It is that time of year. The skeletons in our closets find their way to the streets of San Miguel de Allende.
Not those skeletons.
These are more literal.
Yes, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is fast approaching. And there is no greater indicator than the surge of skulls and skeletons everywhere you look. They are in store windows, in market stalls, in frames around stores, sitting on benches.
And marigolds. There are marigolds, manufactured from silk and real, everywhere, too.
Mostly, it is the skeletons.
Most common are the Calaveras Catrinas, the skeletons of men and women in elaborate dress. It is a fanciful image created early in the 20th Century to mock the middle and upper-middle classes in Mexico City.
The monied classes were taking on the looks and airs of Europeans. The cartoon that started it all was meant to convey that no matter how richly dressed, they were hollow on the inside.
Ironically, today people pour great sums into dressing up as catrinas so that they can peacock through the city streets. It has grown into an extremely competitive holiday.
But that is for another day. At the moment, the physical representations of skeletons are here to remind us of things to come. So we enjoy them, and photograph them. And celebrate them as a change in season, as much as the leaves change color across North America.
This lovely couple is in the gallery windows on Calle el Cardo:
Another key aspect of the holiday is the ofrenda. These are colorful and often elaborate alters that are built in homes and shops and on the streets to honor our loved ones who have passed away.
Which is really what this whole holiday is about.
The ofrendas will often have sugar skulls and animals and other objects, all freighted with symbolism. There are markets open for these objects now. Like these seen in a corner of Plaza Civica near Avenida Insurgentes:
Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More 