Traditions to start November

The beginning of November in El Salvador is filled with tradition.

Every November 1 is the Calabiuza celebration in the town of Tonacatapeque, northeast of San Salvador.  The celebration includes a parade through the town of characters from Salvadoran folklore, especially those tales of the dangers of the night.   From Linda's El  Salvador blog:

The legends of Tonacatepeque ... come to life as they do every year for the November 1st Fiesta de la Calabiuza. (Calabiuza is a word which is like the Spanish word calabaza which means "pumpkin" - but in the local vernacular means "skull.") Characters from imagination and legend wandered the cobbled streets and posed for photos....As the evening light grew dim, the characters gathered around their hand-drawn carts - some with metal bases, some constructed of wood and bamboo, most with big wooden wheels. Adorned with skulls, coffins, large paper-maché characters, and carved calabiuza skulls, the carts were designed and decorated by different school and community groups.

Here is a video from this year's celebration of La Calabiuza.




November 2, throughout Latin America with its Roman Catholic roots, is celebrated as "All Souls Day" or "Day of the Dead"   or in El Salvador as"Dia de los Difuntos." Families gather at cemeteries to clean grave sites, lay flowers, and celebrate the lives of their dear departed. You can check out some of the images of the day here.

Día de los Difuntos from El Salvador 🇸🇻
People visit the cemeteries to bring flowers to their loved ones, this is known as "enflorar." Some people also bring musicians so that they sing to them as a way to remember the songs that they liked. pic.twitter.com/QcrHyL8INu

— Central American Art (@CentAm_Beauty) November 2, 2018

Finally, November 1 also seems to start the Christmas season in El Salvador.   Retail stores already have Christmas decorations up and Christmas carols (of the US variety) piped through their sound systems.