In most parts of the world, Halloween means dressing up in spooky costumes and going trick or treating. In Mexico, however, the holiday marks an entirely different cause for celebration. Each year, parts of Latin America, the United States, and Mexico celebrate The Day Of The Dead. For those who haven’t watched the 2017 Disney-Pixar film Coco, The Day Of The Dead is an occasion where families come together to celebrate deceased ancestors.
Streets light up, songs are sung, people dress up as Catrinas (as skeletons), and sweets, photographs, flowers, and alcohol are placed at the altars of the dead. It’s a day when the veil between the two worlds is lifted, and the dead are invited to walk with the living, often lured by offerings of their favorite things. These celebrations to honor dead ancestors are no morose periods of mourning. On the contrary, each November, all of Mexico transforms into a joyous country of color, with crowds, music, and lots of drinking. But for those who want to catch the best of The Day Of The Dead celebrations, some places in Mexico do it better than others.
10 Guanajuato
Guanajuato is probably not the first city that most tourists consider when looking for places to celebrate The Day Of The Dead at. But there are several reasons why the city of Guanajuato’s way of honoring the dead is at par with some of the country’s best. Each year, students of the University of Guanajuato enlist the help of local residents to build a stunning altar at the university’s steps. The altar is meant to honor the institution’s illustrious alumni. Costume face-offs, art shows, and parties are also said to take place in the underground tunnels of Guanajuato.
9 Chiapas
There are several spots in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas that follow Dia De Los Muertos traditions that are unique to themselves. The state has a strong ingenious identity that observes Tzotzil Maya and Chamula traditions. The town of Amatenango del Valle’s Day Of The Dead celebrations are more somber compared to the games, rides, and carnival-like atmosphere of el Romerillo. Zinacantán is famous for artisans of the Tzotzil Maya community who make costumes embroidered with flowers and who are also known to open their homes to invite visitors for lunch. Those who want to take part in decorating an altar can even stop at San Cristóbal, a city located in the highlands of Chiapas.
8 Cuernavaca
In the capital city of Morelos, it is believed that the spirits of the dead rise each morning and evening and walk through the streets to visit places they frequented in their human lives. As a result, the streets of Cuernavaca are flanked by stalls selling flowers, pumpkins, sugar skulls, candles, and all sorts of wares to greet the dead. Actors also put up performances in Parque Tlaltenango, an open-air theatre where the people of Cuernavaca gather to watch legends and ghost stories being re-enacted.
7 Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes’ Dia De Los Muerto celebrations are very underrated, considering how big the residents of the city are on honoring their ancestors. Festivities take place over a week, and the city’s Festival de Calaveras, or Festival Of Skulls, is among some of the best in Mexico. When the sun sets on November 1, Aguascalientes celebrates the Legends Of Mexico parade well into the late hours of the night. Visitors are invited to join the colorful floats of the parade as it marches down the streets of Aguascalientes.
6 Oaxaca
Although all of Mexico celebrates The Day Of The Dead between October 31 and November 2 in fervor, Oaxaca starts pulsing with excitement and energy days in advance. The city turns into a sea of marigold flowers, and comparsa (parades) march through the streets with musicians at all hours of the day. Mezcal flows through the city like water; artists make stunning sand tapestries in honor of the dead, and Oaxaca transforms into a magical city weeks before The Day Of The Dead even officially begins.
5 Pomuch
A small town in the state of Campeche that follows Mayan tradition, Pomuch observes Dia De Los Muertos with a peculiar ritual: bone washing. In fact, Pomuch may be the only town in Mexico that still honors the tradition of bone washing. While the rest of the world builds altars and decorates them with offerings, inhabitants of Pomuch exhume the skeletons of the deceased, carefully clean them with small brushes, and place the skeletons in an open box with linens. It is believed that not washing the bones of ancestors will lead to them haunting the town.
4 Merida
For those who seek a Day Of The Dead experience that’s a tad different than how the rest of the world celebrates it, Merida is the place to be. Merida, the capital of Yucatan, observes a Mayan version of Dia De Los Muertos known as Hanal Pixan. Named after a Mayan saying that means “food of the souls,” Hanal Pixan is a delight for food lovers. Visitors get a taste of Yucatan through regional dishes like mukbil pollo which is a crisp chicken tamale covered in banana leaves and cooked underground and pan de Muerto — a seasonal sweetened bread cooked as an offering for the dead.
3 San Miguel De Allende
San Miguel de Allende was ranked the best city in the world by Travel+Leisure two years in a row, making it a tourist hotspot all year round. But come time for Dia De Los Muertos; the city goes all out. Each year, San Miguel de Allende puts forth the Festival de Calacas, where citizens and tourists both dress up as Catrinas and take part in drinking and watching parades that go through the beautiful town. San Miguel de Allende also occasionally invites international artists to design a grand public art display in honor of the dead.
2 Janitzio
The town of Janitzio is an island located on Lake Pátzcuaro that is cut off from land and accessible only by boats. Each year, the island of 1600 inhabitants sees thousands from all over Mexico flock to Janitzio for its traditional ways of celebrating The Day Of The Dead. Hunters and fishermen row their canoes into the lake and shoot down ducks which are then cooked and offered at the altars of the dead. More famous, however, is Janitzio’s Night Of The Dead celebration. The lake lights up with candles, and fishermen take their boats to perform the butterfly net dance while the cemetery bells ding and large processions march up to the cemetery to spend the night with the souls of the dead.
1 Mexico City
What better place to celebrate The Day Of The Dead than in the capital of Mexico, where the festivities are the loudest, grandest, and more colorful than anywhere else? Mexico City’s Dia De Los Muertos events are amongst some of the biggest in the world, with altars for the dead erected at major squares and museums in the city. With street parties, food festivals, giant parades, and outdoor markets, The Day Of The Dead in Mexico City is a week of non-stop events.