Since we extended our stay in Mexico after the wedding, it only made sense to stay for Dias de Los Muertos, the day of the dead celebration from Oct 31 to Nov 2. And if we were going to experience the festival, we might as well do it right and go to Oaxaca, where the festival is bigger, better and most celebrated. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Oaxaca other than I’ve heard of it through names of Mexican restaurants and all my research led me to go here to experience Day of the Dead. I quickly fell in love with the city, lovely people and delicious food. The streets were romantic, clean and charming.

Food

I heard the food would be good in Oaxaca since it is known to be a gastronomic city in Mexico… but I didn’t expect it to blow me away since my taste preferences aren’t that favorable to Mexican food. But somehow, it impressed me and I had one of the most memorable meals of my life at Casa Oaxaca. The salsa was freshly made in front of me and it was the best I’ve ever had. How could salsa be this delicious? The seafood soup was cooked in front of us using a hot rock. It was quite the spectacle and the soup was excellent with lovely flavors. My main was OMFG good. It was an almond mole with suckling pig.  

We also visited local markets for meals and everything we ate was unique and full of flavor (some hit, some misses maybe due to my taste preferences). We drank the freshest juices, also know as Aguas Frescas, we enjoyed refreshing nieve, refreshing Mexican water-based ice cream and indulged in Mexican hot and cold chocolate.   

Atmosphere 

Oaxaca is charming any time of year but it was extra lively and festive during Dias de los Muertos.

People were dressed up, there was live music, street processions, altars (ofrendas), sand art and a lot of decorations everywhere you go.

It was such a lively and fun atmosphere… And everywhere I looked was beautiful with all the colors and textures. I would say it was my favorite festival to date, better than Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil or Loy Krathong in Chiang Mai, Thailand. But I may be biased since I love dressing up and costumes. 

Xoxocotlan Cemetery 

Xoxocotlan is a small town outside of Oaxaca, famous for its cemetery for Day of the Dead. It was a visual treat and just like the Disney movie, Coco, there were so many colors, patterns, candles, and music.

I loved that it was so authentic and Mexican families were at the graves, carrying out their customs of socializing, eating and talking to their deceased family. 

Comparsas at Elta villages

November 1 was an interesting night as you can see very creative and intense costumes parade down the streets for the entire night. Yes, it is a wild parade and street party that occurs from 11pm until noon the next day.

It was busy, crowded and involved a lot of waiting. We only stayed for a few hours and although it wasn’t our favorite experience, the costumes were very impressive. 

Of course, we had to get into the Halloween Day of the Dead spirit and dress up ourselves. We paid street artists to do our faces for about $7. Chi thought people would go wild over our costumes but we were clearly underdressed compared to the locals.

Tule Tree & Hierve el Aguas

There were two natural sights I wanted to see outside of Oaxaca. One was the world widest tree in El Tule and a petrified waterfall. The tree was a quick tourist stop and it was as described, a very, very wide tree.

Hierve el Aguas was beautiful but crowded with tourists (we were spoiled with how quiet Grutas Tolantongo was). The view from the top overlooked layers of surrounding mountains. Down below you can see the petrified detail of the waterfall. Hiking and swimming the pools was a nice day trip from Oaxaca. 

Day of the Dead in Oaxaca exceeded my expectations in every way and I highly recommend experiencing it once in your life, especially if you love Halloween. I’d consider visiting Oaxaca again but most likely somewhere else in Mexico I haven’t been like Los Cabos or Tulum.