Explore Northern Jalisco and Michoacán
Pátzcuaro is almost exactly halfway between Uruapan and Morelia, some 60km from both, yet strikingly different from either – far more colonial than Uruapan and infinitely more Indian than Morelia, boasting both fine architecture and a rich indigenous culture. Sitting on Lago de Pátzcuaro, Mexico’s most beautiful lake, it hosts the country’s most spectatcular Day of the Dead celebrations.
More than anywhere in the state, Pátzcuaro owes its position to Bishop Vasco de Quiroga, whose affection for the area’s indigenous peoples led him to settle in the Purépechan heartland on the shores of Lago de Pátzcuaro. It was he who decided, in the face of considerable opposition from the Spaniards in Morelia (then known as Valladolid), to build the cathedral here, where it would be centrally located. Although subsequent bishops moved the seat of power back to Morelia, the foundation had been laid for the community’s continued success. Pátzcuaro enjoyed a building boom in the sixteenth century and has been of secondary industrial and political importance ever since. Throughout the centre are old mansions with balconies and coats of arms, barely touched since those early years. Today, quaint Pátzcuaro has developed into an upmarket and artistically inclined town with numerous boutiques. You can spend hours wandering around the beautiful – and expensive – arts, crafts and antique shops, aimed mainly at visitors from Mexico City and abroad.
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The Day of the Dead around Lago de Pátzcuaro
The Day of the Dead around Lago de Pátzcuaro
The Day of the Dead (Nov 1, and through the night into the next day) is celebrated in spectacular fashion throughout Mexico, but nowhere more so than on Lago de Pátzcuaro, particularly the island of Janitzio. On this night, the locals conduct what is an essentially private meditation, carrying offerings of fruit and flowers to the cemetery and maintaining a vigil over the graves of their ancestors until dawn, chanting by candlelight. Death is considered a continuation of life, and this is the time when the souls of muertitos (deceased loved ones) return to the land of the living. It’s a spectacular and moving sight, especially early in the evening as indigenous people from the surrounding area converge on the island in their canoes, with a single candle burning in each bow.
Impressive and solemn though the occasion is, over the years the occasion has become somewhat marred by its sheer press of spectators, both Mexican and foreign. Thousands head over to tiny Janitzio, and from around 10pm on Oct 1 until around 3am the following morning you can hardly move, especially in the cemetery where the vigil takes place amid a riot of marigolds and candles. If you can manage it, stay up all night and return to the cemetery around 5am when it is quiet and the first hint of dawn lightens the eastern sky. Alternatively, head to one of the other lakeside communities marking the Day of the Dead – Tzurumutaro, Ihuatzio, Cucuchucho or Tzintzuntzán. There’s no guarantee of a quiet and respectful vigil, but crowds will be smaller and the cemeteries no less amazing.
