xoxo!

 the serendipitous finds when one is on holiday can be the best --- e.g., the dogs at the museo delores olmedo in xochimilco --- the diego rivera was why we went, but the dogs blew me away --- precolumbian mexican hairless, xoloitzcuintli, or xoxo for short --- delores and rivera both kept them, and i'm betting these are descendants of her own dogs --- they worshiped the bronze xoxo

 and then to go inside, and there is a jaw-dropping collection of pre-columbian ceramic dogs --- the maya, the aztec, they all loved them some dog, clearly --- companions at home or on the hunt, and the puppies stuffed with bananas and sweet potatoes and roaster were dee-licious --- weird dogs, and not exactly cuddly, but supposed to be very friendly, in spite of the roasted puppies

souls in flight

 the zocalo was jam-packed with people, even after a rain shower, and loud with drumming and aztec dancers --- copal incense filling the air --- once again, the experience was so much that i kinda forgot to do it photographic justice

ofrendas maravillosas

ofrendas, or offerings, honor the deceased with calaveras, aztec marigolds, and the favorite foods, beverages, and objects (including ash tray of cigarette butts) of the departed --- in cemeteries, churches, restaurants, and stores and on street corners or spread over the zocalo, they were fairly amazing

videos de roberto!

magnifico redux

i am not sure when i've seen such a spectacular array of funerary monuments in one place as in the cemetery's rotonda de las personas ilustres --- established in 1876, it contains the graves of presidents, generals, artists, writers, musicians, actors, and other famous people

a stained-glass grave shelter!!!

panteón civil de dolores magnifico

the largest cemetery in latin america would be incredible anytime, but during dia el muertos it was simply overwhelming --- families cleaning, painting, and decorating graves, scattering marigolds everywhere --- so unlike our dreadful, soul-less, perpetual-care cemeteries, aka lawnmower cemeteries