As Eye See It: Halloween-Day Of Dead, A Cultural Collision That’s More Than Candy And Costumes

By Bill Wilson

Comrades mine and I in the midst, and their memory ever to keep for the dead I loved so well.”—Walt Whitman

It’s that time of the year when here in México there is a cultural collision of celebrations. It also marks the anniversary of our arrival in San Miguel de Allende as full-time residents.

And Halloween-an imported holiday often celebrated by expats and some Mexicans- and the solemn and festive celebration- greeted us as we took a stroll around the jardin on our first chilly Fall evening.

The sun was just going down and the wind was picking up. There was a double chill that embraced me. The coolness of the air and then the flapping of the paper flags - papel picado - made me think that the souls were beginning their journeys home.

I gave a nod, smiled, and snapped a picture which remained one of my finest photographic memories. The words of a Lincoln quote in his Inaugural Address: The mystic chords of memory, came to mind. The “mystic chords of memory" refers to a phrase from Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address in 1861, where he envisioned these powerful, unifying memories stretching across the nation from graves to living hearts, capable of re-forming the Union when "touched by the better angels of our nature".

The previous Fall I buried my parents who died less than three months apart. That moment in the jardin I wondered about their journey in the afterlife. And the quote “Comrades mine…” brings up memories of my family members, colleagues, and friends, and my San Miguel ham radio friends.

The line "Comrades mine and I in the midst, and their memory ever to keep for the dead I loved so well" comes from Whitman's elegy for President Abraham Lincoln, titled "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'dt.”

The next Fall we were in our new home in La Lejona II and had our first Dia de los Muertos altar and first visit by trick or treaters. We didn’t think it would be a big thing. We quickly ran out of candy. In the passage of nearly two decades those visits of Halloweeners dissipated.

Our one memory of the candy and costumes holiday is that on November 1^st a small group of older children in costumes showed up. I had to explain that Halloween was over. Throughout the years here our altar has grown and more pictures added and yet we only visited the local cemetery a few times. Recently, we obtained our own niche in the expat cemetery section through the 24-Hour Association.

It was after that year that we spent time and put flower on some graves in the Mexican section that did not seem well attended. The one memory picture from that visit is of a trio of musicians singing at the grave and the family participating.

The flapping of the flags, the erstwhile trick or treaters and the graveside serenade all fill my memory. But for me the mystic chords of memory of my family and friends who have gone on are what fills my heart. I have had my fill of candy and the commercialism of Halloween and embrace the Dia de los Muertos because after all it is here in México where I will have my final rest.

Wether or Weather

As the rainy season draws to a close we have more than 32 inches of rains. The coming La Niña will likely make it cooler and drier.

La Niña has officially returned, and it could have a noticeable effect on the prevailing weather pattern across North America this fall and winter. For La Niña to be considered active, sea-surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator have to be at least 0.5 degree Celsius below average.

Tip of the Hat

Kudos in order to CFE, our national electric company that handled multiple power outages --some very long—that were caused by construction work on roads and cable lines that resulted in power lines and even water lines being cut. Bravo.

A tip of the hat also to the sanitary staff that works hard to keep our streets and jardins clean after the many fiestas.

Hasta el próximo mes!

Bill Wilson, 20-year San Miguel resident has a journalism career spanning 50 years covering everything the United Nations to Cub Scout news. He’s also a weather buff and first responder.