A Capital Day of the Dead: Mexico City

For me, Mexico's Day of the Dead is like the classic TV series "Green Acres".

Adoring the "village life", I eagerly embrace spending time with friends in remote cemeteries while building ofrendas for days on end. And then as impetuously as Eva Gabor/Lisa Douglas tosses a mink stole around those sophisticated Hungarian shoulders, I must go to Mexico City. Rapido! It is in Mexico's glorious capital that a completely different over-the-top Day of the Dead can be experienced.

Beginning at Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul (pictured above*), a fabulous cantina scene populated with the colorful characters of Frida and Diego's life is on display; Leon Trotsky, Dr. Atl, Juan O'Gorman and others merrily gather in paper-mache calaca-form created by Mexico City's famed Linares family.



Next, visit Dolores Olmedo's La Noria estate and museum and be prepared to be truly wowed as this Day of the Dead altar (pictured above) becomes more fabulous with every passing year.

And don't miss the decidedly patriotic take on "Muertos" in the main courtyard of the Palacio Nacional. Even at the top echelon of power governing the Republic of Mexico, the dead will be honored with creations by Los Linares.


And although I am unable to confirm that there will be yet another breathtaking Day of the Dead Linares installation on display, I can't imagine this year will be any different at Coyoacan's National Museum for the Popular Cultures (above).

At the top of my list this year is the Linares installation (are you sensing a theme here?) at the Centro Comercial Perisur commemorating the Olympic Games which has not been displayed since 1968.

And at the new ultra-modern shopping/dining destination, Reforma 212, a conceptual installation by the Linareses (who else?) will convey a paper-mache, catrina-filled El Apocalypso. In today's uncertain crisis-filled world, this theme is timely, relevant and yet another aspect of this year's urban observances.

Even more Linares installations are planned at Centro Comercial Plaza Insurgentes and at Diego Rivera's monumental Anahuacalli.

But of all the fabulous Linares Day of the Dead altars, installations and cartoneria art featured, my heart tends towards the sentimental...something old-fashioned and wonderful. At Hosteria Santo Domingo, the famed eatery in el centro that first opened their doors in 1860, calacas by the Linareses---most created by now deceased family patriarch, Pedro Linares, Sr.---await inside. And while there, why not sip a tequilita?

In D.F., one of the largest and grandest cities in the world, the meaning of Day of the Dead will once again be expressed in every conceivable manner. But one has to wonder: for more than twenty million Chilangos, what would Dia de los Muertos be without the paper-mache folk artistry of the Linares family?

PostScript: The Linares family, creators of the paper-mache calaca installations featured in this article include:

Pedro Linares, Sr. (deceased)
Felipe Linares (pictured above)
Miguel Linares
Ricardo Linares
David Linares
Leonardo Linares
Felipe Linares, Jr.
Ivan Linares
Pedro Linares, Jr.

And don't miss the excellent article, "Celebrating Death in D.F." (October 29, The News) about Day of the Dead in Mexico City by resident expert, Jim Johnston. Johnston is the author of the award-winning compendium, Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler.

Update: Jim Johnston has just posted more terrific (and hilarious) "only in Mexico" Day of the Dead information on his blog here: Dia de Muertos: Mexico City. And if you are not already following Johnston's blog, Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide, you are missing a wonderful and candid glimpse into real life in Mexico's capital.

Parting thought...Mexican folk art best honors the dead.

*ALL PHOTOS BY DEB HALL TAKEN IN MEXICO CITY, NOVEMBER 2007.