Día de Muertos or Janal Pixan: What’s the difference?
As the weeks continue to fly by, Yucatecos are eagerly awaiting the arrival of one of the region’s favorite holidays, Hanal Pixán — Yucatán’s version of Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
2023 Paseo de las Ánimas is back in full force
Under the cloak of night, the shaman asks permission for the souls to go out to the earthly world. The atmosphere is enveloped by the smell of incense, the mystery that death entails, and after the ceremony, the spirits emerge. In General Cemetery, the souls of several children materialize and share the fire of their…
Communities across Yucatán begin to promote Hanal Pixán festivities
As Hanal Pixán draws near, communities across the Peninsula have begun to promote their upcoming festivities.
Mark your calendar for Paseo de las Ánimas and other Hanal Pixán events
Mérida is getting ready to celebrate the traditions of Hanal Pixán and Day of the Dead. The sprawling annual Festival de las Ánimas stretches from Tuesday, Oct. 24 to Thursday, Nov. 2. Starting Sunday, Oct. 29, the city’s monumental altar will be erected on the Plaza Grande. But more personal altars will appear along the…
A big comeback for Paseo de las Ánimas in 2022
Some 50,000 people participated Friday in the Paseo de las Ánimas, a pre-Hispanic tradition of the Mayan people that is being kept alive in Mérida thanks to local families. (Video: See our unique take on 2022’s Paseo de las Ánimas) One participant told a European news agency that “It is a tradition that will never…
Choo Ba’ak, Campeche’s Day of the Dead bone-cleaning tradition
To the eyes of outsiders traditional bone cleaning may seem strange or even macabre, but for the people of Pomuch, it is a way to reconnect with their dearly departed and celebrate their ancient ancestry.
Are Mexicans really unafraid of death?
In Mexico, we have this saying that goes “En Mexico nos reimos de la muerte,” which translates as “in Mexico we laugh at death.”
Festival de las Animas: Everything you need to know
With Dia de Los Muertos — or Hanal Pixán, as it is known in Yucatán — just a couple of weeks away. Mérida’s City Hall has announced a slate of events featuring processions, cultural events, movie screenings, food fairs, pet adoption drives, and lots more. Check out the full event calendar below and start to plan…
The importance of food for the dead during Hanal Pixan
If you want to understand the line-up of the altar, here’s a list of some of the traditional dishes you may encounter.
Giant alebrijes form a parade down Mérida’s Centro
Everywhere you went you could not but overhear the conversations of spectators, all making the same observation: that it was so great to see so much color and life on Mérida’s streets again.
Celebrations for Yucatán’s Day of the Dead: 3-level altar in the Plaza Grande for Hanal Pixan
It is a mixed altar, honoring both adults and minors. For this reason, it is decorated with both black and colored candles, as well as toys. It displays multiple vases with traditional marigolds — cempasúchil flowers, and palms, as well as photos, traditional dishes, and memories from the departed.
Cemeteries and festivities will be open this year for Hanal Pixan celebrations
In certain municipalities, like Motul and Kanasín, cemeteries started welcoming guests who come to prepare the graves of their deceased.
Yucatán cancels Xmatkuil fair and Hanal Pixán altars at Plaza Grande
The news comes as a disappointment for many who thought that a return to yellow on Mexico’s epidemiological traffic light system would mean more of a return to normal for public events.
Major Hanal Pixán events canceled, but cemeteries to remain open
El Paseo de las Ánimas, the wildly popular street procession that marks Hanal Pixán, or Day of the Dead on Nov. 2, is dead this year. Gone too are the display of altars which have traditionally lined Merida’s Plaza Grande, to honor the dead. But the General Cemetery, which is traditionally fixed up and visited…
Paseo de las Ánimas packs the streets for Hanal Pixan
More than 67,000 costumed face-painted people took part in this year’s Paseo de las Ánimas.
Airfare skyrockets, seats vanish as Hanal Pixán approaches
Merida, Yucatan — Hanal Pixan celebrations have become something worth flying to, if you can find a plane ticket. Airfares from Mexico City to Merida, even on low-cost airlines, are up to 75 percent, and it is virtually impossible to purchase a ticket to the city on some dates, reports Sipse. Demand is mainly due…
More than 60,000 people crowd the streets for Hanal Pixán tradition
A yearly tradition for 10 years now, thousands of souls took a long, candlelit walk from the General Cemetery to the San Juan Arch.
Street closures announced for Wednesday’s Paseo de las Ánimas
Wednesday’s Paseo de las Ánimas, which in recent years attracted tens of thousands of participants, requires several road closures hours before the procession begins.
Day of the Dead parade pays tribute to migrants
Towering skeletons and dancers bounded along Mexico City’s main avenue to celebrate its third annual Day of the Dead parade.
Camino de las Flores will celebrate Hanal Pixan themes
The Camino de las Flores, a floral exhibition that transforms a city street into a colorful flower path, returns Sunday, Oct. 28, in time for Hanal Pixan.
Few maintain the tradition of cleaning and painting family tombs for Hanal Pixan
With Hanal Pixan approaching, the General Cemetery is visited by friends and family of the departed who are buried amid its colorful jumble of modest and grandiose tombs.
Festival de las Ánimas: Here is Mérida’s 2018 lineup for Hanal Pixan
The Festival de las Ánimas (Festival of Souls) 2018, which will be held from Oct. 24 to 31, celebrates Yucatán’s unique take on the Day of the Dead.
Camino de Flores alive with the spirit of Hanal Pixán
The Camino de Flores, a flower trail that overtakes an entire city street in Mejorada, is back with a seasonal theme.
A primer on Hanal Pixán
Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is one of the most iconic celebrations in Mexico, but it’s done differently in Yucatán.
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