Destinations

Celebrate Dia de Los Muertos in Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende

The festivities take place each year at the end of October to the beginning of November. From quiet candlelit cemeteries to experience the ancestral tradition to big parades and concerts, there are many intriguing things to do for Day of the Dead.

Published

6 years ago

October 5, 2019

ZestMag.com Staff

Photo by Valeria Almaraz from Unsplash.com

In 2008, UNESCO recognized the importance of Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) by adding the holiday to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. As practiced by the indigenous communities of Mexico, el Día de los Muertos commemorates the transitory return to Earth of deceased relatives and loved ones.

Here are some ways to celebrate this festive holiday throughout Mexico including a Dia de Los Muertos women-only group trip in Mexico City to a special Dia de Los Muertos tarot card reading dinner in San Miguel de Allende and more. And if you can’t make the festivities this year, it’s never too early to plan ahead for 2020!

Mexico City

The Day of the Dead festivities begin in Mexico City on the Saturday before Dia de Los Muertos as the parade rolls through the capital. The night of October 31^st kicks off a 3-day string of Day of the Dead activities in Mexico City.

Though you can catch the party in Zocalo, you’ll find a far more authentic celebration southeast of the city center, in San Andrew Mixquic. The ex-convent and church bedecks its main cemetery with thousands of candles and marigolds, and midnight processions bring thousands of capitalinos to the altar-lined streets. The Day of the Dead parade on November 2^nd in Mexico City is actually a relatively new tradition, as it began in 2016. The parade is said to have been inspired by the 2015 James Bond film, Spectre. In the movie, the opening scene shows Daniel Craig as James Bond at a Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City.

Where to Stay

Stay in the beloved Colonia Roma neighborhood at Ignacia Guest House, a trendy eco-friendly bed and breakfast. Featuring just five unique suites, the hotel’s namesake is Ignacia, the housekeeper who took care of this 1913 colonial mansion for more than 70 years. In celebration of Dia de Los Muertos, the chef will bake the traditional holiday bread for breakfast that week – Pan de Muertos or “bread of the dead”, a slightly sweet, brioche-like bread covered with orange blossom water and anise seeds. A beautiful marigold altar will be put up in honor of Ignacia.

A “calaverita” (skull shaped candy) will be waiting for guests in their suites who check-in on October 31^s, November 1^st and 2^nd. Guests can enjoy calabaza en tacha, a typical Dia de los Muertos candied pumpkin. For the daily cocktail hour in the garden, the chef will create cocktails with the flavors of this festive holiday, including anise and pumpkin.

What to Eat

Foodies will love Eat Like a Local Mexico City’s special Dia de Los Muertos food tour where founder and sustainable tourism expert Rocio Vazquez Landeta shares her personal approach to the celebration. Start the day with coffee, sweet bread, and street tacos with a visit to the flower market to enjoy delicious food while shopping for candy skulls, flowers, candles, colorful papers, and more. Visit Rocio’s home, a late 1800 house in Roma Norte to celebrate with mezcal cocktails and snacks while setting up the altar on the rooftop. Sharing childhood memories and the meaning of each item at the altar, Rocio invites guests to join her celebration to honor the dead.

Eat Like a Local’s Immersive Day of the Dead Experience is offered from October 26^th through November 1^st, 2019. The five-hour tour starts at 10am daily and costs $150USD per person. For more information, visit www.eatlikealocal.com.mx or email info@eatlikealocal.com.mx.

What to Do

Join Wild Terrains Mexico City Experience and support female entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses in Mexico City. Wild Terrains curates women-only small group trips that meet, support and learn about the local female-owned businesses within a destination. Wild Terrains leads an awesome Dia de Los Muertos group trip and they’ve recently announced their 2020 Dia de Los Muertos trip set for October 28-November 1, 2020 and sign-ups are available now.

Focusing on vibrant and culturally rich destinations for the creative-minded, Wild Terrains is the only travel company leading women-only group trips that support female entrepreneurs in Mexico City and Portugal. All trip itineraries include accommodations at female-owned hotels, meals prepared by up-and-coming female chefs, and experiences that connect travelers with local women entrepreneurs, artists, and designers. Wild Terrains’ popular Mexico City itineraries features stays at the super chic Ignacia Guest House, a five-suite boutique hideaway in Colonia Roma, an insider tour of Mexico City’s sprawling street food scene with sustainable tourism expert Rocio Vazquez Landeta with Eat Like a Local and so much more.

San Miguel de Allende

While most towns have at least a few processions for Day of the Dead, San Miguel de Allende hosts the colorful 5-day La Calaca Festival. The main attraction is the annual Catrinas Parade which draws crowds from near and far.

The highlight of the parade is the towering Catrina and Catrine puppets. But it doesn’t stop there. Professional makeup artists are plentiful and can be hired beforehand to paint your face into a beautiful skull, and feel free to get decked out from head to toe as there will be a costume contest. La Calaca Festival is a participatory arts festival that brings together interactive arts installations, local businesses, individuals and arts organizations and visitors from Mexico and around the world come together to witness art and creativity inspired by Dia de Los Muertos in a town rich in culture, heritage and art.

Where to Stay

Opened in April 2019, Casa Delphine is one of San Miguel de Allende’s newest hotels – a thoughtfully curated five-suite boutique hotel set on a quiet cobblestone street just minutes from the main plaza in the heart of this charming town. Owned and beautifully designed by Los Angeles designer Amanda Keidan, the spacious suites feature cantera fireplaces, hand designed furniture from local artists, warm accents, eclectic textures and colors and balconies that overlook the private courtyard and more. With its great room, dining room, private courtyards and herb garden, Casa Delphine is the perfect setting for private dinners, mezcal and wine tastings, celebrations and guests can take over the entire hotel for bigger events.

For Dia de Los Muertos, Casa Delphine is hosting a special tarot card reading dinner themed “As You Were”. On October 29^th at 7pm, come dressed as you were in a past life for a four-course dinner, delicious themed starter with cocktails and wine and mini-reading by tarot card historian Miguel Canseco.

An altar for deceased relatives of staff and guests will be displayed at the hotel and a make-up artist will offer Calaca make-up for guests on Saturday as part of the festivities.

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Destinations

Finding Neverland in London

Peter Pan’s not growing up symbolized many things… from avoidance of the burdens of adulthood, escaping the ordinariness of adult life, to embracing everything attached with youth like freedom, adventure, and innocence.

Published

1 day ago

September 11, 2025

M.D. dela Cruz Tan, MDC

The gay community may have experienced discrimination, but it is – sadly, and yet truly – among the most discriminatory. This is most apparent in our lookism, stressed by our over-emphasis on youth. And yeah… for gays, aging over 30 means you are basically already dead.

This links us to Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie’s character; the boy who refused to grow up.

Similar to so many gay men, Peter’s not growing up symbolized many things… from avoidance of the burdens of adulthood, escaping the ordinariness of adult life, to embracing everything attached with youth like freedom, adventure, and innocence.

In Kensington Gardens, I checked Peter’s statue, the 1912 bronze sculpture made by Sir George Frampton. This is located to the west of The Long Water, close to J.M. Barrie’s former home on Bayswater Road.

@outragemag Find #PeterPan not in #Neverland but in #KensingtonGardens ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Standing about 14 feet high, the statue is topped by Peter standing on what may be a tree stump that is decorated with figures of fairies and animals.

This statue’s history is full of adult-created conflicts. For instance, J.M. Barrie and Frampton didn’t agree on the model to use. Also, J.M. Barrie had the original bronze erected in Kensington Gardens in 1912 without permission.

There are actually six other casts of this statue in other places, including in Egmont Park in Belgium, in Queens Gardens in Perth in Western Australia, and in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Peter’s appeal continues to this day, considering we know adulting is a painful process. Alas… for gay men, sana lang we celebrate youth for the wonder of being young, and not see it as the only form of existence. We’d be better off sana as a community that fights all forms of discrimination, including those coming from among us. Because growing older need not be harder than it is, if we can support – instead of attack – each other…

The Shrine of Youth: The Peter Pan Statue is at Kensington Gardens in London, UK.

Destinations

In search of not-bad steak in Batangas

#Batangas has lots of ranches, so… they should have good #steaks, right? We #LGBT checked Lugod’s Steak & Grill for verification (or disproving).

Published

3 weeks ago

August 22, 2025

M.D. dela Cruz Tan, MDC

After touring some of the coastal areas of the Province of Batangas, and before driving back to Metro Manila, we decided to grab something to eat. And – thinking that Batangas has ranches – we decided to try any of their steakhouses. Google gave three highly-rated recommendations; we tried the one closest to where we were then, which was Lugod’s Steak & Grill.

So how did we find the place?

@outragemag #LGBT #loveislove search for good, unpretentious #steak #steakhouse in #Batangas ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, for non-locals, this is not an easy-to-find resto. Mainly because it is inside some village; meaning, you have to go through a guard house where you’d be interrogated on where you’re going and why. At least they didn’t ask for us to leave an ID.

Ikalawa, the actual resto is – in a word – unpretentious. This is open-air dining with wooden folding tables, monobloc chairs, bato-bato sa lupa, and electric fans everywhere. Note that because the grillery is right there, too, you’re bound to smell of smoke after you eat here.

Ikatlo, the workers there were nice naman. They knew what’s on the menu, served our orders correctly (and fast, too), and were easy to call when we had requests (e.g. refill water).

Ika-apat, how was the food?

The Surf & Turf (₱759) was slightly makapal, so you do get more meat… somehow. But even for the asking price, you only get five tiny shrimps and three thin slices of grilled corn as side dish.
The Australian Porterhouse (₱379) was thin, and – since it was also chewy – was not exactly a pleasant meal. Sadly, after the meat was placed on a sizzling plate, then dumped with gravy, it was served with nothing else – e.g. no veggies, no mashed potatoes, et cetera.
Major issue with both steaks: They were salty. Really salty. And that’s coming from someone who likes salty food (LOL).
Extras ordered were Overload Fries (₱199), which was so-so; and two eggs (overcooked na sunny side up).

Is this a must-visit? Perhaps for some – e.g. when we went there, more and more couples arrived to eat, and so it may be a popular date place for the locals. But – again – Google recommended other supposedly well-reviewed steakhouses in Batangas City, not just this, and those others may be worth considering na muna.

Join us as we continue looking for more lafang venues.

Lugod’s Steak & Grill is located at 6400 LT Neptune St., Golden Country Homes Subd., Alangilan, Batangas City. For more information, contact +63 919 549 5356.

Destinations

Revisiting the no-entry-allowed Malabrigo Point Lighthouse

This place isn’t even open to the public anymore because of its condition. Though the establishment looks pretty particularly from afar, like some haciendero’s house, or a setting of a Baz Luhrmann movie, you can see that it’s decaying.

Published

4 weeks ago

August 16, 2025

M.D. dela Cruz Tan, MDC

If you’re a lighthouse enthusiast, I know you know that while there may still be a handful of working lighthouses in the Philippines, too many of them are naghihingalo, barely surviving because – truth be told – even if they may be pretty tourist spots, they’re not priorities of local government units, or even of some historical agencies tasked to look after them.

A case in point: the Malabrigo Point Lighthouse.

@outragemag #LGBT checking the good-to-look-at but no-entry-allowed #Malabrigo Point Lighthouse in #Lobo, #Batangas ♬ original sound Outrage Magazine

The Malabrigo Point Lighthouse was completed and lit in 1896 to guide ships passing through the Verde Island Passage going to either Batangas Bay or Sibuyan Sea. It is said to be one of the oldest working lighthouses in the country, and – if you believe the PR talk – one of the, if not the most well-preserved. This last part was emphasized in Wikipedia pa nga eh.

But… that’s it.

This place isn’t even open to the public anymore because of its condition. Though the establishment looks pretty particularly from afar, like some haciendero’s house, or a setting of a Baz Luhrmann movie, you can see that it’s decaying. The concrete used in the lighthouse tower itself is crumbling; the wood in the main building hasn’t seen polished for some time; the fences have rusty parts; and so on.

There are vendors in front of the lighthouse, and the chismis they share are actually sad – e.g. that the lighthouse, in particular, is already crumbling; that upkeep isn’t the priority of those overseeing the place; and so on.

As an effect, tourists are only allowed to roam around the building, take shots from a distance, so to speak. Historical appreciation through immersion isn’t possible here.

When it comes to something, anything historical in the Philippines, we almost always have to just accept that we’re sh*tty with looking after remnants from our past. Ewan ha, try to persuade me otherwise, though only after you visit Malabrigo Point Lighthouse.

But join us as we continue with our rampa.

Malabrigo Point Lighthouse is located along Lobo-Malabrigo-Laiya Rd., Barangay Malabrigo, Municipality of Lobo, Batangas Province.