Our Mexican Adventure

Hope all you Americans had a happy Thanksgiving! Here in Mexico, Thanksgiving is known as Acción de Gracias (literally action of thanks). But it’s more fun to say Feliz Día del Pavo (Happy Turkey Day).

We spent this Thanksgiving at the Playacar home of our friends, Michele and Rob, with over 100 other guests, spanning the globe from the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, England, Holland, and probably a few other countries. Everyone’s got something to be thankful for!

Aside from the large number of guests, this Thanksgiving was like many other Thanksgivings — excess, excess, excess. Eight turkeys, cranberry sauce, 4 trays of stuffing, 16 pounds of corn, 8 pounds of peas, 5 trays of potatoes (sweet, not sweet, mashed, all kinds), salads, carrots, pickled onions, tortillas and desserts filled a ping pong table doing double duty.

Before	After

But this Thanksgiving will be remembered for the not-so traditional Thanksgiving events. There was the fire in the smokehouse (okay, that one might be a tradition for some). Then there was the pea challenge, where Tracy the tourist was challenged to eat the leftover peas (about 4 or 5 pounds worth) for $500 USD. She wisely gave up after about a quarter pound.

And the best part of this Thanksgiving was that our friend DJ (seriously injured in a recent motor scooter accident) was able to join us. He was released from the hospital a few days ago, and is well on the road to a full recovery.

We have much to be thankful for!

More Thanksgiving pictures here.

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November 1st & 2nd in Mexico mark the Days of the Dead or Los Dias de los Muertos. Despite the somber name, the Days of the Dead are a time to remember and celebrate the lives of departed loved ones. The souls of departed children are thought to visit on November 1st, while adult souls visit on November 2nd.

To entice and please the souls, altars are set up mostly in private homes. Candles and incense are lit to guide the way for the souls. The altars are decorated with photos of those who have passed, marigolds (the traditional Day of the Dead flower), pan de muerto (bread of the dead), sugar skulls inscribed with names of the departed, and foods and beverages preferred by the deceased. We’ve seen Burger King burgers, plates of enchiladas, and bottles of Coca Cola and tequila. Once a visiting soul has enjoyed a favorite meal, he or she may wish to partake of a familiar pastime. So, you will often see cigarettes for a smoker or toys for a child on altars.

Another Day of the Dead tradition is the visit to the cemetery. Family members of the deceased come to clean and decorate their graves. Often November 1st is reserved for grieving at the gravesite, while November 2nd is reserved for celebration at the grave. Families will bring picnic baskets and booze, celebrating and toasting to their departed loved ones.

Globalization and NAFTA have brought an increased interest in plastic pumpkins and Dracula costumes, and, some think, less interest in traditional Day of the Dead customs particularly among Mexican youth. These traditions are a wonderful way to connect with departed loved ones, and we hope they will continue for a long time.

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Hope all you Americans had a fun Halloween! Although Halloween is not traditionally celebrated in Mexico, globalization has brought the concept of trick-or-treating to Mexican children. What kid can resist free candy? We came across these cuties trick-or-treating last night.

As many Mexican adults have not embraced the American tradition of dressing in costumes on October 31, there are very limited costumes available for purchase. This forces adult costume enthusiasts to get creative. Being way more right-brained than left-brained, we were a bit intimidated. But thanks to some inspiration from our Halloween fanatic friend Heather (aka Marilyn Monroe), and the creative genius of Heather and Sarah (aka Carmen Miranda), we made some pretty cool pirates. As you can see, the pirate theme turned out to be quite popular!

See our Halloween gallery for more pictures.

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