Tapetes de Arena (sand tapestry) of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
November 1st is referred to as Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents), a day to celebrate los angelitos (little angels), the souls of children that have passed away.
November 2nd is known as Día de los Difuntos (Day of the Deceased).
A mixture of the macabre and whimsey: a cemetery memorial to a beloved child is composed with a powder-blue crib, a winking “Felix the Cat” balloon, fresh flowers, and a basketball and hoop. Halloween decorations make an appearance as well, orange jack-o-lanterns, a spider and a paper ghost.
Though the souls are “in glory”, they still have human feelings.
Zapotec by Helen Augur, Doubleday and Co. 1954
A simple grave marker commemorates the recent death of a child.
Oaxaca and the surrounding southern states have the highest rates of infant mortality (children under the age of 1 year) in Mexico. For children pneumonia is still a leading cause of death.* The lack of access to healthcare services is a secondary cause. Many births take place in the home without skilled medical attendance; and many give birth completely alone in their homes.**
*World Health Organization, Mexico’s quest for a complete mortality data set, https://who.int
**Preventable infant deaths, lone births and lack of registration in Mexican indigenous communities: health care services and the afterlife of colonialism by Jennie Gamlin and David Orsin
Source: geo-mexico.com