Photo Essays / Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead

In Merida and around the Yucatan, we celebrate The Day of the Dead, which the Mayans call Hanal Pixan.

This traditional gourd hangs at the entrance to a Mayan hut erected in the Plaza Grande. <a href=></a> Two Mayan beauty school attendees. <a href=></a> A young man in traditional Yucatecan costume sits in front of the Ayuntamiento's official Hanal Pixán altar. <a href=></a> A young man in traditional Yucatecan costume sits in front of the Ayuntamiento's official Hanal Pixán altar. <a href=></a> A chicken, tied at the foot, has been gracing this Day of the Dead altar. <a href=></a> Two lovely ladies wearing the formal version of the traditional Mayan huipile. <a href=></a> A young girl carrying flowers. <a href=></a> A goat awaits the return home. <a href=></a> Marigold petals form a cross in front of an altar in Merida's Plaza Grande. <a href=></a> A Mayan baby finally smiles. <a href=></a> Mucbil Pollo wrapped in banana leaves sits in a basket in front of a photo of a married couple, long since passed away. <a href=></a> A Mayan still life. If you are from the Yucatan, you'll recognize the elements, complete with the Coca Cola box in the background! <a href=></a> Una vieja (old woman) crosses herself while gazing at a Hanal Pixán altar in the Plaza Grande in Merida. <a href=></a> Men from a village tearing down an altar in Merida's Plaza Grande to take it home. <a href=></a> A Mayan woman and her daughter playing in the park. <a href=></a> Traditional decorations frame the tower of the Merida's Ayuntamiento building in the distance. <a href=></a> Another young woman in traditional costume stands next to an alter bearing the photo of one of the Mayan's more revered political figures, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, governor of Yucatan until his assassination in 1924. <a href=></a> Gourds are used for many things. This one hangs in front of a Hanal Pixán altar... but has nothing in it! <a href=></a>

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