Día de Muertos

Get ready for quite a lot of photos.

 I had been looking forward to celebrating Día de Muertos since I found out I got the Fulbright and last weekend the time had finally come!

The celebrations started off on Thursday, when the students at my school presented the calaveritas (joke-y death-themed poems) they had written - in English! A few of them wrote theirs about me, which was pretty fun, and some of them dressed up too. Afterwards, we enjoyed some pan de muerto and fresh hot chocolate... a wonderful way to spend the morning.

The day before, some of the students had decorated the school and set up a traditional ofrenda in the hallway.

And, then, since it was also Halloween, we spent conversation class eating candy, coming up with silly monsters, and making jack-o-lanterns.

After class, I headed to the station to catch a bus to Morelia, the capital of Michoacán. Michoacán is known for its Día de Muertos celebrations (along with delicious food and general beauty) and I was more than a little excited to get to spend the weekend there. Britt (another Fulbrighter) and I spent the night and morning in Morelia - a really unexpectedly lovely city - before heading to Pátzcuaro, a nearby town.

Last glimpse of Morelia. 

The view from our hotel in Pátzcuaro. (Britt and I stayed there with Mariah - mentioned in a couple of previous posts, another Fulbrighter named Meredith, and Meredith's fiancee - visiting from San Francisco.)

Down to the centro for some sight-seeing and snacks.

First corunda, one of Michoacán's typical dishes (a type of tamal and oh-so-good.)

That night, we headed to Janitzio, an island in the middle of Pátzcuaro's lake. There, we were able to witness the tradition of building ofrendas in honor of dead loved ones and spending the night in the cemetery. It was pretty bizarre watching such an intimate celebration but, somehow, the locals didn't seem to mind too much. It was certainly a unique experience - and utterly fascinating.

We also caught part of a traditional dance performance - also rather bizarre but pretty cool nonetheless. 

We grabbed a boat to head back to town a little after midnight, but plenty of people were just getting started.

The next day, we explored the center of Pátzcuaro a little more.

We admired some exquisite pieces at an artisan competition.

And enjoyed some of Michoacán's famous ice cream - I got fig, pine nut, and cranberry.

That afternoon, we headed back to the lake to see its beauty in the daylight.

And more delicious Michoacán food for dinner. I had a chile relleno (but instead of being stuffed with cheese, like it would be in the United States, it was filled with an uchepo, a Michoacán-style sweet tamal.)

And, of course, a delicious breakfast the next morning before heading back to Toluca. 

I was a little nervous before heading to Michoacán because of the potential danger that everyone from state department officials to friends from home had warned me about, but I stayed in tourist-y areas and I'm not kidding when I say that I felt more safe there than I do sometimes in Toluca, so I'm glad I followed my gut and just went. The food was great, the city was clean, colorful, and inviting and the celebrations were unlike anything I'd ever seen. And even though I was surrounded by tourists the whole weekend, I actually kind of enjoyed it; Morelia and especially Pátzcuaro welcomed the tourists and I was pleasantly surprised by how respectful and thoughtfully curious everyone - locals and visitors alike - seemed to be. If you ever have the chance, definitely spend a weekend in Michoacán.

(See the rest of my photos - yes, there are more! - here.)