Day Of The Dead San Antonino Castillo Velasco Flowers Oaxaca

When the people of San Antonino Castillo Velasco celebrate, they do as you
might expect; they 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 afternoon breaking down marigold flowers to
separate the petals. They will use the buds and petals to create masterful
designs and colorful rug-like paintings using flowers.

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 San Antonino
Castillo Velasco Flowers
Oaxaca, Mexico
In San Antonino Castillo Velasco
the spirits of the departed
returning to the graves for the
October 31 start of the festival of
Dia de Muertos must wait until
the commerce in cemetery flowers
is completed before they can join
the festival.

Tons of flowers decorate the graveyards when the people of Oaxaca hold a cemetery vigil by
candlelight at the tombs.
The families of Oaxaca use Marigold flowers to turn the graves and home altars into works
of art. The farmers of San Antonino Castillo Velasco grow many of the Marigolds and
cockscomb that Oaxaca's hotels, shops, and homes use to decorate. More marigolds come
to the cemeteries during the night of October 31.
The people use marigolds to build the tradition altars and lay a trail of marigold petals to
entice the spirits to return.

Day of the Dead TAPESTRIES OF FLOWERS
Although the Day Of The Dead ceremony is steeped in ritual and history, not all villages celebrate the
festival on the same day. In San Antonino Castillo Velasco 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. Most of the farmers of San Antonino Castillo Velasco are
engaged in growing and selling flowers during the last week of October.
I f you visit the valley of Oaxaca during 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 San Antonino Castillo Velasco the families prepare for this three-day annual
festival of honoring the spirits at graveside a week or so after every other village
holds their celebration. The people must celebrate a few days later than all the rest
because 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.