Day of the Dead in Cuenca, Ecuador

Diane: "Día De Los Difuntos" as it is known here, is a celebration for the dead. Family members gather at the gravesite, tell stories, share a meal, and generally have a good time. Bringing flowers, food, and family to the cemetery makes sure that the dead ones will find their way back to where they belong and not bother any living people. It appears to be a bit of bribery.

Accustomed as I am to grassy U.S. cemeteries, entering Cuenca's main cemetary took me back a bit with its massive structures all around.






As we turned the corner, we got a better view of the individual sites. Each site is numbered. Most have a window along the front. Some have security precautions, such as metal bars to help deter vandalism. Vandalism does not appear to be a big problem here; I saw no signs of grafitti or broken ornamentation.

There were, however, two floors. Stairs were provided to get to the second floor. There is a premium on space here. So, after a certain amount of time - 10 or 15 years - the body is cremated and moved to the upper floor. There are some exceptions, where people buy a space in perpetuity.






This place was huge.

Our Spanish teacher at the Abraham Lincoln Center, Raúl, brought us to the cemetery today to give us some cultural insights into today's celebration. An added bonus for me was being surrounded by fresh and colorful flowers.






There are many different styles of graves at the main cemetery in Cuenca. You can see how styles have changed over the years. In the oldest part of the cemetary, we saw a small tombstone that honored someone who died at the ripe age of 130. I don't believe everything I read, even when it's on a tombstone.






A more expensive part of the newer area of the cemetery still gives each person their own chunk of land. The evening leading up to the Day of the Dead is a busy time, with family members bringing fresh flowers and cleaning supplies to spruce up their area.










Some wealthy and/or famous Cuencan families have their own separate buildings. Even larger buildings are dedicated to various professions and/or unions.






Some people use unique iconography on their sites, to express their life's passions or their vocation.

The customs involving families gathering to share food with their dearly departed are falling into disuse here in Cuenca. Raúl says that it is still alive and kicking in the surrounding indigenous communities. We did see some examples of this in the areas of the cemetery that are popular with indigenous people.


















I'm so sad that both TM and Calliope decided not to come. Calliope had already visited the cemetery once before. TM didn't feel like walking. They both missed such a profusion of flowers and that wonderful holiday feeling. Maybe if they look at the pictures enough, they will build memories of having joined us for the outing ;-).