This year, I was lucky enough to be in Mexico for Día de Muertos – The Day of the Dead. To make it even more special, two of my friends, Nicola and Steven, had flown to Mexico to spend it with me.
I did make a little mistake though, and chose to spend Día de Muertos in Guadalajara. For anyone reading this blog, if you’re going to be in Mexico for Día de Muertos, please don’t spend it in Guadalajara. But if it’s too late and you’ve already booked your flights and accommodation, then I hope this post will help you avoid the mistakes that we made.
Día de Muertos, a short introduction
Despite being called ‘Day of the Dead’, Día de Muertos is actually two days – the 1st of November (Día de los Angelitos) and 2nd of November (Día de los Difuntos). But like Christmas, Día de Muertos celebrations start about a month earlier, and there’s lots of different events and celebrations that occur throughout the weeks leading up to the 2nd of November.
Día de Muertos has a loooong history. It was originally celebrated by the Aztecs, who celebrated for a whole month and for whom Día de Muertos was about worshipping the Goddess of Death.
Then when the Spanish conquistadors arrived and were struggling to get the locals to stop worshipping their gods, they decided to co-opt some of the local customs. Día de Muertos got moved to coincide with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, and they wrapped up a bunch of other local customs and rituals into it, reworking them all to have a Catholic significance.
The idea behind the Catholic Día de Muertos is that on the 1st of November, the souls of children and infants come back and visit their families, while on the 2nd, the souls of adults return.
Families set up ofrendas – giant altars with calaveras (sugar skulls), salt, cempasúchil (Marigolds), and other bits and pieces which are meant to guide the souls of your loved ones back home, keeping them safe, fed, watered, and rested along their journey.
But here’s reason 1 for not visiting Guadalajara for Día de Muertos: there weren’t any Aztecs in the North of Mexico. Día de Muertos, both old and new, were only celebrated in south and central Mexico. In fact, until the Mexican government declared Día de Muertos a national holiday early in the 21st century, the North didn’t just not celebrate it, they actively rejected it.
That’s changed over the last century, but it’s still relatively new in the North, and not surrounded by as much fanfare. On the other hand, down South, many little pueblos have their own enduring traditions around Día de Muertos.
In Patzcuaro, for example, the indigenous people canoe over to a little island, Janitzio, to conduct an all-night vigil in an indigenous cemetery. In Chignahuapan they hold a special festival of light and life and, in a lagoon in the centre of town, re-enact the crossing of the dead into the afterworld. In Ocotopec, if someone has died in the last year, their families open up their homes and provide visitors with tamales and atole in exchange for offerings of candles. There’s so many different, wonderful and rich rituals that differ from town to town – which leads me to reason 2 that you shouldn’t visit Guadalajara for Día de Muertos, because none of these things take place in the North of Mexico.
Given all that, you might wonder why I chose to spend Día de Muertos in Guadalajara. It was mostly a mistake – we’d made the decision when I was in Nicaragua. I couldn’t speak Spanish back then, didn’t know much about the celebration, and didn’t have much access to internet to be able to research it properly. It had been easy (and cheap) to fly to, and still had available accommodation. Oh well.
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Día de Muertos in Guadalajara
Day 1: 31st of Oct
On my first day in Guadalajara, my Uber driver on the way from the airport told me that I’d love being here, and that it was so much better than CDMX because it’s less crowded, doesn’t have traffic problems, and best of all, it doesn’t rain continuously, the way it does in CDMX.
Of course, Murphy’s Law would have it that that day, when I got to my AirBnB, it didn’t just rain, it stormed so hard that the power went out multiple times and I was worried that the windows my break. Ironically, when I messaged my friend Amy in CDMX, she said that it had stayed dry there all weekend. Go figure.
To make things worse, Steven and Nicola’s flight got constantly delayed so that instead of arriving in the afternoon, as they’d planned, they only touched down around 8pm at night. So it looked like the 31st was going to be a quiet one.
At least, I thought, we could have a nice welcome dinner, and told them to meet me at Taquería Santo Goyote, which I’d heard had the best tacos in town.
What I hadn’t realized was that Santo Goyote was a taco stand on the street, not a restaurant.
We ended up huddled under a tarp, trying to stay dry as we ordered rounds of tacos in the rain. And look, that probably doesn’t sound great, but it was actually fantastic. The tacos lived up to their fame, Nicola and Steven tried horchata for the very first time, and it felt like we were in a special little bubble there by the taco stand, with the sounds of the city muffled by the rain falling around us.
We couldn’t find any info about Día de Muertos events on that night apart from parties at various clubs – which didn’t feel super appealing given that they’d just flown in and the storm was still thundering around us.
Instead, we grabbed a couple of bottles of red wine from the closest Oxxo (a convenience store that’s basically everywhere in Mexico), and Uber’d back to our AirBnB to catch up in the dry warmth of the indoors.
Taquería Santo Goyote: 44160, Constancio Hernandez Alvirde 155, Americana, 44160 Guadalajara, Jalisco
Order: One of every taco. That’s what we did, and it was wonderful. Their horchata is also delicious.
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Day 2: 1st of Nov
On our second day we’d wanted to have tamales for breakfast, but when we walked to where Google Maps said there was a tamale store, we found a hotdog van instead.
But that was okay because close by to us was Pastes Mineria, which I’d heard was the best place to eat pastes in Guadalajara.
Pastes apparently came from British miners who bought English pasties over to Mexico. Those got adapted to local Mexican tastes, and pastes are the result – lovely pockets of flaky pastry stuffed with things like mole, papas y res, champiniones con queso, and lots of other lovely combinations of fillings. We could smell them when we turned the corner, and then just followed our noses.
We washed down our pastes with coffee from Taller de Espresso, then headed to Tlaquepaque, a pueblo magico within Guadalajara that my Uber driver and basically every other local we met told us we should visit.
Tlaquepaque was beautiful. It was decorated for Día de Muertos with giant skulls everywhere and crepe paper streamers criss crossing above the streets.
There was this great ceramics museum with a steampunk pig in the courtyard, and some beautiful artisan stores, like this gorgeous glass emporium with giant contemporary style blown glass chandeliers. But after a while, it felt very same-y and, to be honest, a little boring. You can only walk around looking at stores for so long.
We ended up heading home to rest and wait out the heat before coming back in the evening for the festivities, which I’d expected would be something like Parramatta Park on Australia Day – bustling and exciting and full of great food and entertainment.
It was not. There were food stalls, but they mostly just had elotes y esquites, tortas, and jericalla. Steven and Nicola weren’t impressed, especially compared to the tacos we’d had the night before. And the festivities started an hour late and then consisted mostly of children dancing on a stage, two at a time. It was very quiet and felt a bit more like a school recital.
Well, when all else fails, there’s always the backup option of finding a bar and grabbing a drink. We headed into El Parían, this plaza that’s made up of all these different bars sharing a space with a bandstand in the centre, and we ordered wine, mezcal, and queso fundido. The queso was fairly lacklustre, but the drinks were great, and there were mariachi bands and other street performers to keep us entertained. Definitely better than the entertainment in the main square.
Eventually we decided to meander down to the Tlaquepaque cemetery, thinking we could pop into a few museums that should be open along the way. The museums weren’t open, even though the timings for Día de Muertos said they should be, and while there were a few decorated graves at the cemetery, it was mostly quiet. It felt a bit disappointing.
But we had one more idea. We decided to try one of the main cemeteries in Guadalajara, Pantheon Mezquitán – one website mentioned that there were night tours there, and our Uber driver told us that it’d definitely be open and full of life.
Once again, he was wrong. We got there and it was dead quiet, the gates locked with a chain and padlock. Why does nothing in Guadalajara stay open when it’s meant to?
The cemetery was across the street from tbe flower market, so we took a conciliatory stroll there instead, amidst the heady scent of cempasuchil, this flower that’s used to decorate the ofrendas and graves during Día de Muertos because it’s said to guide the souls of the dead back to the living. That was nice enough.
Outside the market was a band having an impromptu concern on the street, strangely enough alternating between metal-rock songs and then smooth jazz-funk. We stayed for a few songs, then headed home.
Pastes Minería: Av. de las Américas 136 A, Ladrón de Guevara, Ladron De Guevara, 44600 Guadalajara, Jal.
Order: We all loved the champiñones and the papa de res. Nicola and Steven also enjoyed the Salsichas (I wasn’t a fan), but none of us particularly liked the mole rojo.
Taller de Espresso: 44600, Av. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla 1586, Americana, Guadalajara, Jal.
Order: We just had lattes and a cappuccino – all pretty good.
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Day 3: 2nd of Nov
This was the big day. Or, at least, the big night.
There wasn’t much happening for Día de Muertos during the day, so we planned to do the free walking tour, then pop over to some ruins for a quick visit, before spending the night at Calavanderia, this Día de Muertos pop-up theme park/festival.
The morning started well. The Free Walking Tour was fantastic, and a great way to explore downtown Guadalajara. We popped into all these beautiful old buildings, like the Teatro Degollado, and were regaled with well told tales of history and drama. Nicola tried chapulines (dried grasshoppers) for the very first time, and we sampled lots of local Mexican candy in the markets.
Afterwards, we had a lovely lunch at Birreria Las 9 Esquinas, which is supposed to have the best birria (goat stew) in Guadalajara. We ate it with guacamole and fresh corn tortillas, accompanied by agua de tamarindo and agua de jocote, and got serenaded by our own dancing, singing, guitar-playing mariachi.
And then we headed to Guachimontones.
Guachimontones is supposed to be the most important ruin in Jalisco. A bunch of blogs talked about how great it was. Those same blogs also said it took about an hour and a half to get there. It did not. It took 3 hours by bus, and then another 45 minutes of walking.
The bus was overcrowded and overheated, with windows that wouldn’t open, and lots of broken seats. The little town that we ended up in was cute and quaint, but so quiet that it felt like a bit of a ghost town. As we walked up to the ruins, it started to thunder, with dark angry grey clouds swirling overhead. ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if it stormed?’ Steven asked, then assured us that it wouldn’t, not until we were done.
We got to the actual site just before 5pm, when it was meant to close. The guy at the gate warned us that we’d get wet, but let us in anyway. And almost as soon as we got in, it started to storm. We ran the rest of the way, through the pouring rain, to see the ruins. The museum was closed so we didn’t get to see any of the stories. It was so muddy and wet that I saw the main ruins, did a quick round, and decided that I was going to head for shelter. Steven and Nicola stuck it out, eager to see more.
The only shelter nearby was a bar that only had outdoor seating – it did have tarps overhead, but they were riddled with holes and haps so that it wasn’t actually dry underneath them, just less wet.
Eventually Nicola and Steven got back, absolutely soaked, and we reluctantly ordered drinks out of a sense of obligation. The bar specialised in prehispanic cocktails, which were definitely not to our taste. I only managed one sip of my drink, and left the rest.
When it was clear the rain wasn’t going to stop, we decided to try calling a taxi – but there were none operating in that little town in the evenings. We were ultimately saved by one of the workers at the bar, who apparently frequently drives people back to the bus stop because they have no other way of returning.
And then we had to endure the 3hr bus ride back to Guadalajara, soaking wet, cold, and tired.
This was meant to be our big night. We thought Guachimontones would take the afternoon, and that we’d celebrate all through the night. Instead, we got home late, feeling fairly exhausted and worn out. There’s nothing like being cold and wet and tired to make you just want to curl up somewhere warm, indoors.
We Uber’d home from the bus station, and after having long, hot showers, only managed to walk a short way to Karne Garibaldi, where we gorged ourselves on carne en su jugo (which literally translates to meat in its juice), guacamole, frijoles, and multiple helpings of flan de elote. And then it started to rain again and we Uber’d home and got right into bed. Like real party people.
Birreria Las 9 Esquinas: Calle Galeana # 388 El Pilón de los Arrieros, Centro, 44100 Guadalajara, Jal.
Order: Obviously you have to get the goat stew (birria), which comes with tortillas, salsas, onions and cilantro. We had it with guacamole (which is a phenomenal combination), and had aguas frescas to drink. Their aguas frescas are wonderful – we loved the jocote and tamarindo flavours.
Karne Garibaldi: Calle Garibaldi 1306, Santa Teresita, 44600 Guadalajara, Jal.
Order: Carne en su jugo, a wonderful meat stew with bacon. Again, great with guacamole, and with frijoles. We also had multiple servings of the flan de elote – basically creme caramel, but with corn in it. It sounds weird, but it’s delicious.
Free walking tour: Av. 16 de Septiembre S/N, Zona Centro, 44100 Guadalajara, Jal., 10am everyday
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Day 3: 3rd of Nov
Since we’d missed out on Calavanderia on the 2nd of Nov, we figured we’d do it today, on the 3rd. And we’d keep today simple. All we were going to do was take a nice, relaxed day trip to Tequila.
Our first problem was that we all slept in. Not that big a deal – we hustled over to the bus stop, and made it onto the bus without wasting too much extra time. B
ut once again, the bus trip took more than double the time it was meant to. We’d been getting information about timings from a bunch of different blogs, so it was weird that it was so off. Maybe the times had changed recently and the routes were now longer?
Either way, instead of having a whole day in Tequila, we ended up with half a day. By this point, we were tired of figuring things out for ourselves (and getting them wrong) so we decided to just sign up for a local tour of the town and distilleries.
As we grabbed brunch at a nearby restaurant, sitting in the window, we laughed at the giant obnoxious tour buses going by, all shaped like chiles or tequila bottles, and with loud music blaring from their speakers.
And then when it was time for our tour, our guide led us around to…. the giantest bus of all. It was shaped like a tequila barrel, and every time it reversed (which was often, due to it’s size and the difficulty of navigating the tiny, tiny streets), it made the same sound as a car alarm.
We got a little tour around the town, and then went to Casa Orendain, where we, as the only English speakers, got our own private tour. I usually don’t like tequila – or at least I thought I didn’t – but it turns out that the tequila we get in Australia is the bottom-of-the-barrel tequila, and that the tequila in Tequila was far, far nicer. The way to drink it is to hold it in your mouth for a few seconds, continuing to breathe through your nose, and then swallow it.
We learned about the different types of tequila: Blanco is freshly distilled, and is best for avoiding a hangover. Joven is also freshly distilled, but mixed with flavours or colorants. Reposado has been aged in barrels for more than 2 but less than 12 months, which gives it a smokey flavour and colour. Añejo has been aged for more than 1 year, but less than 3, and Extra Añejo has been aged for more than 3 years. Crystallada is Reposada but with the colour removed using activated charcoal.
Apparently blanco shows off the distiller’s talents best, because they can’t hide behind any other flavours. The older tequilas give you a worse hangover, but are also more prized, and are meant to be sipped slowly, not shotted. I preferred the blanco – but also really enjoyed some of the flavoured tequilas they had there, like the caramel one.
When we left the distillery, we got a whole new group of tour mates. They were all Mexican, and our tour guide (also Mexican) and bus driver cranked up the tunes, and got them all singing and dancing.
At one point they played some Luis Luis and the whole bus (except for us) sang along. The driver and lots of other passengers (including an old woman and a young girl) took turns dancing around the pole in the middle of the bus. I got into it when they played the Macarena.
Our last stop was a little place where they whipped up some great cocktails for us to sample (only in tiny little plastic shot glasses).
It wasn’t a bad day. We had some pan de muerto ice cream made with agave syrup, and for dinner we found a little corner full of taco stands and got a few tacos from each different one.
We also got to see the Dance of the Flyers, this ancient ceremony where men climb a giant pole, play some music at the top, then tie a piece of rope wound around the pole to their feet and jump off, unfurling slowly as they come down.
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But the day went fast. Before we knew it, it was 8pm. We were already going to be late for Calavanderia, but to make it worse, my phone ran out of credit, so that when we got off the bus in Guadalajara, I couldn’t call an Uber.
Steven had data, but Uber wasn’t letting him pay for rides in Mexico. None of us had enough cash left to get a taxi, and the ATM at the service station wasn’t working. We tried tethering from Steven’s phone, but because he was using roaming, that didn’t work. It took us a long time before we finally figured that we could add Nicola’s credit card to Steven’s Uber app to get us home. Oh, the ups and downs of travelling.
We were too late now for Calavanderia, and Steven and Nicola had 6am flights the next morning. We ended up packing and going to bed.
What I would have done differently
It was fun having Nicola and Steven with me, but I can’t really say I loved visiting Guadalajara. It’s exhausting when things are hard and don’t work and it rains all the time.
Here’s what I would have done differently – and I’m not writing about this to dwell on the past, but because I hope that if anyone reading this thinks of doing what we did, they can avoid making the same mistakes:
- Get a tour to Guachimotones. Seriously, it’s such a damn pain in the ass to get there otherwise. It takes so long, and it’s not even that much cheaper to go on your own. Go on a tour – it’s more comfortable, it’s much faster, and that way you’ll get to hear about it’s history from a guide.
- Organize a tour to Tequila. You don’t have to get a tour from Guadalajara (although, as with Guachimontones, that will save you a lot of time), but it does make sense to organise a tour directly with one of the distilleries. We only got a short tour of one distillery, but if you book in advance, you can go on a 3 hour (or more) tour that takes you to the actual agave fields and shows you more of the process, and sometimes also includes lunch. There’s also the tequila train, which is expensive, BUT is also supposed to be super pretty. Besides, Tequila (the town) is a bit pricey, and at least the train journey includes all your food, lots of drinks, entertainment, and the trip there and back.
- Always pack a raincoat and umbrella. Even if the forecast says it’s not going to rain.
- Only plan to spend a few hours in Tlaquepaque, and visit all the museums there long before closing time. Although in all fairness, maybe it’s more interesting on the Día de los Difuntos than on the Día de los Angelitos. If you’re looking for the program of events, you’ll only find it on their Facebook page (in an image, not in an event).
- Go to Calavanderia! I wish I’d gotten to go. It’s literally a whole festival for Día de Muertos with rides and games and performers and it looks phenomenal.
- Instead of visiting Mezquitán at night (when it wasn’t open), go there during the day…. I guess. Where I’d really wanted to go was Panteón de Belen, but the night tours are only in Spanish – if you want to do an English tour there, you have to go during the day. They only have limited tickets for tours and usually sell out – and you have to buy them in person, in cash, at 11am on the day that you want to go on the tour – so it really limits what else you can do with your day.
But the biggest lesson is this: if you can, go somewhere else for Día de Muertos instead of Guadalajara. I’m not saying you shouldn’t visit Guadalajara at all – it’s perfectly nice (although to be honest I do think other Mexican cities are better), just that you shouldn’t go there for Día de Muertos.
In lieu of getting a real Día de Muertos experience in Guadalajara, I’d like to share some videos I have from Mexico City, and the celebrations they had there earlier in October.
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This was in Xochimilco, and it was wonderful.
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This was the Parade of the Catrinas in CDMX. It’s not the main one – there’s a big international one that gets televised the next day while this is just a little pre-parade.
Speaking of the Parade of the Catrinas, here’s an interesting little fact:
In the 2015 James Bond film, Spectre, the opening sequence features a Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City. At the time, no such parade took place in Mexico City; one year later, due to the interest in the film and the government desire to promote the pre-Hispanic Mexican culture, the federal and local authorities decided to organize an actual “Día de Muertos” parade through Paseo de la Reforma and Centro Historico on October 29, 2016, which was attended by 250,000 people.[17][18][19] This is an example of the pizza effect.
Day of the Dead, Wikipedia
The Way of the Potato 