Dia Del Muerta

Skeletol effegy
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I have really been looking forward to the Dia Del Muerta since the planning stages of this trip, and despite the day been very different to how I imagined it, it was still a lot of fun.

As a regional town, quaint as it is, Guanajuato was probably not the place to see authentic, traditional family based private celebrations.  Indeed there werent that many small shrines.

Day of the Dead

Instead, there was more of a fiesta atmosphere.  The town had been decorated with paper streamers depicting skeletons and orange flowers covered the floor.  The university wins top prize though.  They had decorated the long and wide stairwell up to the university with homemade lanterns.  The front of each lantern was an X-ray, and with 2 candles inside illuminating it the effect was fantastic.

Day of the Dead offering
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There was also a large night market.  With hundreds of stalls selling all manner of sweet offerings.  From chocolate skulls to sugar representations of just about anything you can think of, including fruits and beer.

Of course where ever you find sweets you find sugar filled kids, and sure enough there were lots of dressed up children on sugar benders running around like rockets or, inevitably, throwing up.

As the night rolled on the streets started to empty as the kids went to bed and the adults hit the bars.  So taking their cue I decided to find a bar with some english speakers.  After a rather boring search I finally came across Desmonds, a small Irish bar hidden up a hill near Diego Riverias former childhood home.

Chocolate Calavera - tasty but dangerously sickly
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Had a great time chatting with a group of American students and a rather odd Swiss couple.  And after a few beers I rather foolishly decided to join them at the local club (hey when else am I going to go to a Mexican club).  Well what can I say.  For those Bristol students amongst you, Colorado is surprisingly like the Lounge - small, dark, crampt and rather crap.  Furthermore, it had a truly terrible playlist (made the wedge look classy) and a ton of girls needing one hell of a lot of dentist work.

Worth doing once for the experience, but never again!