It’s the time of year again! Dia de los Muertos is upon us, and it’s time to celebrate! Dia de los Muertos translates to Day of the Dead, and is a holiday honoring deceased relatives, celebrated throughout Mexico. Technically it falls on November 1st and 2nd, but I like to think of it as a full week-long celebration.
What’s This Day of the Dead All About?
Glad you asked! It turns out the holiday started in Mexico somewhere between 2500 and 3000 years ago. It’s a holiday that fell on the 9th month of the Aztec calendar, and originally started at the end of August and was celebrated for a full month. It was later moved to early November to co-incide with the Christian All-Saints Day.
Like so many cultures around the world, it was meant as a time to remember and respect our deceased ancestors. It wasn’t supposed to be morbid and disturbing – quite the opposite, it helped people to remember that death is completely natural. Death, and subsequent rebirth, is all part of the circle of life.
It wasn’t too serious of an affair. It was a time of fun and revelry, joking around at the grave sites of ancestors so they could laugh and be in good spirits (pun intended) with their living relatives.
Is it basically the Mexican Halloween?
Yeah, not so much. Halloween came from Christians trying to turn pagan Celts on to their beliefs. The pagan Celts thought of November 1st as the start of the New Year, and also thought it was when the veil between our world and the afterlife was thinnest. So they dressed up like the dead people and spirits to blend in.
The Christians turned the pagan celebrations into All-Saints Day, otherwise known as All Hallows Day. The pagans didn’t really want to give up their old traditions though, so in the evening of October 31st before All Hallows Day (aka All Hallows Eve -> Hallows Eve -> Halloween) they still celebrated the spirits coming to Earth.
A thousand years later (give or take a few centuries), when the Spanish crossed the Atlantic and ended up in Central America, they found the indigenous people already had a holiday honoring the dead. So they moved it to be at roughly the same time as All-Saints Day/Halloween, to make for an easier transition for everyone. (Yes, I know, a murderous rampage based on religious beliefs and forced conversion isn’t an “easy transition”, but you know what I’m saying…)
Where to Celebrate in Milwaukee
Since the Day of the Dead was meant to be a time of celebration, here’s a list of our favorite places to enjoy some of the spirits favorite food and drinks:
Cempazuchi
One of our favorite Mexican restaurants of all time, Cempazuchi is an upscale eatery specializing in traditional cuisine from the Mexican state of Oaxaca. As such, they serve numerous delicious moles made from things like peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and of course the traditional cocoa.
They have a great list of tequilas – ask for a Mezcal floater on your margarita for a unique smokey flavor in your drink, and be sure to not miss the pre-Colombian specialty, Pipian.
Rio West Cantina
Rio West is a mainstay of great Mexican food in Riverwest. Recently it’s become upstaged by Bel Air Cantina and their unique tacos – also a delicious eatery, but between the two Rio West is my pick for Dia de los Muertos. The food is more traditional and extremely well-made, their tequila list is HUGE (also a great Mezcal selection), and the place is way bigger so it’ll feel less crowded on a busy night.
The service is also great – stop in and make sure you ask for Brody or Brian as your servers for great conversation along with your food.
Riviera Maya
While the name may be remiscient of the Mexican Riviera, the food here isn’t. However, it is still delicious – make sure to get the mole sampler to see what kind of tastiness awaits you, and if you order an entree, try not to forget that it comes with a bowl of awesome tortilla soup, otherwise you’ll feel like you suddenly have a little Mexican baby in your belly.
Also, my friends and I have commented that the margaritas they make here are as strong as you can get with still having it taste good. Sometimes that’s a problem, but as long as you don’t have three you should be okay. Let’s not talk about what happens after three….
La Fuente
La Fuente is the classic Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee. This is where many people in Milwaukee were first introduced to Mexican food, and it still holds a place in the heart of many. The specialty of the house though, is margaritas. Generally speaking the food is there just to absorb them – I’m not saying the food is bad, it’s just nothing to write home about. But the margaritas come in every flavor you could imagine if you’re into that sort of thing, and if not the classics are extremely well made as well.
So there you go. Eat, drink, be merry, and remember your dearly departed’s while enjoying a snifter of the muy anejo good stuff. Cheers!
ava apollo says
Love your photos. Your facial expression says it all!
Andy says
Those photos were definitely taken wihtout my knowledge ;)
Becki says
Pish posh! You *love* doing these photos!