Unlike other villagers, the people of San Antonino Velasco  decorate the tombs with tapetes of
flowers,  paintings created entirely of whole flowers, flower petals, and flower buds.  Families will work
for most of the day while the strains of flamenco violins reverberate throughout the cemetery.  
On the first and second
of November in Oaxaca
the all-night vigil at the
graves and tombs is a
candle-lit spectacle not
to be missed. San
Antonino's comes a
week or so later but is
no less spectacular.
More so perhaps when
you see that all the
paintings are done with
flowers.
Day Of The Dead Festival, Oaxaca, Mexico
During the Day of the Dead festival in Oaxaca, tons of flowers decorate the graveyards
when the people of Oaxaca hold a cemetery vigil by candlelight at the decorated tombs.
Marigold flowers  and candles turn the City of Oaxaca into an exciting place to be during
the festival with musical concerts  Oaxacan art, museum openings, and the decorating of
altars (offerings) and sand paintings in the streets.  Oaxaca's hotels and shops decorate
their lobbies with marigolds and candles while the restaurants build the tradition altars
of marigolds, enticing you in to try the regional cuisine of Oaxaca.
Day of the Dead  Festival
TAPESTRIES OF FLOWERS
The Day of the Dead festival is steeped in ritual and
history, but  not all villages celebrate the  festival on the
same day or in the same way.  In San Antonino Velasco,
for instance, the spirits of the departed  returning to the
graves for the October festival of Dia de Muertos must
wait until the commerce in cemetery flowers is completed
before they can join the festival.

I f you visit the valley of Oaxaca during this end of
October festival called the Day of the Dead, you will see
tons of  marigold flowers and the brilliant red cockscomb
that decorate the home altars and the tombs in  the
villages.
In this three-day annual festival of honoring the spirits at graveside, flowers
play an important part.  In one village the people must celebrate a few days
later than all the rest, however.  In the village of San Antonio Castillo
Velasco, near Oaxaca city.  Most everyone in town is engaged in growing
the flowers to supply all the other villages for the decorating of the tombs
during the Day of the Dead festival.
The families build altars with offerings for the spirit. Some say a photo or painting of the departed must
be on the altar or the wrong spirit could be attracted to the offerings. You therefore  will often see a
photo of the deceased relative.
The families of
Oaxaca come to
the cemetery  to
decorate the
graves with
flowers  and then
they hold a  
cemetery vigil by
candlelight
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Oaxaca Day of the Dead Schedule of Cemetery Visits
October, 31
Xoxocotlan. This town a few miles southwest of Oaxaca City  has two Cemeteries, Cementario Viejo, and
the new Cementario Nuevo.
October 31, the village of Atzompa holds a later cemetery vigil starting around 11 pm.

Day of the Dead November 1,
Oaxaca City Cemetery, Panteon General on the east side of the city
Tlaixtac de Cabrera, six miles south east of Oaxaca City

San Felipe del Agua, north of Oaxaca City November 2,
Village of San Antonino Castillo Velasco  A flower growing village that celebrates a week after the others
During the Day of the Dead festival in Oaxaca,
tons of flowers decorate the graveyards when
the people of Oaxaca hold a cemetery vigil by
candlelight at the decorated tombs.