San Jose del Cabo Art Walk

Every Thursday night beginning in November, the streets in the Art District of San Jose del Cabo are closed to traffic and the galleries stay open late. They feature Mexican and international artists working in a variety of styles and media from beautiful crafts to high-end art pieces. Some serve drinks and food, and the event is popular with tourists and Mexicans.

We met Nancy Pridham in the Los Cabos Amber Gallery and Fine Art Annex. She’s a Canadian painter from Bahía Asunción and was having her first show in San Jose del Cabo. She and her husband live in a fishing village of about 3,000 people on the Pacific coast south of Guerrero Negro and Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon’s Lagoon). You can see her paintings of Baja at nancypridham.blogspot.mx.

Gallery with a metal sculpture of "Catrina" in front

This year, the first Thursday happened on Halloween, a US tradition that is catching on in Mexico. Parents brought their children to the Art Walk dressed in handmade costumes.

Keyra as la llorona (wailing woman)

The children carried small bags and plastic buckets and visited the stores and restaurants chanting “tenemos Halloween” (we have Halloween). They haven’t gotten the “trick-or-treat” down yet, and they’re not carrying pillowcases or shopping bags, but they ask for candy.

Mexico celebrates Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) the first two days of November and many of the galleries had constructed altars with offerings (ofrendas) to celebrate the deceased. Día de Muertos has its roots in the indigenous Aztec festival for Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead, and All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2) of Catholicism It is a celebration of the deceased and family remembrance (link, link).

Altar with pictures of Frida Kahlo

Skulls are prominent symbols of Día de Muertos and they date back to pre-Hispanic traditions when they were kept as trophies and used in rituals (link). One of the most iconic skull symbols is Catrina, a female skeleton dressed in elegant clothes. She is based on a print, La Calavera Catrina ("The Elegant Skull"), created by José Guadalupe Posada as a parody of upper-class Mexican women in the early 20^th century (link).

For several days before Día de Muertos, families visit the cemetery (panteón) where their ancestors are buried to pull weeds, paint and clean up in preparation for the celebration. They decorate the graves and tombs with pictures of the deceased and their favorite food, alcohol, music, clothes, games, toys, flowers (particularly marigolds) and candles to light the deceased’s way. The celebration is meant to encourage the souls to visit and hear the prayers and stories and the vigils can go on through the night. Deceased children are remembered on the 1^st (Día de los Inocentes) and adults on the 2^nd (link, link, link).

Cemetery in Los Barriles