The 2nd Life and Death Traditions Festival is coming to Xcaret Park from October 30th to November 2nd. This time, besides the nearly 100 Mayan communities representing six of the state's eight counties, at least one hundred artists, painters, sculptors, graffiti artists and actors; dancers, musicians, story tellers, singers and writers; not to mention local and national children's, youth and adult creative artists, add their creative genius, artistic techniques and talent to "Mr. Bones", or Death.

There'll be plenty of time to enjoy a plethora of concerts, starting off with the warm irreverence of Astrid Hadad and her Live Dying Show, the incomparable voice of Tonana with her Flor y Canto [Flowery Complements and Song] repertoire, and the music and spooky children's theater productions of La Trouppe. Special guests will include renowned Mexican actor Ignacio López Tarso with his hit stage production of Macario, the Godson of Death, and painter Marcelo Jimenez, one of Quintana Roo's greatest interpreters of contemporary Mayan art.

Exhibits of children's drawings, workshops on embroidery, paper cuttting, pottery and fruit and vegetable carving, conferences and presentations of documentaries on Day of the Dead celebrations throughout the country are all part of an extensive cultural menu designed for all ages.

The foot of Paradise Bridge, the cemetery at Xcaret's Mayan Village, is the setting for the "Day of the Dead" altars: here you'll find the tables with pictures of the dearly departed, bread and traditional dishes; here are the honey, tortillas, orange marigolds—or tzempazuchitl in Nahuatl—and balché, the sacred drink made of the bark of the Florida Lilac tree; and here are the crucifixes made of ashes, flower petals and lit candles.

Women dressed in hipiles embroidered with multicolored flowers and geometric patterns press passers-by to taste yucca sweets, sweet potatoes, pumpkin in syrup and Day of the Dead bread, as "The Grim Reaper", "The Pale Horseman" stops in his funereal wanderings and draws near to whisper in your ear: "How nice of you to come; I was just going to get you!"

For more information, call:
01 800 292-2738