There are two movies that make Mexican Day of the Dead world-famous, one is "007 Ghost Party" and the other is "Dream Quest".
"007 Ghost Party" is considered the most exciting beginning of the 007 series, before this film, there was no official Day of the Dead parade in Mexico, and the local government was inspired by the film to start hosting a grand festival parade. In just a few years, it quickly became one of the most important festivals in the world.
The English word for Dream Quest is Coco. Pixar is best at moving tear-jerk cartoons, a warm work that touched people around the world and propelled the popularity of Mexican Day of the Dead to the world. The most central concept in the film is also the attitude of Mexicans to death:
A person can die twice, the first is physical death, the second time is forgotten by a loved one, and this is the real death.
Just now, I have traveled 15 days in Mexico with my friends, and I have a new understanding of Mexico and the Day of the Dead, which also has a lot of strategies, which can be shared with you for reference.
First of all, from the overall impression, Mexico's tourism resources are not as good as the legend, compared to Europe, there is still a gap, of course, radish pickles have their own love, only for personal views, after all, the history of Central America and South America is relatively short. However, the Day of the Dead is really, very worth experiencing, and it is a grand festival with the participation of the whole people.
Chinese also attach great importance to the ghost festival, but too many Chinese are more serious, and there are more taboos, but the Mexicans are just the opposite, and they also attach great importance to it, but they regard the ghost festival as a grand carnival ceremony. They don't mind others taking pictures of the elaborate spiritual platform, they don't get serious, on the contrary, they will be a happy party, and everyone will dance and sing together and laugh. Because Mexicans feel that they celebrate so happily, they recall the souls of those who have passed away and be happy with them.
In the streets and alleys, skeletons and other elements of the Day of the Dead are everywhere.
Whether it is a local or a tourist, an elderly person or a student, many people have painted a "grimace", a skeleton of various postures, which is simply the era of the big bang of art, and the creativity is endless. There are also many people wearing all kinds of strange costumes, some of which are particularly scary, but it is not so scary to blend into the streets full of "skull faces".
Travel, I have always believed that experiential is the most ideal effect. On the streets of Mexico, the day of the dead experience can be immediately immersed in it. Just like all the girls on the beach wear bikinis, suddenly a big mom suit will be very confusing. It's the same here, the horror element is no longer scary, and the skeleton looks even a little cute.
For the Day of the Dead, the Chinese people have many illusions, thinking that November 2 is the beginning of the festival, and there are many strategies here:
November 2 is the official parade festival, generally in the two or three weeks before the official festival weekend, there are various festive activities, starting early, not just the 2nd, because after the 2nd means that the festival is over.
On a weekend before November 2, such as october 26 this year, there was a grand parade of the goddess Katrina, which was a traditional parade, the audience was very involved, and the audience could also dress up in various costumes to get close to the parade, and they could also walk to the team and follow along. This interactivity is very strong and impresses many tourists. Several of our friends think that this is the most interesting, and many Chinese people do not know this parade.
October 27 is the most official parade before November 2, and there will be a variety of skeleton floats, bands, etc. similar to the opening of "007 Undead Party". This is nice to look at, but it will be left outside by the railing and the police who maintain order, and it lacks a sense of interaction.
Important note: Whether it is a parade on October 27 or November 2, it is necessary to take up seats at least 2 1/2 hours or even 3 hours in advance, because from the back of the second row, the parade cannot be seen clearly, and the people at the end can only look at the heads of the audience in front. It is best to occupy the street from the starting point, because at the back, the people in the procession are tired and less energetic.
The most traditional cruise in the countryside
Coco's hometown
Generally speaking, the main cities traveled in Mexico, from Mexico to Guanajuato, the latter mountain city is famous for its color, and there are more Chinese tourists. In the movie "Dream Quest", this mountain city is also the place where the undead live after passing through the tunnel, as a background place.
Another important city, Morelia, is often overlooked, home to coco and the region with the strongest Elements of the Day of the Dead in Mexico.
The old lady in "Dream Quest", the film prototype is in the town of Santa Fe, in the local area as long as mama coco, you know that you are going to see this old lady, will give you guidance to her home. The old lady was already very old, supposedly 106 years old.
mamacoco
In several small villages in Morelia, the most traditional Day celebrations of the Dead are still preserved today, as well as the unique Day of the Dead cemetery party. The most representative is the small island of Janitzio, but the island is relatively small, the traffic is more troublesome, and you need to take a boat to go. It is generally recommended to go to another town of tzintzuntzan, which is somewhat similar to Japanese place names. It's a big place, and it's also the most traditional area.
Raiders: November 1st is the most important, as the cemetery party and parade are on this evening. Tens of thousands of tourists will crowd these two villages on these two days, so if you go early, the traffic jam will be very serious.
Live experience: Every family hires a band, makes wreaths, pastes photos of their loved ones on a wreath, and then participates in the parade, holding the wreath while walking and dancing and playing music, a bit like the twisted song phalanx in our city when we were young, one after another. Although it is not as big as mexico City, this most traditional way of celebrating will still make a deep impression. As a shower interrupted the parade, we watched them celebrate in a cursory manner at the cemetery.
The phalanx of the rich will do a lot of work, the cemetery will be very beautifully decorated, the night watchman will be very generous to tourists, allowing you to take pictures of the cemetery, and will also give you agave to drink, and invite you to participate in a happy ceremony. In particular, there are fewer faces in the East, so we Chinese there, which is also very popular. 1
Aztec chrysanthemums are clustered, colorful sugar skeletons, thousands of candles light up the cemetery, and the fire is bright. The most taboo thing in the country, here, has become the happiest element. It's hard to experience this dreamy feeling without experiencing it firsthand. Why Mexicans view life and death so easily.
I think the Day of the Dead is also the most important travel experience of a lifetime.