in Peoria and they couldn't look at ir so we continued to the one in Chandler And they couldn't look at it either so we called the one in Tucson and they said they would look at it, but on the way it stopped doing it so he didn't bother to get them to look at it. That's when we decided to go see the Old Town and Museum and you know the rest from there. Cheers!

Day 7

OK, what made me think anything would go as planned? We left Las Vegas at 8:30am and right away it was dark, cloudy and spitting on us. Of course I am not equipped, someone told me from Las Vegas on I wouldn't need my Leather Jacket, gloves, etc.and if I didn't need those I didn't need boots, and silly me didn't check for myself. So I was riding with runners (with mesh) a T-shirt, Light hoody another light sweatshirt on that and eventually it was soooo cold I stuffed my sheep skin in the front of my hoody also. IT WAS COLD! Not cool, COLD! Onward and upward we have made it to Wickenburg, AZ. Not near as far as we planned but we made it forward. Brad is napping, we both had hot baths to warm up. I think an early night tonight we're both beat. Maybe a late start tomorrow, I better look at the weather ;) Don't have a plan yet for tomorrow, Tucson or that is maybe too close, Nogales? We'll let you know what happened tomorrow.

Day 6 Part Duex/Dos

Picked up the bikes and they were all fixed up and shiny clean. Mine problem was the recalled regulator. had dinner after at the buffet, and went to the movie theatre in the hotel to watch Family. It was a nice evening. Brad was a big winner today he spent $5.00 and won $18.89, then won another dollar, and best of all just before the movie he put in $2.00 and won $78.00. Not bad for a guy that doesn't gamble. Even with my losses we still came out ahead by at least $60.00. Good Night!

Day 6

Correction - We are not at Sam's Club, we are at Sam's Town. . haha Sam's club is shopping, Sam's Town is A Casino. Up in morning went for Breakfast and Brad went to Harley dealers. He is getting new tires and oil change. I wrote the last blog while he was gone. Then went for a walk to Walgreens for a couple of things and over to Wendy's to pick up Apple Pecan Chicken Salads for lunch. Back to the Hotel and gambled my $20.00, lost it in record time :) Little rest time and I just got the call my bike is done it was the recalled regulator. New oil and I'm ready to go, just waiting for Brad's bike and we will leave tomorrow morning for Tucson AZ. Not even near the problems last year with the RV. Oopps, did I just jinx us again? lol see ya in Tucson tomorrow. Cheers!

Day 5

OK, so I opened my big fat mouth (on facebook) and jinxed myself. I said "nothing to blog about". Hahaha, day 5 we got up in Overton, NV and ate breaky packed up and went to the Storage Place where we are storing the Truck. Unloaded the two bikes. Went to start my bike, nothing. No power. Previously to leaving Canada, the bike was in the back of the truck the day before we left, and the alarm lights were going off. We thought we had remedied the problem by hanging the keys on the bike when we were moving. The lights weren't flashing any more, problem resolved. Right? Back to day 5, not resolved! Jumped the bike and let it charge for 45 min. shut it off, push the start button, NOTHING! Go park truck in back and tarp it. Call Good Sam for a tow truck, it's 11:25am. Sit on a bench inside the storage area waiting, they had said about 2:10 or before. Talking, Laughing, Remembering other times Brad has needed a tow with his bikes. lol 2pm no one, 2:20pm no one, Wait! my phone rings (which by the way is costing a fortune to talk in the USA) it's Good Sam calling, oh, no it's not, it's them but it's a recording, "If your call has been completed press 1, if not press 2" i press 2, wait, wait, "Hello, this is Good Sam, How can we help you today? can I have your card number and your name" me, "I already called I should have a truck coming" them "Well let me just check on that, can I put you an hold" me, "NO!, this is costing a lot of money everytime I have to talk to you, where is my tow truck"? "let me call you back when I get that information for you". Wait, wait. 3pm, ring ring "They are going to be another hour" me "can you call a closer company please we have been out here for 3 1/2 hours". Them "well they'll just tell us 45 minutes to an hour so just wait for this one". 4pm waiting not so patiently anymore, Brad "just phone the tow truck directly" me, " where are you"? tow co. "let me just check whee he is... he is about 45 miles away, he's on his way" for those of you that don't know Overton, NV to Las Vegas where he was coming from is about 70 miles, so he was only about half way and that was wishful thinking because you know they were stretching the truth when they told us 45 miles. Anyways, 4:55pm the tow truck shows up and loads my bike, we get to the Harley dealer with maybe a half an hour before they close, but tne service was already closed. Called a cab for me and my luggage and went to Sam's Club for the night. Nice room and cheap $29.90 USD, comfy beds and good sheets :) That was day 5. Should have know we couldn't get all the way to Mexico without some sort of problems (adventures).

Day 4

Overton,NV tonight and on our bikes tomorrow. I hope it goes well, I have had a little motion sickness. Maybe it will go away when I'm on the bike? 8:30am - 3:30pm driving today, not really long but not much to look at. We took the 95 from Fallon,NV to Tonopah then 6 to 375 the extraterrestrial HWY, 318 to 93 and through Alamo, 168, 15 and 12. No pictures today. Will try to post tomorrow.

Day 3

Left Lakeview OR around 9am travelled near Reno, NV and are staying at Fallon,NV. Good drive today and not too long. Going for a drink and throw away $20.00 then dinner. Maybe add some pictures later.

2013 Trip - DAY 2

Left Gresham, OR at 8:30am and travelled to Lakeview,OR. We took Hwy 26, at Madras we took 97 to Chiloquin then 858 to 140 to Lakeview. Arrived about 3pm. Brad went to meet his facebook friend Frank. Staying at the Interstate 8, old, good WiFi. The new re-play Video Camera keeps playing tricks on me, it works every night when I try it but then when we go to use it in the Truck it stops working. Got 6 minutes today, with Mount Hood at the end. Will try again tomorrow.

2013 Trip to Mexico - DAY 1

Left at about 9am after dropping camera to Port Coquitlam for Charne to use then donate. 1 1/4 hour wait at boarder. Traffic at 3 in Seattle then more traffic in Olympia. Stayed the night in Gresham,OR at the Super 8, clean, quiet and breakfast.