Cheranastico and Dia de los Muertos

Sunday morning found us on the road - again. Iskra and Yolanda dropped us off at the bus station for our 10:15 bus ride to Zamora. We check a couple of our bags, bought a few things to eat and drink, and waited for the bus.
When we boarded the bus, the “bus attendant” handed us each a can of pop and a snack. We knew then that it was going to be different than some of our other bus rides. Little did we know how luxurious it would be! There were only 3 seats across with triple the leg room of most buses (or airplanes, for that matter). Besides the snack, we also got pillows and headphones for the movies. Unfortunately, the movies were pretty awful, but the scenery outside was incredible, so who needs a movie?
After just a few stops to let people on and off, we arrived in Zamora at 4:00. Joaquin, one of the translators, was there to pick us up and drive us the 1 ½ hours to Cheranastico. The village of Cheranastico has approximately 3,000 people, the majority belonging to the language group Purhepecha. There are no hotels here, so we’re staying in the house that the translators rent to do their translation work. The house has quite a bit of room, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, and living room with their tables, chairs, computers, and a printer.
That evening we walked around a little, getting a feel for the town. When we got back, Joaquin’s brother, Tanganxuan, came over to invite us to his house for supper. His wife had made a delicious soup of shrimp, carrots, cabbage, and chayote. She also served atole, a warm vanilla-flavored, milk-based drink.
With full stomachs, we headed back to the house to get ready for the week. Because it was a holiday weekend and most people had Monday off, there was a lot of activity on the street until very late at night, and we didn’t get to sleep quite as early as hoped. We’re also pretty sure that every dog in the town made a point of welcoming us by barking right outside our window.
Monday morning around 6:00 I thought I heard someone - first outside the house, then in the house, then to our surprise, in our bedroom! It was someone related to the owner of the house, looking for something. I’m not sure who was more embarrassed or surprised, him or us, but we haven’t had any more early morning visitors since, thank goodness!
Usually the translation team works in the evenings because they all have regular jobs during the day (most of them are teachers or work in schools). But again, since it was a holiday, they had Monday off, so the translators starting arriving at 8:00. They worked until about noon and said they would be back around 3:00. We were invited to go with them to the cemetery for the Dia de los Muertos festivities. We walked up there, and it was quite a sight. Almost all of the graves were decorated with flowers, beautiful wreaths, and baskets of food as an offering for those that had passed on. Families were seated by the graves of their loved ones, enjoying each other’s company and eating fruit, bread, tacos, ice cream, or whatever other food they had brought along. At some of the grave sites, there was a short service going on.
We found the family of one of the translators and sat with them for awhile before walking around the cemetery. Rachel and I went back to the cemetery later in the afternoon, and almost everyone had gone home. But the flowers and decorations remained, along with several candles. It definitely was a meaningful way for the families to spend time together and honor those who had died. Donna