As Guadalajara gears up for the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) celebrations next weekend, the traditional market in Parque Morelos is once again open for business, selling all manner of traditional foods, toys, trinkets and materials for altars.
The toys and paper crafts fair (Feria del Carton y del Juguete) is found on San Diego, the road that flanks the northern side of the park. It opened on October 15 and runs until December 31 (it becomes a Christmas market after Day of the Dead) with opening hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. More than 170 vendors are plying their trade at this year’s market.
Adorning many of the handicraft stalls are various manifestations of Catrina, the lady of the dead, which come in all colors and sizes. Edible items include the traditional sweet “bread of the dead” (pan de los muertos) and candy skulls that can be personalized with the name of your loved ones.
On the Day of the Dead itself, Sunday, November 2, many people will flock to local cemeteries to visit the graves of their family and friends. The mood can be both sombre and celebratory as people take food and music to as they reunite with the deceased.
A tradition that is strongest in Michoacán but also present in Jalisco, is for people to leave small offerings at the graves. These reflect the personality of the person, such as small figurines depicting the profession of the deceased, or their favorite foods — it is not uncommon to see bottles of tequila. People also take cempazuchitl, the bright orange marigolds, associated with the day of the dead.
Martha Vasquez is one of the vendors who runs a stall selling figurines and other ghoulish curiosities. She says that the items have all been handcrafted by her sister-in-law during the past month, and the buck now passes to her to do the selling. “My family has had a presence at the market for several generations and it continues to be very popular,” she said.
In fact, the market has been running for the past 60 years and has been in its current location in Morelos Park for the past 25 years. In recent times, the Day of the Dead items have been supplemented with products relating to Halloween and for some this has been a source of tension.
One stall owner, who wished not to be named, described Halloween as a purely commercial festival that has started to undermine Day of the Dead traditions. She said some of the more recent stall owners do not see a distinction between the two events, but the long-serving ones do not veer from the traditional iconography.