On 1 November, Mexico's cemeteries come alive with the celebration
of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a festival of petalled crosses, luxurious feasts and heart- felt prayers to the spirits of those deceased.
It is to Piitzcuaro, Michoaciin, where turistas from
surrounding areas such as Talisco and Mexico City go for this elaborate experience. There the Purepecha-descendants of the Tarascans, one of Mexico's most resilient pre-Hispanic civilizations-
celebrate in a magical way, still tinged with ancient tradition. Colored light pierces all angles of the eye in Patzcuaro's buzzing
market. Young men in boots and tight jeans, slicked-back hair, puffed chests and set jaws amble past purveyors of pasteles, multicolored ceramics and Chinese-made plastic toys. Children stuff smiling faces with cups of homemade ice cream and compotes of natural flavors . One side of the plaza is lined with shoeshine stalls ingeniously constructed of roughly-hewn lumber finished with years of hand oil and dust, manned by old salts in cowboy hats and crinkled leather vests. Shops display plastic skulls, black-suited skeletons, tacos and beer. The streaming crowd makes its
