Day of the Dead evolves into days of partying, whimsy
Submitted by mexbiznews on Mon, 10/31/2011 - 6:08am
By William Booth / Washington Post
Once upon a time, it was the Day of the Dead, but now it is the days of the dead.
Like Halloween in the United States, Dia de los Muertes in Mexico has become a bit of a free-for-all, a five-day weekend with parties and drinking. It’s more pop, more pagan and more commercial. There’s even some trick or treating, which would have been unheard of a decade ago.
Along with the national holiday vibe in the capital — and sales of sugar skulls and votive candles — comes the world’s largest display of folk art animals called “alebrijes,” fantastic creatures with claws and wings and tails.
