Paseo de las Ánimas

Jonna — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 06:30:48 +0000

Every year during Hanal Pixán, the Mayan name for the traditional Day of the Dead celebrations, they close Calle 66 one night from the church at La Ermita to the cemetery – about 10 or 12 blocks. City departments, schools, people who live along the street and other groups build traditional altars in the street. This year it happened on Friday night and Mimi and I walked most of it for a couple hours.

At one point we were really thirsty and went into a store looking for cold water or soda. The only thing he had cold was beer so I asked him if we could carry them outside on the street. He took them and carefully wrapped them in newspaper hiding the labels. We carried them up the street past lots of police with no problem. Everything is possible, that’s what I love about Mexico.

The kids dressed as skeletons were fantastic, many of them so small that they were carried by their parents. It was like a long block party, lots of people walking and sitting by their altars, lots of music, food, and smiles. I asked before I took any pictures and everyone said yes, they were proud of their altar and wanted to share it.

We spent a lot of time watching and listening to the band at the square. All of the musicians were older women dressed traditionally. They were fantastic!

I took a lot of pictures so if you would like to share in the Paseo de las Ánimas (walk of the souls) click the picture below to go to the album.

Hanal Pixán 2010

Hanal Pixán & Mucbil Pollo

Jonna — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:29:04 +0000

Monumento a la Patria

Here in Yucatán, the Day of the Dead is called Hanal Pixán. It has many of the same beliefs and traditions as in the rest of Mexico but it also has some things that are different, it’s done the Mayan way. One of the traditional foods usually eaten on the 1st of November is Mucbil Pollo. It’s a large, very rich tamale type dish, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground oven or Pib, because of this the dish is often called a Pib or Pibes.

the bakery

I got some advice on where to get a good Pib and was told to order it in advance or I wouldn’t be able to get one. So, I ordered one for the day after Dupre and Koren arrived so we could celebrate together. It came from a bakery that I had never noticed before, in the glorieta at the Monumento a la Patria. It’s a great bakery, I’m glad I’ve found it. They had a separate table for Pib orders, I paid half in advance and had to choose which kind I wanted. They come as chicken, pork or espelón, a small type of black bean. I got the mixto, sort of a half and half pan, why choose when you can have it all.

the price list

While there, I took some pictures of the regular bakery products for Hanal Pixán, the sweets for the altar and the sugar skulls with names already on them.

meringues

sugar skulls

I thought I would remember to take more pictures during dinner but I completely forgot. It was wonderful, I liked both the chicken and the pork side. The masa surrounding the filling is rich and crunchy and the seasoning was incredible. Very good that night and almost as good straight from the refrigerator at midnight!

The Pib on the table

blah...blah...blah... Ginger! » day of the dead

Paseo de las Ánimas

Hanal Pixán & Mucbil Pollo