The Travel Chica

Live Simple. Consume Less. Experience More.

El Dia de Los Muertos

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I went with some students from my Spanish school to El Calderón yesterday afternoon.  After several days in touristy, crime-ridden central Quito, I was looking forward to seeing another area that would hopefully be different – more real – and to seeing a part of the Ecuadorian culture.  I was not disappointed.

The celebration occurs on November 2 in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day (11/1) and All Souls Day (11/2).  Family and friends gather at grave sites to pray for and remember lost loved ones and ancestors.  About eight of us hopped on a bus and traveled about an hour to El Calderón.  We had to change buses midway, so it took almost an hour and a half to arrive.  I assumed we were in a different city, but we were actually still in Quito.  This city really is huge with a population of 1.5 million people.  We took two buses to get there, and it took a little over an hour, but it was worth it.  When we arrived, there was a celebratory atmosphere, like a festival.  On the street corner, there was a small ferris wheel, foosball tables, and a tiny merry-go-round pieced together with what looked like the little toy cars you buy kids to peddle up and down the sidewalk.  There was even a Barbie car.

Once inside the cemetery, it was a quieter atmosphere but packed with people.  The graves were very close together, some with ornate structures built as headstones and grave coverings and others with simply a cross with a name behind a pile of dirt.  The day is not sad for people; it is a day of celebration.  Families bring favorite foods of the deceased and enjoy a meal at the grave site.  We saw families washing, one even painting, the structures built at the grave sites.  People brought homemade crowns covered in flowers made from shiny silver paper and created beautiful bouquets, many in plastic Coca-Cola and Sprite bottles with the tops cut off.  It was really a peaceful and interesting thing to experience.  A tradition with real meaning.

This contrasted greatly with the Halloween parties at the bars in La Mariscal district (the part of Quito I am staying in) on Saturday.  I was told that Latin American countries close to the US are the only ones that celebrate Halloween, I assume because of the tourism industry.  The bars were decorated with large spider webs and plastic orange jack-o-lanterns.  Signs advertised, “Sexy Halloween Party.”  Needless to say, I did not go to a Halloween party; instead I learned to salsa (more to come on that in a future post).

This was a much-needed break from the tourist-zone, and I plan to see more of Quito and Ecuador in my remaining weeks here.

To see more pictures from El Dia de Los Muertos in El Calderon, click here.

Comments

  1. So I guess you opted for the Salsa lessons because you didn’t pack the girl scout costume??? :^)

    Seriously though, great photos. Couldn’t help noticing the padlock in the picture of the hand crafted crown. What is that for?

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