Pan de Muerto, Catrinas and 300 Altars: Hanal Pixán Nears

Skulls, black cats and pumpkins are creeping into shop windows across Mérida’s Centro Histórico. Fabric printed with Halloween and Day of the Dead designs hangs in some storefronts, and bakeries have started to advertise the season’s first pan de muerto.

Fall has arrived in the Centro, at least on the shelves. Hanal Pixán, Yucatán’s version of the Day of the Dead, is five weeks away, and the city has just released the program for its biggest celebration of the season.

Mérida’s Paseo de las Animás 2024.Photo: AyuntaMérida
Mérida’s Paseo de las Ánimas 2024.Photo: AyuntaMérida
Pan de Espelón tends to be thinner and crunchier than mucbipollo, but it is still plenty heavy and caloric thanks to all of that lard and pork.Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht
Mucbipollo, a traditional Day of the Dead dish.Photo: Flickr

In Yucatán, the dead aren’t only remembered. They’re fed. Hanal Pixán means “food of the souls” in Maya. Families clean house, dress their altars in white tablecloths and cook the favorite dishes of relatives who are believed to come home for a visit.

Mucho Mucbipollo

The centerpiece of the table is often mucbipollo, an oversized tamale of corn dough, chicken and pork, wrapped in banana leaves and baked in an underground pit. It shares space with pan de muerto, a round sweet loaf topped with dough “bones” and a dusting of sugar that is a fixture on altars across Mexico.

Pan de muerto season typically runs from early October to mid-November, but some Mérida bakeries are getting a head start. Prices range from MX$25 (about US$1.40) for a single roll to MX$180 (about US$10) for larger loaves filled with cream cheese or chocolate.

The traditions follow a set calendar. Oct. 31 is set aside for children who have died, Nov. 1 for adults and Nov. 2 for all souls. Our Hanal Pixán primer has more on the customs.

That puts Hanal Pixán on the same night as Halloween, and Centro merchants are stocking for both.

Not every business is feeling the season yet, though. Clothing and shoe stores report slower traffic.

Keren Navarrete, who manages a clothing store, says sales were low Saturday. Customers are still coming in, but not in the usual numbers. She thinks many families haven’t recovered from back-to-school spending.

For now, the shoppers who do come in go straight for the sale racks, she says. Navarrete expects business to pick up in the first week of October.

Costume shops tell a similar story. Augusto Memeri Echeverría, who runs the stockroom at one, says families are mostly stopping by to ask about prices so they can plan for the weeks ahead. He also expects sales to climb in early October.

The top requests so far are Freddy Krueger and Chucky. Memeri says both horror characters remain popular with adults and children alike and haven’t gone out of style. Costumes run from MX$180 to MX$500, or roughly US$10 to US$28.

Over the weekend, clothing, shoe and accessory stores looked a little quieter than on recent weekends. The busiest spots were food businesses and shops selling cold drinks.

The crowds should come. For generations, Hanal Pixán was a private, family affair. Mérida has turned it into one of the biggest public events on its calendar.

Festival Expectations

This year’s Festival de las Ánimas, themed “Recuerdos de corazón,” or “Memories of the Heart,” runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 2. City officials said they expect more than 200,000 people, including locals, visitors from other parts of Mexico and travelers from abroad.

The festival opens Oct. 24 with the lighting of the “Ánimas iluminadas,” giant figures inspired by Yucatecan culture, at Parque de San Juan. From Oct. 24 to 27, guided night tours will lead visitors through the Cementerio General to learn the history behind its best-known mausoleums and tombs.

The Feria del Mucbipollo comes to Parque de San Sebastián on Oct. 25. The Rodada de Ánimas follows on Oct. 28.

The main event is still the Paseo de las Ánimas on Friday, Oct. 30. The procession covers more than 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) and runs from 6 to 11 p.m. Along the way, walkers will pass altars, videomapping shows, a food corridor, booths for local entrepreneurs and the Vaquería de las Ánimas, a Day of the Dead spin on Yucatán’s traditional dance party.

The Paseo has grown quickly. In 2019, more than 67,000 people joined the candlelit walk, many in face paint and traditional dress.

On Saturday, Oct. 31, the Desfile de Catrinas sets off from the Plaza Grande and ends at the park at La Plancha. The catrina, an elegant, well-dressed skeleton, is one of the most recognized symbols of Day of the Dead.

A monumental altar will also go up on the Plaza Grande, where residents and visitors can leave photos and keepsakes in memory of their loved ones.

The program reaches beyond the Centro. “Pixán Pet” in Ciudad Caucel will feature a costume contest and altars for pets. “Pikal Pixán” at Parque de Chuburná offers children’s activities, dances and shows. Events are also planned in the villages that make up Mérida’s outlying comisarías.

In all, organizers expect more than 1,000 costumed ánimas and more than 300 altars built by neighbors, schools, businesses and organizations.

Mayor Cecilia Patrón said the festival aims to keep Yucatecan traditions alive while giving families, residents and visitors a chance to celebrate together. City officials also pointed to the boost for markets, restaurants, hotels, shops and transportation.

For the Centro’s clothing and costume sellers, that can’t come soon enough.