Oaxaca's Day of the Dead: Mexico's Most Profound Celebration
In Oaxaca, Día de los Muertos is not a morbid occasion but a joyful reunion — families gather in candlelit cemeteries to share food and memories with their departed, in a tradition that predates the Spanish conquest.
Oaxaca is a city of 300,000 people in the southern Mexican state of the same name, set in a valley at 1,550 metres above sea level and surrounded by the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains. The city's historic centre, with its colonial baroque churches and the green stone buildings that give it its distinctive character, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Oaxaca is the cultural capital of southern Mexico — the home of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilisations, the birthplace of two Mexican presidents (Benito Juárez and Porfirio Díaz), and the source of some of the most distinctive cuisine and craft traditions in the country.
The Día de los Muertos — Day of the Dead — celebrations in Oaxaca are among the most elaborate and authentic in Mexico, rooted in a tradition that blends pre-Hispanic Zapotec beliefs about death and the afterlife with the Catholic feast days of All Saints and All Souls. The celebrations begin on October 31 and continue through November 2, and the central ritual is the ofrenda — the altar constructed in homes and cemeteries to welcome the spirits of the dead back to the world of the living. The ofrendas are laden with the favourite foods, drinks, and possessions of the deceased, along with marigold flowers, candles, and photographs.
The cemeteries of Oaxaca — particularly the Panteón General in the city and the cemetery of the village of Xoxocotlán — are the focus of the most intense celebrations, as families gather on the night of November 1 to clean and decorate the graves of their relatives and spend the night in vigil. The cemeteries are illuminated by thousands of candles and decorated with carpets of marigold petals, and the atmosphere — a mixture of grief, joy, music, and food — is unlike anything else in the world. The marigold, known in Mexico as cempasúchil, is the flower of the dead, and its strong scent is believed to guide the spirits home.
Oaxacan cuisine is one of the great regional cuisines of Mexico, built around the seven moles — complex sauces made from combinations of chillies, chocolate, nuts, seeds, and spices — that are the foundation of the local cooking tradition. The mole negro, made with more than 30 ingredients including the chilhuacle negro chilli and Mexican chocolate, is the most complex and the most celebrated. The tlayuda — a large, crispy tortilla topped with black beans, Oaxacan cheese, and your choice of meat — is the quintessential street food, and the mezcal produced in the valleys around the city is among the finest in Mexico.
Monte Albán, the ancient Zapotec capital that sits on a flattened mountain top above the valley of Oaxaca, is one of the most impressive archaeological sites in Mexico. Founded around 500 BC, it was the capital of the Zapotec civilisation for over a thousand years and at its height housed a population of 25,000. The site covers 40 square kilometres and includes pyramids, temples, a ball court, and an observatory, all arranged around a central plaza that was levelled by hand from the mountain top. The views from the site over the surrounding valleys are extraordinary.
The craft traditions of Oaxaca are among the richest in Mexico — the state is home to over a dozen distinct indigenous communities, each with its own weaving, pottery, woodcarving, and textile traditions. The black clay pottery of San Bartolo Coyotepec — barro negro — is the most distinctive, produced by a technique unique to this village that gives the finished pieces their characteristic metallic sheen. The woven rugs of Teotitlán del Valle, made on traditional backstrap looms using natural dyes derived from plants and insects, are among the finest textiles in Mexico.
The best time to visit Oaxaca for the Day of the Dead celebrations is from October 29 to November 2, when the full programme of events takes place. The city fills with visitors during this period, and accommodation should be booked months in advance. The rest of the year, Oaxaca is an excellent destination at any time — the Guelaguetza festival in July, which celebrates the indigenous cultures of the state with music, dance, and costume, is the other major event in the Oaxacan calendar. The dry season from November to May offers the most reliable weather, though the city's altitude means that temperatures are comfortable year-round.
