Playa del Carmen Takes Artisans to Guanajuato Day of the Dead Festival

Guanajuato, Mexico — Playa del Carmen will take part in the 8th Day of the Dead Festival in the city of Guanajuato, running from October 28 to November 2, officials announced at a press conference held at the Santa Paula cemetery.

Guanajuato Mayor Samantha Smith Gutiérrez said she feels a kinship with Playa del Carmen municipal president Estefanía Mercado, describing them both as determined, hardworking women. She also announced that the 3D Mummies exhibit and traditional estudiantina musicians will appear on Playa del Carmen’s Fifth Avenue.

Ernesto Santiago Martínez Cuéllar, director general of the Playa del Carmen Municipal Institute of Culture and the Arts (IMCAP), and Estefanía Hernández, head of Economic Development and Investment Attraction, will represent the municipality at the events in the Guanajuato capital.

Martínez Cuéllar was received by Jorge Luis Anguiano Jasso, the city’s director of municipal tourism promotion, and Juan Antonio López García, director general of culture and education.

Popular Art and Local Products

Playa del Carmen’s participation will feature a showcase of popular art, feather work, basketry, stone carving, pottery and embroidery, along with producers who responsibly use the natural resources of the Yucatan Peninsula, such as honey and coconut.

In total, 60 artists will perform across various stages, joined by more than 40 producers. The delegation is part of the “Playa del Carmen in the World” program.

Speaking at the press conference, the IMCAP director general recalled the cultural roots of the region. “We come from a land where the language of our ancestors is still heard; where families prepare Janal Pixán to welcome those who made the journey before us; where men and women prayer leaders keep the word alive; and where the Maya Pax continues to sound as an ancestral expression that has survived from generation to generation,” he said.

Playa del Carmen’s culture has previously traveled to Querétaro as part of an event called “Mexico in Playa del Carmen.”