Xcaret Day of the Dead Festival Opens With Guanajuato as Guest State

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The 20th edition of the Xcaret Festival of Life and Death Traditions opened this week with Guanajuato as its guest state of honor, bringing together more than 700 communities, 127 artists and 78 performances across the park’s stages.

Organizers expect close to a million visitors during the celebration, which runs through November 2 and features food, crafts and agro-industrial exhibits from across Mexico. A delegation of artists and tradition bearers traveled from Guanajuato to take part.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Guanajuato Governor Lidia Denise García described the festival as a celebration of memory. “This is a celebration that honors the deepest part of the Mexican soul, our ability to remember with love, to turn absence into living memory and to make our traditions a bridge between generations,” she said. “How wonderful it is when grandparents and grandchildren place the offerings together, the ones with which we await those who are no longer with us but whom we trust we will one day meet again.”

The Guanajuato delegation is presenting the danza del torito, Cervantine short plays known as entremeses cervantinos, huapango music and dance, a student music group and the folk ballet of the University of Guanajuato.

Children can also visit the Interactive Hacienda, a space where they learn about intangible heritage through games and activities that let them compare the customs of Guanajuato with those of Quintana Roo’s Maya region.

García drew parallels between the two states. “We are perhaps two peoples separated by many kilometers, but profoundly united by the heart of Mexico,” she said. “You have the richness of the Caribbean, the strength of Maya culture and the incomparable beauty of your landscapes. We in Guanajuato have our historic cities, our alleyways that tell stories, our vineyards, our centuries-old traditions and the pride of being from the place where Mexico was born, where our independence began, the independence of our nation.”

Leticia Aguerrebere, director of art, culture and festivals at Grupo Xcaret, invited visitors to explore the full program. “We invite you to connect at this festival; don’t miss the altars, and visit all the stands that come from Guanajuato, which have beautiful things,” she said. “They have truly made a wonderful effort to put all of this together.”