Día de los muertos

Jamai has come and gone. Such a long awaited trip done and over so quickly. It was simply amazing to have him here, introduce him to my host family, show him my city, and take him on a couple quick trips. He arrived just a couple days before Día de Los Muertos, the holiday that celebrates the return of the deceased for a night of celebration, and also the day my cousin Katie wed a wonderful man in San Diego. Jamai also came just days after my Uncle Steve suddenly and unexpectedly died. It was nearly too shocking to bear and very difficult to go through so far from family. Having Jamai here helped ease the sense of absence while I missed my family during such a major loss and a major celebration.
Normally I work on Saturdays but my school decided to give me the day off to celebrate Día de los Muertos. I had heard that the little town of Pátzcuaro in the state of Michoacán was widely known for it's celebrations and a handful of other Fulbrighters were going so Jamai and I made our way West. Pátzcuaro is on a lake that is dotted with little island pueblos, Janitizio being the best known for Día de Los Muertos. Just around dark, we boarded a lancha and left for the island. Janitzio is a steep mountain plunked down in the middle of the lake with a huge statue of Morelos stuck on top. It was a steep climb up to the tiny graveyard where indigenous families were setting up altars on graves.

It was a weird scene, tons of tourists winding our way through the tombs, most of us trying out best not to step on top of the graves laying so closely together. We watched families sit quietly together, lighting candles and watching over their deceased husbands, wives, grandparents, and friends. It wasn't what I had expected to encounter after hearing so many people exclaim that Pátzcuaro was "the place" to go for Día de Los Muertos, it wasn't an event meant for tourists, but simply locals celebrating their loved ones.
On our second day there, we wandered through the town, shopped at the artisan market, tried delicious, handmade ice cream, and stopped by the Artisan Contest tent. The state of Michoacán is known for it's artisans and the contest displayed the best of the best! The art was really incredible, so delicate and detailed. My favorites were the Catarinas, clay skeleton dolls dressed in Victorian garb.

In the evening, Jamai and I went out to eat with the other Fulbrighters but didn't order quite right. We split a salad (as a rule of thumb, Mexico doesn't really do salad that well) and a delicious but small portion of a bean soup with cheese and sweet chile. After wandering around the market looking for a few gifts, Jamai and I went to another restaurant for drinks and decided to order a second dinner... I got the exact same soup (better the second time!) and Jamai got the mole enchiladas. We cheersed our fruity drinks to being together again, at least for a little while.