60 dancers to perform Vaquería de Ánimas
Enjoy 60 costumed folk dancers celebrating the Vaquería de Ánimas, or a fiesta for the souls, at 8:30 p.m. tonight (Monday, Nov. 2) at the steps of the Palacio Municipal.
With incense, incantations, candles and live music, the performers will present a 90-minute special program to recreate the traditions in honor of the departed.
Live music will be provided by the Orquesta Jaranera, conducted by maestro Alfonso Martín Chí.
The Vaquería is performed as a special program of the “Vaquería Yucatan,” which is offered every Monday to preserve and honor local cultural traditions.
It also winds down a long and busy weekend of events, most prominently the Paseo de las Animas, which packed 4,000 people into the streets.
On Oct. 31, the souls of deceased children were remembered, and on Nov. 1, the day was devoted to the souls of deceased adults. Today is All Souls Day, when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives.
Historically held at the beginning of summer, Day of the Dead was moved to coincide with the Christian festivals following the Spanish colonization of Mexico in the 16th Century.
Source: Press Release