Comparsas at an Etla Village, Oaxaca, Mexico, Nov. 1, 2010, Dia De Los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, Nov. 1 2010. A short video of the dancing at a Comparsas taken at around 10 pm at an Etla Village in the hills outside of Oaxaca, Mexico (our cousin did not want us to mention the village, as she is worried that next year the village would be inundated with American Tourists, as it was we appeared to be the only American Tourists witnessing this event that night- we felt like cultural anthropologists). This video is of the first dance of the night, which usually continues into the early morning.
Comparsas are parades through the streets of Oaxaca and neighboring villages, with participants often dressed in elaborate costumes, many of which are custom made by expert designers. Comparsas always include brass bands playing traditional songs, dancing in the streets, and of course imbibing mezcal. One encounters one or more men toting a bottle of mezcal and small plastic cups, passing out the spirit to everyone inclined to have a drink. We, of course, accepted their generous offers.
Comparsas usually begin in the late afternoon, and continue throughout the night. In Oaxaca comparsas are encountered downtown, and in neighborhoods such as Jalatlaco. In the villages comparsas are usually restricted to a particular night. In the various Etla villages it is November 1st. Regarding the Etla villages, there's generally a comparsa for each village. Sometimes they converge at or near a designated location.
One characteristic of the comparsa is its tendency to stop at specific households for dancing and music -- playing in a large courtyard, then returning to the streets for revelling, then stopping at another household for perhaps an hour for comida (late lunch), then at another later on for cena (dinner), then picking up again. This means that it's sometimes difficult to select the right time to be heading out to a village; but one invariably comes across comparsas. Be careful not to get your car stuck in the middle of one, as we did on our way out, because you will be in the mix for quite sometime.
It was a magical evening.--Nick

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Dia de los Muertos
• Day of the Dead
• Nov. 1 2010
• Oaxaca
• Mexico
• Etla Village
• Comparsas
• tourist
• american tourist
• travel
• travel to Mexico
• Zapotec
• Mexican
• dancing in the streets
• dancing
• mexican dancing
• mezcal
• drinking mezcal
• cultural anthropology

[ahclem55]

fellini would be right at home. nice beat ah clem