Mexican celebration as Día de los Muertos comes to Stanford for the first time

Few locals in Stanford have ever heard of Día de los Muertos. And come to think of it, why should they have? But now they do know about it — and there’s a dilemma. Should they honour their deceased with a special event, which they’ve never done before, or should they join in with a new Mexican “honouring the dead” vibe that’s come to the village?

For people like me who had never heard of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead in Spanish), it’s a couple of days in early November when Mexicans celebrate their dear departed with street parties. Throngs of people dress up as skeletons with skeletal face paintings, etc. Día de los Muertos is a joyful party time to celebrate the spirits’ annual two-day visit to home and family on Mother Earth.

The returning spirits are showered with gifts. Candles are lit, altars are decorated, graves are visited, graveyards are spruced up — and dancing with the skeletons is just part of the fun.

The owners of the Mexican hangout La Cantina in Stanford famously ran out of margaritas a few months ago on the first day of business when the Cape Epic bicycle race brought thousands of visitors to the normally sleepy village. This time around, Lyn and Mark Krebser, who have strong Mexican family links, are giving the village plenty of time to think about whether or not community groups would like to join in with their planned Day of the Dead celebration in November.

Nobody has remembered the dead in Stanford in a celebratory fashion for the past 100 years or so, which is why a group called “The Forgotten Ones” has volunteered to clean up two old graveyards and fathom who is buried under, in some cases, just a pile of old stones.

Volunteers clean up graves in a Stanford cemetery. (Photo: Liz Clarke)

Skeletal masks designed for the Day of the Dead in Mexico City. (Photo: Supplied)

Celebrating and revering the dead