Dia De Los Muertos

The holidays All Saint’s Day and All Souls Day are major holidays for the Catholic Church (however I feel like every other week there is a holy day of obligation 😜 ). In Mexico, those holidays coincide with Dia de los Muertos Nov 1-Nov 2. These holidays celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed. There are some regions where the holiday is celebrated more than others. In Mexico City, you will find many festivals and ofrendas (offerings). In Mexico City, there is now a parade the Friday before Day of the Dead honestly due to the James Bond film starting the parade and portraying it as a major event. Another element of the holiday is visiting cemeteries and leaving gifts/food for your loved ones. One food for the holiday is Pan e Muerte- a bread sometimes filled with cream cheese and chocolate and covered in cinnamon sugar. You will also see a lot of the sugar skulls and marigolds.

CDMX

Ciudad De MeXico aka Mexico City is a fun city. You will not find many English speakers if any. However, I had many conversations with locals, and all were very friendly and patient with my intermediate level Spanish. There are museums and beautiful historical buildings almost everywhere you go. There is also great food around every corner. Uber is readily available in the city, however, I was able to get to most of my destinations by walking. I spent much of my time here walking around to different statues/sculptures and markets. In the markets, you can find tacos and quesadillas for about $1 USD. They also have a large variety of clothing, souvenirs, and snacks.

Surrounding areas

Some nearby (30 min drive) POIs you should definitely visit if you are in the area include La Basilica de Guadalupe. It is a massive Catholic church near the North central bus terminal in CDMX that has an amazing (and crazy cheap) gift shop as well as a climb offering city views. The basilica is famous for housing a cloak with the image of the Virgin Mary imprinted on it after she was believed to have appeared to Saint Juan Diego.

The city of Coyoacan is also a must. You will find the Frida Kahlo Museum/house here, as well as an enormous market filled with food and souvenirs. Because I went during the Day of the Dead, they even had a few streets blocked off for a festival with a movie in the park, ofrendas, and additional market stalls.