As Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead, they grapple with what it means to hold on to tradition

MEXICO CITY (AP) — It’s midnight on the fringes of Mexico City, and the San Gregorio Pantheon is not just alive, it’s booming.

The roar of mariachis echoes over families adorning the graves of lost loved ones with rows of candles, orange cempasúchil flowers and their favorite treats ranging from pan de muerto to bottles of Coca-Cola.

Every year this time Mexico erupts in celebrations during the Day of the Dead. Families gather at cemeteries across the country on Nov. 1 to reconnect with their dead just as their ancestors have done for centuries.

For many more in small communities like this, it’s also about preserving the core of their traditions as celebrations in places in bigger hubs have increasingly been marked by mass tourism.

“We’re conserving our tradition, part of our heritage that my mother instilled in me,” said 58-year-old Antonio Meléndez. “We can’t let it be lost.”

Meléndez was among throngs of people gathered in the cemetery, tucked away in the maze of canals and brick buildings in Xochimilco, a borough in south of Mexico City that has long carried on traditions that have faded away in other parts of the country.

He gathered with his two daughters around the grave of his mother, marked by orange flower petals spread out in the shape of a cross and bouquets of pink flowers, his mother’s favorite color.

Meléndez said she died last year, and the loss was still fresh, so he was trying to remember her by continuing with the same rituals he watched her carry out growing up, this time with his daughters. He has started preparing for the celebration four days before, making tamales from scratch and building a small altar for her in their home.

Day of the Dead dates back centuries to ancient Indigenous civilizations, which would organize parties when someone died to guide them on to the next life, and lay out food in altars to nourish them on their journeys, according to the Mexican government.

“In this celebration of the Day of the Dead, death does not represent an absence but a living presence; death is a symbol of life that materializes in the altar offered,” it writes.

When Spanish colonizers arrived and began forcing Catholicism upon Indigenous communities, they would mix Indigenous traditions with Catholic holidays. Celebrations of the dead then synced up with All Saints Day, on Nov. 1, ending on Nov 2.

While celebrations begin ramping up at the end of October, Mexican tradition says that on that night their deceased are closest to the living world, and people hope to keep them company. Though each family celebrates in different ways.

In San Gregorio Pantheon, elderly women carry massive bundles of orange flowers, the iconic flower of death. Some families sob into each other’s arms. Others sit alone next to loved one’s graves in silence. Many more drink mezcal and tell stories of their family members.

Gathered with her daughter and granddaughter, 60-year-old Beatriz Chávez kneels at the graves of her son, nephew and father, quietly lighting candles.

“It’s like being with them one more year, feeling like even if they don’t see them, we feel like we’re closer to them,” Chávez said, noting that she planned to sleep in the graveyard, just like she did every year since her father died when she was 10.

Over the years, the tradition has been the focus of the Disney film Coco. A Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City was also featured in a James Bond film, despite such a parade not actually existing in real life. Annual celebrations later adopted the idea of the parade from the movie.

Now, people from all over the world have flocked to the Latin American nation, eager to experience the rich tradition for themselves.

But once quaint celebrations in hubs for the Day of the Dead like Mexico City, Oaxaca and Michoacan have started to brim with tourists, who snap photos of mourners. In recent years, many Mexicans have also begun to mix the celebration with Halloween and other new traditions like the James Bond parade have popped up.

Some like Meléndez have prickled at the shifts.

“Here, Halloween isn’t ours, it’s Day of the Dead,” he said. “It’s sad because it’s getting distorted. We’re losing the essence of who we are. This is a part of us, our roots.”

For Meléndez, it adds an extra level of importance to the celebration in their small cemetery, which he and others say has stayed true to the centuries-old traditions.

It coincides with a larger conversation playing out across Mexico amid an influx of American “expats” and tourists. As more move to or travel to Mexico City, rents have gotten so high that many Mexicans have been pushed out of areas they’ve lived in for much of their lives, leaving frustration simmering in much of the city.

Those who wander the graves and sell flowers and food in the streets, see the changes less as a loss of tradition, and more as an evolution – a way for younger generations to continue passing on their heritage in their own ways, and share it with new audiences.

That was the case for mourner Chavez, who celebrated with her daughter and granddaughter. They were using the lights of their iPhones to help her grandmother lay out flowers.

“It's beautiful because we're talking about other places being interested in our culture. And I think showcasing all our love for our dead, and the celebration of death is important – important that they know of our roots, our traditions, generation to generation,” said her daughter, 36-year-old Ana Laura Anell Chávez.

Families gather to keep company with their dearly departed, celebrating Day of the Dead, at the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A man sits at the tomb of a dearly departed celebrating the Day of the Dead, at the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A tomb is decorated with a Catrina sculpture and cempasúchil flowers or marigolds, celebrating Day of the Dead, at the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Families gather to keep company with their dearly departed, celebrating Day of the Dead at the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery, on the outskirts of Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A musician performs people celebrate the Day of the Dead, near the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Women arrive at the cemetery to keep company with their dearly departed, as they celebrate Day of the Dead, at the San Gregorio Atlapulco on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Juana Godoy, left, and Isaac Gonzalez sit at the tomb of their dearly departed, as they celebrate the Day of the Dead, at the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A woman stands at a tomb of a dearly departed, celebrating Day of the Dead, at the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Families gather by the tomb of their dearly departed, as they celebrate the Day of the Dead, at the San Gregorio Atlapulco cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Five Palestinian journalists have been killed by an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said Thursday. Israel's military said it targeted a group of militants allied with Hamas, which ignited the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel.

The strike hit a vehicle outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Associated Press video showed the burned shell of a van with press markings. The journalists were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group.

More than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.

Israel's bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.

Hamas’s attack on southern Israel in October 2023 resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people, while 250 others were taken hostage by Palestinian militants. Around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, although only two-thirds are believed to still be alive.

Here’s the latest:

BEIRUT — The Lebanese military said Thursday that Israeli troops encroached on areas of southern Lebanon, violating a ceasefire agreement that ended the war between Israel and the Hezbollah group.

The U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect a month ago called for Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops to leave southern Lebanon over a 60-day period as Lebanese army soldiers gradually deploy in the country south of the Litani River. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reported incident.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli bulldozers are setting up dirt barricades that would close off the road between Wadi Slouqi and Wadi Hujeir.

Lebanon’s military said it brought reinforcements into the areas entered by Israeli troops. NNA said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, sent a patrol unit to an area near the southern town of Qantara where Israeli forces are present.

UNIFIL in a statement expressed its “concern at continuing destruction by the IDF (Israeli military) in residential areas, agricultural land, and road networks in south Lebanon.”

Lebanese army chief General Joseph Aoun earlier Thursday traveled to Saudi Arabia as part of ongoing efforts by the cash-strapped military to find financial support to deploy in larger numbers.

The Lebanese military and government have complained about Israeli strikes and overflights in the country to a new monitoring committee headed by the U.S. that also includes France.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry said Thursday. The Israeli military said it had targeted a group of militants.

The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working for the local Quds News Network.

The military said it targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel ignited the war. Associated Press video showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings still visible on the back doors.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says over 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.

BEIJING — China has pledged two more shipments of humanitarian aid to Gaza, in an indication of support for the Palestinian Authority, state media reported Thursday. The agreement was overseen in Cairo by Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang and Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab al-Louh.

“To ease the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, the Chinese government has continued to provide assistance to Palestine,” Liao was quoted as saying. The types and quantities of aid to be delivered via Egypt were not given, but China has previously shipped food and medicine to Gaza. China has longstanding ties with the Palestinian Authority but has also sought to strengthen economic and political relations with Israel.

Al-Louh “voiced appreciation for China’s consistent and firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people and for raising this issue on international occasions," state media said.

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday at Israel’s request to discuss recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Israel’s U.N. Mission said Wednesday the meeting will take place at 10 a.m. Monday.

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said he expects the council will condemn the Houthi attacks.

He urged the council “to enforce international law and hold Iran, the Houthis’ patron, accountable.”

Alluding to Israeli retaliation for the attacks, Danon said ”It seems that the Houthis have not yet understood what happens to those who try to harm the state of Israel.”

Locals stand next to a damaged building after the latest Israeli military operation, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A mourner cries while she takes the last look at the body of a relative, one of eight Palestinians killed, during their funeral following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Mourners carry the bodies of killed Palestinians, some wrapped with the Islamic Jihad flag, during their funeral following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A mourner cries after taking the last look at the body of a relative, one of eight Palestinians killed, during their funeral following the withdrawal of the Israeli army, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Mourners react as they carry the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A relative mourns over the body of one of the five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians, mostly journalists, gather around the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A woman reacts during the funeral of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Relatives and friends mourn over the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)