Day of the Dead Villages, Oaxaca, Mexico    
Day of the Dead Altar in Oaxaca
Each village celebrates the Day of the Dead Festival in a different way
but the three day November holiday usually brings families together to
prepare the tombs for the return of the spirits.  During this time flowers
play an important role in decorating the tombs and home altars. Families
leave offerings for the spirits in the home and at the cemetery.
The gift shops in the city decorate in the theme
Cemetery Visits
On the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca a visit to the cemeteries on the first two
nights of November can be a magical time because of the thousands of candles
and the marigolds and cockscomb flowers that  decorate the tombs. Each village
celebrates at different times and with different intensity but the evenings are sure
to be unique as families come to the graveyards to sit by the tombs and wait for
the spirits to return.
Flowers and candles make the Xoxocotlan's two  cemeteries
mysterious places during the November vigil for the spirits. Your visit
is welcome October 31
In the family-oriented villages all members will spend the day decorating the tomb. At the plaza in the
village of Xoxo, near Oaxaca City,  the town usually builds a huge altar decorated with candles and
flowers, fruit and candy,  a community effort to celebrate the Days of the Dead.
In the cemetery of Xoxocotlan, families prepare the tombs by cleaning and
decorating them with candles and flowers. They sit by the tombs in a night
vigil of waiting for the spirits of loved ones to return  Oct. 31
In the town of Tlalixtac south of Oaxaca City the families sit by
the decorated tombs while brass bands move through the cemetery
November 1
In the Etla Valley north of Oaxaca
City, villagers stage a play in which
they visit houses and on this one
night, possessed by the spirits,  they
can insult even the highest officials.
Competition
for the best
altar at
Oaxaca's
main cemetery.
Panteon
General
November 1
The Day Of The Dead in the villages
of Oaxaca, Mexico is something
special.

Imagine a cemetery in the dark of night
ablaze with thousands of candles, the
people of the village sitting by the
gravestones in a night vigil as the men
gather and chant.
The the scent of copal incense and the
perfume of marigold flowers fills the air
The Day of the Dead is one of Oaxaca City's most important festivals. The
people of the city celebrate during the last week in October with musical
concerts,  gallery openings, museum exhibits, parades, and sand
paintings and decorated altars in the pedestrian-only streets.  Oaxaca's
hotels, restaurants and shops decorate their entryways in a friendly
competition  and restaurants feature the Regional cuisine of Oaxaca.
Where is Oaxaca and how do you get there:
Oaxaca Hotels      
The Days of the Dead  start in the afternoon
of the last day in October when the families
go to the cemetery to clean and decorate the
tombs.
Storefront decorations for Day of the Dead Oaxaca,    
In the Village of Atzompa
the celebration starts late
and goes until dawn.
October 31
San Antonino
Castillo Velasco
celebrates a week later
than all the other
villages.
Oaxaca Hotels      
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
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