A Neighborhood Effort

On Thursday, the Day of the Dead, Alejandro and I drove to the "alcaldía" (borough) of Tlahuac on the far south side of Mexico City.  We had read about a street there, Francisco Santiago Borraz, which has become known for its Day of the Dead display.  Back in 2012 a few residents started to put up "ofrendas" along the street. It has grown to become a neighborhood effort creating a five block Day of the Dead extravaganza.  It now attracts visitors from all over the city, and even from foreign countries.  (When we arrived, there was a van full of U.S. tourists just leaving.)

It was a long drive to get there... over an hour.  Fortunately, Alejandro had no trouble finding a place to park a block away from the street.

At the entrance to the street there were two large figures of "Xolos", the Mexican hairless dogs that were considered guides to the underworld.

The facades of many of the houses are painted with street art.  New murals are painted every year for Day of the Dead.

There were a number of large "alebrijes".

A skeletal "quinceañera" party

An "alebrije" of an "axolotl", the salamander-like amphibian that is native to the canals of Xochimilco (which is not too far from Tlahuac.)

Frida Kahlo

A vendor selling delicious "tamales of the dead"

Cooking a pot of "cochinita" (suckling pig) of the dead

These "trajineras", the colorful boats that ply the canals of Xochimilico, were created by the students of the nearby junior high school.

Of course, the boats were manned by skeletons.

The centerpiece of the exhibit was a giant 40 foot long "Quetzalcoatl"... the Feathered Serpent god... whose writhing body appeared to be rising and descending through the pavement of the street.

At first I thought that this skeleton was missing its head.

Then I realized that the tree was its head.

Our trip to Tlahuac was fun and definitely worth the long drive.