- METEPEC, Mexico (Reuters)
- By the time the full moon was at its peak, the cemetery in the Mexican
hamlet of Metepec was as crowded as a rock concert.
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- The mass procession of people and wheelbarrows, bursting
with flowers, bundles of candles and enough kindling to fuel all-night
bonfires, is part of Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration, when families
lay out offerings to lure their dead loved ones back from the afterlife
for a brief visit.
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- The two-day holiday, one of Mexico's most important celebrations,
is a hybrid of ancient Aztec festivals and the Catholic feasts of All Saints
Day and All Souls Day, and the mingling of traditions can be seen all the
way down to the decorations topping the dirt-topped tombs.
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- The grave of Marciano Jimenez's uncle was covered with
bright marigolds, believed to aid in the journey back from the afterlife,
as well as knee-high white candles more usually found in churches.
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- "They light the path for the little soul,"
said Jimenez, a 34-year-old farmer and father of two. "I have felt
the souls in the movement and the smoke of the candle."
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- At home, Jimenez said his family had also prepared a
customary Day of the Dead shrine of the person's favorite foods, including
the classic mole dish made with the chocolate bean, and tequila and cigarettes.
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- Jimenez said his family believes that the tequila-loving
souls spend three days with the living and return only when the souls of
children drag them back to the afterlife.
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- But despite Mexico's packed cemeteries and churches to
celebrate Day of the Dead, the holiday is battling with Halloween for a
place in the hearts and customs of the young.
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- Mexico City's streets on Thursday night were dotted with
tiny devils and scampering skeletons, all hunting for chocolates and candy
in the sprawling capital's houses and apartment buildings.
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- And even in outlying Metepec, about 50 miles (80 km)
west of Mexico City, Halloween is now colorfully marked.
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- Teenagers, with faces painted black and white like skeletons,
mixed with peasants in woolen ponchos, and tombs were guarded by miniature
witches.
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- Eighteen-year-old Adrian, wrapped in a haze of marijuana
smoke during a graveside vigil, said he planned to spend the night among
the flowers and candles to observe his family's long-standing traditions.
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- But he had also attended Halloween parties during the
week.
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- Mexicans said that while this year's celebrations were
largely like any other year, the tough economic conditions brought on by
a sharp U.S. downturn and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks were being
felt.
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- The three members of the Caciques musical group said
they were playing fewer ranchera-style songs, similar to U.S. country music
with themes of lust, drinking and rural life.
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- The group said families were all pitching in to fund
the 40 pesos (about $4.30) for a song like "Eternal Love" to
honor their dead.
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- "At the moment, with the crisis, people don't have
money," said guitar player Augustin Alcantar. "People have to
cooperate to have a song played."
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