Día de los Muertos was celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. The 1st is the day to recognize children that have died and the 2nd is for all the others who have died. The main day is the 2nd and this is when families travel to the cemetery to clean and place flowers on the grave. Many times families will spend the entire day at the grave site eating and playing music (mariachi bands are at the cemeteries).
Another part of this tradition is the creation of an altar in the home, to help the soul find its way back, complete with the deceased’s favorite foods, drinks, sweets, and even clothing or memento of a favorite futbol team. We constructed on of these in school, but an incident with papel picado (tissue paper cut into various designs with skeletons) and a candle led to a burnt wall and a torched picture of the deceased. The city constructed a huge altar in Plaza de Armas which was dedicated to two brothers important in the revolution (the bicentennial is in 2008).
All things sugar are also an important aspect of the holiday (they are placed on some altars, especially those honoring children and additionally are consumed in mass quantities by children). Sugar skulls (calaveras) are the most widely constructed, but there are also fruit, animals, and coffins made entirely from sugar. Pan de muertos (bread of the dead) is also widely eaten.
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