Souls of deceased family members are invited to join in fiestas held by their surviving relatives. Graves in the cemetery are cleaned and decorated with candles and flowers, especially blood-red cockscombs and golden yellow "cempasuchil", a variety of marigold associated with the dead. Dressed in their best, the women of the family arrange loved ones' gravesite areas by candlelight. While maintaining an all night vigil, they offer the departeds' favorite foods and drinks, as well as skeletal figures made from sugar.
This in-depth tour also focuses on the diverse arts and crafts of Michoacán and Jalisco. We'll visit small villages where potters, mask makers, coppersmiths. silversmiths, weavers, and other artisans create crafts using traditional methods. We've arranged visits to workshops usually not open to the general public. You will have the privilege of meeting fine artists and artisans. We'll also explore unique museums housing collections of Spanish colonial and folk art.
Your guide will be Mexican folk art authority and travel writer, Rocky Behr, owner of The Folk Tree and The Marengo Collection and publisher of "Las Noticias," a folk art and travel newsletter. Rocky has an encyclopedic knowledge of Mexican folk art and culture.
Co-leading the tour is Sergio Valdes Diazvelez, a Mexican native who has led tours in Mexico and shares Rocky's love for its people and crafts.
A sample of Michoacán
sights to tempt your senses.
Click on the photographs for a larger view.
Click on the photographs for a larger view.
