The Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration dating back to pre-Hispanic times and that is deeply rooted among people all over the country. This celebration is to honor the dead on November 2, beginning on November 1, to coincide with the Catholic tradition.
The origins of this celebration in Mexico predate the arrival of the Spanish. There are records of celebrations in the villages of Mexica, Maya, Purépecha, Nahuatl and Totonac. The rituals that celebrate the life of the ancestors have been observed among these civilizations for the past three thousand years. With the arrival of the Spanish, came a type of syncretism or fusion that blended European and pre-Hispanic traditions, creating the current Day of the Dead, in which altars are made with deeply symbolic content, including: the "pan de muerto" (bread of the dead), marigolds, soil in the form of a cross, candles and "Calaveras". These are humorous written epitaphs of someone still living, though written as though they were not, in the voice of death. They usually consist of verses, and jokes of the person, and often refer to certain unique characteristic of the subject of the text.
In order to continue to preserve these traditions, the city of Puerto Vallarta invites you to the 3rd Regional display of Traditional Day-of-the-Dead Altars and Calaveras, which will be held outside in the corridors of Puerto Vallarta City Hall. Through this exhibition you will see all the color and mysticism that surrounds this custom, in addition to a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the meaning of each of the elements used on the traditional Altars.
The altars will be created entirely by the people of Puerto Vallarta according to local tradition. If you are interested in participating, you have until 3:00pm on Friday, October 30 to register and immediately begin the task of making your altar.
Calaveras, participating in the contest, will also be published in the same corridors of City Hall, each created by residents of Puerto Vallarta, as well as the invited municipalities of Cabo Corrientes, Tomatlán, Banderas Bay and Mascota. It is an excellent opportunity to enjoy the antics and humor of the authors, some of which surely will be basing their Calaveras on our public figures, especially politicians in power.
The delivery of the awards to the winners of both contests: the Altar and the Calaveras will be on November 2 at 8:00pm at Los Arcos del Malecon.
For its part, the Los Mangos Library is also preparing their altar for the dead, which will be on exhibit at the library on Nov. 2. This altar is erected every year, so it too has already become a local tradition.
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