A tightly packed throng of thousands of subdued mourners shuffles shoulder to shoulder along a spiral pathway lined with graves. The tombs are empty – they're only replicas, in a reproduction of a village cemetery. Yet the atmosphere is hushed and earnest. Parents hold children by the hand and babies in their arms, quietly explaining the significance of the items that adorn the headstones. Each shrine bears votive candles, ablaze with tiny flames that dance in the evening breeze; most are sprinkled with orange tzempazchutil (marigold) blossoms.
Photos of the departed sit next to bowls of honey and chocolate and glasses of water, welcome refreshment for the souls of the dead after their long journey back to the land of the living. For the uninitiated, the Day of the Dead – the event being observed here at Xcaret, an ecological theme park south of Cancún – may evoke a host of macabre images: skeletons, ghosts, malevolent spirits. But it is in fact one of the most festive dates on the Mexican calendar, rooted in pre-Hispanic Maya tradition. Once a year, the Maya believe, the souls of the departed come back to earth to visit family and friends, and the living must see to it that they want for nothing when they return. Hanal Pixán, the Mayan festival of the dead, which in fact spans three days (beginning on October 31), is a riotously colorful, exuberant and sincere series of rituals performed at home, in church and in cemeteries, welcoming the returning souls with songs, prayers, storytelling and, of course, plenty of food.
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