Día de los Muertos and the feriado

November 2 is Day of the Dead here, and November 3 is Cuenca's independence day, and November 4 is some sort of made up holiday to give everyone a long weekend, so everyone here is looking forward to the feriado, or the holiday.  It's not as big of a deal to me- please, I make my own schedule these days! Monday, weekend, holiday- all the same to me.  But weekends and holidays are nice because my friends don't have to work, and by "observing" them it helps me maintain some semblance of a schedule.  Also, I have reason to get excited this feriado- Daria, a friend of mine dating all the way back to 3rd grade in Mrs. Kardonsky's class, is coming to visit!  She gets in late Wednesday, and we're going to travel around a bit for the holiday, which coincides with her visit.  We're going to Misahualli (near Tena, which is commonly described as the Gateway Town to the jungle), and to Baños.  I've never been to Misahualli, and I was last in Baños with the entire familia when we were here almost ten years ago, so I'm excited to travel around. 

photo taken from Wikipedia

El Día de los Muertos in Ecuador, as I think I mentioned last year, is not as intense as the Mexican version, but it's certainly not Halloween.  It's mostly a family day- families get together to go to the cemetary, tell stories about their ancestors, and eat and drink.  Mostly they drink colada morada, a fruity, thick drink that's made with a purple corn base with pineapple and other fruits.  They eat guaguas de pan- if you remember last year's post, you'll remember that it's pronounced "wa-wa", and they're breads shaped like children, decorated with frosting.  I'm sure some families make guaguas de pan, but mostly it seems like people buy them from bread shops and supermarkets who only produce them this time of year.  Some families also make their dead family members' favorite foods, and bring them to the cemetary where they all share the meal together.  I remember last year in Cuenca, kids were running all over the cemetary, families were eating and singing, and some muscians had even been hired to play the favorite songs of the deceased.  It was a very familial time, but not exclusively somber. 

I hope everyone had a good Halloween!  After a long day of eating enchiladas and drinking aguardiente with my classmates, I put together a last minute Princess Leah costume.  It was no Pippi Longstocking, nor was it as impressive as Rachel's salad costume, but it worked out OK.  What did everyone at home dress up as?