Día de los Muertos in Cancun

Day of the Dead is known for its bright colors, sugar skulls, and some pretty incredible face painting. I’ve heard people often refer to it as “Mexican Halloween” but let me tell you it’s far different. While we run around on Halloween dressed as ghosts, telling horror stories, and collecting candies, another group of people are getting ready to welcome guests from beyond the grave.

Photo courtesy of Puelosmexico.com.mx

I never knew that Día de los Muertos is actually 2-3 days long.  Many family and friends head out after dark on October 31st for a vigil at their cemetery.  November 1st is dedicated to remembering children and is known as “Día de los Angelitos” while November 2nd is to remember the adults, “Día de los Difuntos”.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest

Did you know that there is a specific flower and even specific food dedicated to this holiday? Marigolds are the official flower of Día de los Muertos and it is said to attract the souls.  You’ll often here “Ya huele a muertos” which means it’s starting to smell like death because the flowers are placed almost everywhere. Dead bread, or Pan de Muerto, is a rich sweet bread with “bones” crossed over the top, a hint of citrus, and is covered in sugar.  And while it’s the official food of the celebration it also shared with the spirits and typically placed on altars.

Photo courtesy of Festival Vida Y Muerte

The one thing I have really taken away from this holiday is that it really is a celebration.  A celebration of life and death.  The guests from beyond the grave aren’t scary, they are our loved ones who walk amongst us again as we remember them fondly with stories and celebrate the lives that they lived.

Photo courtesy of grupoexperienciasxcaret.com

The best place to celebrate Día de los Muertos, in our opinion, is Xcaret Park.  Each year they have Festival Vida Y Muerte.  For 4 days this park transforms at night and comes alive.  Walking through the park and taking part in everything it has to offer is like being a part of something bigger, it is like a rhythm, a pulse if you will, that you become a part of.

Have you ever celebrated Día de los Muertos before?  What traditions do you have? Share with us in the comments below!

Esquites, Salbutes, and Tacos! Oh My!

One of the best things about going to a new place is getting to try new food and finding new favorites that you never even knew existed.  I remember I couldn’t wait to move here and eat fresh fish tacos on the beach and listen to the waves.  I didn’t really realize that there would be a whole new world of food for me to fall in love with.

Local food

Panuchos from El Faisan Y El Venado (one of the best places for Panuchos de Cochinita Pibil)

Salbutes, Panuchos, and Cochinita Pibil, these are some the most important words in my vocabulary right now.  The Yucatán Peninsula, where Cancun is located, is filled with rich culture complete with delicious food. Salbutes are my current favorite and I’m always trying to find a way to eat them as often as possible.  Masa is fried then topped with your choice of meat, Oaxaca cheese, hard boiled eggs and then you can add all the toppings and salsas you like.  Panuchos are essentially the same thing but the masa is filled with refried beans before fried.  Cochinita Pibil is pork that has been seasoned with achiote and other seasonings before being wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked underground. The meat is so tender it falls apart easily after it’s cooked and is usually eaten with pickled red onions, rice, and refried beans. Yum!

Street food

My first time trying an elote

The night time atmosphere here is unlike anything I have ever seen before.  There is always a smell of food in the air and people out and about, even families.  Being out at night is still one of my favorite things to do here.  Night time snacks include a variety of savory and sweet foods all easily edible on the go.  Esquites and elotes can be found all over town.  Corn on the cob (elote) or cut off the cob (esquites) are covered with a combination of lime juice, mayonaise, cheese, and chile. Marquesitas are another favorite for adults and kids alike.  Think of a crepe that has been cooked until crispy then filled with either Nutella, fruit, cheese, jam, or many more options. Raspados are another popular favorite in our family and perfect for a hot day in Cancun.  Shaved ice is topped with sweet flavored syrups or something spicier such as chamoy, a chile syrup popularly used on fruits, in beers, and of course, on food.

Tacos

Photo courtesy of Máspormás

How could we talk about food and not talk about tacos?! Al Pastor, chorizo con papa, carne, tinga, chuleta, suadero, tripa, cecina, chorizo, de guisado, de canasta, and even “gringas”. Tacos can be found at all hours of the night on most corners around town.  They can be made on the spot fresh with soft corn tortillas, previously made and stored in a basket (canasta) or with cheese on a flour tortilla (gringa).  You can choose from many fillings, toppings, and salsas but a good rule of thumb is: Go where the locals go and eat what the locals eat.

We are always discovering new food, new places to try new food, and new things about the foods we already love.  We even recently realized that many types of food here are essentially exactly the same (except for their shape) and have totally different names. Clearly we didn’t mention all of the wonderful food that Mexico, and Cancun have to offer. Do you have any favorites that we missed?  Share with us in the comments!

Adjusting to my Cancun Life

When I moved to a different country I knew that it would take a while to adapt. I knew that there would be many differences that I would encounter. However, I never really thought I would actually enjoy many of them as much as I do.

Photo courtesy of sipse.com

Some of the things that I have seen or experienced here are intriguing to me. Living back home, I absolutely hated to do my laundry. I would wait until everything I owned was dirty and truly had to be done. I always had to do it on a day off because of how much time it took. Here, I have not done one piece of laundry and couldn’t be happier about it. The lavanderias have you drop off your clothes, and they will wash, dry and FOLD all of it for you at a much cheaper price than I was paying at a laundry mat to do my own dirty work.

Photo: riviera-maya-news.com

Pumping gas always made me feel uneasy. There is always someone watching you at the pump, or the attendant is yelling at you because he thinks you won’t get off your phone before you start to pump gas. Here, I can sit in the comfort of my own car and have someone pump it for me AND wash the windows.

I hate parking, trying to find a spot, and parallel parking by myself. Here, it’s not as much of a problem. Men with whistles and towels will show you where all of the available parking spots are and will also help you while you parallel park. This next one is rare, and I have only experienced it once, but after we parked at a restaurant for lunch, the gentleman asked if he could wash our car… inside and out, while we ate. This to me was too much: were we the 1,000th customer that was receiving a car wash as some sort of prize while we had lunch?? It was so nice to know that after lunch we had one less errand to run because of this service. Similarly, these men will also cover your car for you while you go in somewhere to shop or eat. After leaving Market 28 one day, I noticed that someone had placed a huge piece of cardboard on our car and my first thought was, “Um…. someone left their garbage on our car,” but I was of course wrong, as a man walked over to remove it and then helped stop traffic to get us out of our spot.

Photo: anodeforthecamotetruck.blogspot.com

As great as it is going out and having these things done for you, I couldn’t imagine all of the services that would be offered right at my door! The first time I saw something like this, it was a man selling coconuts, riding on a cart up and down our street, The next time, it was an ice cream man, and after that, a man selling sweet potatoes that were being cooked on a wood-burning stove that he was carrying on his cart. I started asking questions about how we were supposed to know who did what. Some of them clap or ring a bell, while others will yell out what they are selling, but each has a specific noise that coincides with what they are offering (all of which is common knowledge to locals). Water will be delivered to your door, and they will take away the empty five-gallon container; a shoe-repair man will fix any shoe; a man will sharpen all of your knives; and the list goes on. I noticed that there are so many more jobs here and that almost everything is done for you (of course, all come at a cost, and usually, most of the services require at least a tip).

Photo: wixoo.fr

The culture here is so rich and deep in customs too. We were eating lunch one day when a family from a table next to us got up to leave and said, “Provecho,” to which my boyfriend replied, “Gracias.” I felt so bad that I didn’t introduce myself, since obviously he had known them, or so I thought. Brian told me that it is customary to tell other diners as you are leaving a restaurant to enjoy their meal. Another thing I didn’t understand was that Brian would call women “Madre” when they were clearly not his mother. This is another deeply rooted sign of respect.

Photo: youtube

Lastly, to conclude each day, and this segment, the Mexican national anthem is played each night at 12:00 and every morning at 6:00 am, followed by the Mayan national anthem (only here in Cancun is the Mayan national anthem played). Overall, I have enjoyed experiencing these events and learning about the culture and customs. I never expected to fall so deeply in love with another country that as far as I have seen, has accepted me with such open arms.