Today we made it to Zacatecas, capital city of the state of Zacatecas. What a beautiful city. We knew some celebrating was still happening today leftover from Day of the Dead, but we had no idea what was happening, exactly. Today is All Souls Day in English, although the literal translation is The Deceased Faithful, and that’s a better fit for how they celebrate.
We left the hotel for a relaxing afternoon of walking around the city with our only goal being to ride the sky tram that takes you from one mountainside to another. We did that and explored the area where it takes you up high above the city. We walked down the mountain on a steep windy path and ended up by the cathedral. This is where our day got unexpectedly awesome. We showed up right as a parade was starting. A Halloween parade would be the closest explanation in the US, but they take their costumes very seriously. One guy had a real animal head and bones on a stick (see below).
We enjoyed the celebration for some time, then decided iola should be more involved. All the other kids were going from shop to shop in their costumes singing a Day of the Dead song and getting candy in return. Carrie, with her amazing foresight, had packed iola’s pumpkin costume and pumpkin basket in the car. We went to the hotel, dressed her up, and went back out. She loved it! If we’d stay in a store too long she demanded to go back to the street. She got lots of love back. She’s a little blonde in a sea of brunettes. What a fun, unique, unexpected night. My second favorite part of the night, after seeing iola trick or treat in Mexico, was eating street food. Pizza (60 cents), tamales (60 cents), chocolate filled churros (43 cents), all delicious and at a price I can’t afford not to eat them.
(If you haven’t figured this out yet, you can click on pictures to see them larger)
Tamales and a sleepy little pumpkin.
-Ryan
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