It’s quite a challenge to sum up this incredible festival in a blog post and only select a few photos!

Like many I had seen the animation movie Coco, and honestly I think it’s a very good introduction 🙂

In France, like in most countries I know, cemeteries and other memories of the dead are for mourning sadly. “All saints day” -or other forms of celebration of our ancestors, like pitra paksh in India- is celebrated quietly and solemnly with prayers and contemplation.

The mexican version is very different and very poetic; Mexicans once a year receive a visit from their loved ones traveling from the after life world.

Cemeteries transform into a sort of joyous “train station” where the families await their ancestors visit!

Each house has an altar with the photos of the family members and food and drinks for their travels (most often coca cola, mezcal and corona!)

For 6 days, all over town, people dress up with masks and makeup while bands march with drums and wind instruments.

Concert stages are set up in different plazas, including in front of the cemeteries.

Sitting around the tomb of their families, people chat, drink, laugh and play music to celebrate the family reunion.

As they rightly say, a person only truly disappears when there’s no one left to remember them.