Drinking Rum in the Cemetery at 9:30 am - Day of the dead in Guatemala

Why is there a cup of coke, bananas and lemon slices next to an arrangement of flowers in a plastic coke bottle? Why is there smoke from incense burning everywhere and why did I knock over a glass of soda sitting next to a plate of food that was left on the floor of the house this morning? More importantly, why am I drinking shots of rum in the cemetery at 9:30 am?

It's November 2nd, Day of the Dead, of course!

Day of the Dead is traditionally celebrated on November 1st and 2nd in Latin America. The holiday is more well known for Guatemala's neighbor to the north, however, it is widely observed here as well. So, what happens in Guatemala on Day of the Dead?

Day of the Dead is all about sweet aroma. For those of you in a rush to read this, I'll give you Day of the Dead as a list. If this is all you read, you'll get the picture. For the rest of you, read on!

• Candles
• Flowers
• Copal insense
• Coke
• Big Cola
• Chuchitos
• Corn
• Candied Squash
• Rum
• Beer
• Honey
• Jocotes cooked in brown sugar
• Lemons
• Bananas
• Pine Needles
• Favorite foods
• Fiambre (if you dare)
  

The first thing I noticed when I stepped outside my door this morning was Alford Hitchcock's, “Attack of the Killer Kites.” Yes, kites! There were about 30 kites dotting the bright blue sky above Santa Catarina this morning. The two little brothers in my host family weren't absent from the scene either. They were on the ledge in front of my room at 7:00 am tugging on their kite strings and laughing as they looked up at their kites about 300 feet in the sky. I'm not kidding, they had them way up there!

For three weeks all the kids from the village have been running up the mountain to forge for sticks they call  k'in or varitas to make their kites. When they go back to their homes they use these sticks in combination with plastic they salvage from discarded shopping bags and packaging to make quite amazing kites complete with custom designs. The best designs I saw were a replication of the gallo beer logo, a wicked skull, an imitation of the scary scream face (from the movie scream), and an evil clown. Don't think that these kites cobbled together out of sticks and garbage bags aren't impressive. Not only do they look amazing, they fly as high or higher than any store bought kite I ever flew as a child! It's simply amazing to see what these kids can do with their imaginations!

So, there was a lot of kite flying on the Day of the Dead in Santa Catarina Palopó, but what does it all mean? Many sources on the internet say that kites are flown to ward off evil spirits and to protect the spirits of loved ones while they roam the skies. I asked my host sister about the meaning of the kite flying. She told me that the children fly kites because during these days the spirits are roaming. The kites are flown to keep the spirits company and to greet them as they roam lost in the sky. Whatever the reason might be, the kids sure seemed to be having a good time!

After staring up at the sky in a before coffee daze, I stumbled down the stairs to make coffee and played my role. Like a typical oblivious gringo, I knocked over glass of yellow, pineapple soft-drink that was on the floor next to a plate of food and a glass of Venado rum. The whole floor around the arrangement was covered with pine needles. Quickly realizing that it was the Day of the Dead and knowing that the food was for the spirits I jumped to replace the spilled soda. When I returned with the bottle, I started pouring...and realized that I was pouring it into the glass with rum. Luckily only my little host brother noticed. OK...it was definitely time for coffee! An an hour later I was in the cemetery drinking rum with my host family.

The cemetery was packed with families huddled around tombstones and the alters they made in front of them. Alters had plastic cups of soda, rum and beer sitting next to them. They were accented with plates of food, candied squash, lemons, bananas and other fruits. They were shrouded in flowers and burning candles. The smell of copal smoke filled the air.

Everybody in the village turned out to celebrate with their families and their deceased ones. The mood was a happy one. As Catarinecos were chatting and laughing, they sat down next to the graves. People were praying, joking, and eating together. Some people were even drinking beer and rum. Basically, the idea was to share a meal with the spirits of lost loved ones. I asked an extended member of my host family what it was all about. He told me,

“during this time of year the spirits leave their graves and roam the village. We come here to remember them by sharing a meal. Though we sometimes bring their favorite foods this day is mostly about things that are aromatic. We bring foods that have a strong aroma in order to attract the spirits and lure them back. They come to eat the food. They don't eat the food literally though. They eat the aroma of the food. It is a time to remember our lost ones.”

Wow! Sharing a meal with the dead in a cemetery! How cool is that? As a punk rocker from way back I could definitely appreciate this sentiment, however, this day is much more than honoring the spirits and sharing a meal with the dead. A quick survey of internet literature tells us that this day has a meaning that extends back  thousands of years.  It is closely connected to reincarnation. In Mexico the the image of the skull is often observed. Though the skull isn't used so much in the Guatemalan tradition there is no doubt that the meaning of this day can be closely linked to ancient Mayan beliefs in reincarnation, rejuvenation, renewal, the Mayan number zero, and the Mayan calendar. It is the reinforcement of the idea that life is a cycle.

So really, Day of the Dead in Guatemala is about sharing a meal with the dead in the cemetery and observing an ancient Maya tradition that is thousands of years old. It is about honoring the spirits of loved ones, honoring the sacred cycle of life, and remembering that out of death grows new life. But hey if you ask me, it's also about drinking rum in the cemetery at 9:30 am with your Mayan host family and a whole bunch of spirits roaming the air around you.

For more information about Day of the Dead the following sites are a good starting point:



http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.mocadventures.com

A lost city under a sacred Mayan lake?

Is this a chapter out of a Gabriel García Márquez book or am I dreaming? Alright, so maybe it's not an entire city (or maybe it is?) but I was quite blown away this week to find out that there are Maya ruins under the surface of Lake Atitlan, here in Guatemala. Though it sounds too surreal to be true, scuba divers and archaeologists are already exploring this world marvel!

This might might not be recent news, in fact, according to this Reuters article the ruins were discovered in 1996, however I can attest to the fact that this is not common knowledge here in Guatemala. Ever since I heard about the ruins under Lake Atitlan, I've been asking tourists, expats, Guatemalans from the city, and the Mayan people in the village where I reside if they knew about this. Almost all of them respond the same way; they stare at me incredulously with wide eyes and stutter, “wow, incredible!”

Indeed, before the recent news break, this was not common knowledge amongst the Maya inhabitants of Lake Atitlan nor amongst the tourists who frequent this enchanting travel destination. In all the years I've been coming here and in all the time I've lived here, I too missed this one. It kind of makes me wonder, if I failed to hear about the Maya ruins in Lake Atitlan, what else am I missing out on?

One of the things I love about Guatemala is that I seem to discover new things every day. Without a doubt I could have written a similar blog entry after I ended up in a local Shaman's house were there were over 7 Maximon (Saint Simon) statues. And here I thought that the real deal was in Santiago de Atitlan! My point is; Guatemala is full of surprises and Lake Atitlan is no exception.

Still, Maya ruins on a sunken island at the bottom of a sacred lake conjure up an image in my mind that could rival the greatest surrealist painters. Though I know I shouldn't be surprised by this due to the lake's obvious historical importance to the Mayan people and the frequent discovery of ancient Mayan ceramics in the area, I can't help but let my imagination run wild. Now, every morning when I wake up and stare out at the lake, I can't help but imagine the ruins that lay beneath the surface. I'll definitely be waiting to hear more news about this fantastic discovery!

Read more about this story on Reuters.
Visit the Extreme Mayan Adventures website here.

Jaloj-K'exoj Part I

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