ATI Programs During The Day Of The Dead 2010:
In Chronological Order
- “Mexico City Extension” (Before the Day of the Dead)
- 2 daysWednesday & Thursday, October 27 & 28(No discounts apply) $400
- Adventure itinerary: 2 World Heritage Sites/National Museum of Anthropology
- “Our Classic Adventure”
- 9 daysSaturday morning, Oct. 30 - Sunday morning, Nov. 7$1495
- Adventure itinerary: 6 Pueblos Mágicos/1 World Heritage Site/3 ruins
- “Seeing The Day Of The Dead With A Sketchbook”
- 9 daysSaturday morning, Oct. 30 - Sunday morning, Nov. 7$1595
- Adventure itinerary: 6 Pueblos Mágicos/1 World Heritage Site/3 ruins
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- Slow down & sketch your Day of the Dead with Santa Fe illustrator Susan Guevara. During each drawing excursion you will discuss techniques to increase your skill, as you explore the uniqueness of Pátzcuaro, sketchbooks in hand. Don’t worry! You won’t miss a thing by sketching with Susan. If fact, you may end up seeing more! To sketch, we have to slow down, look carefully, and really be with what is before us. Collage, colored pencils, pastels, or watercolor, the tools are less important than the desire to enjoy yourself.
- Pueblos Mágicos: “Pátzcuaro, Morelia & Guanajuato”
- 9 daysSaturday evening, Nov 6 - Sunday morning, Nov 14$1495
- Adventure itinerary: 3 Pueblos Mágicos/4 World Heritage Sites
Day of the Dead Program Overview
What is the Day of the Dead?
Each year the people of the Lake Pátzcuaro region make their way to the cemeteries of their towns and villages to remember and honor their departed loved ones. Some villages celebrate the festival on the night of November 1st (Noche de Muertos), while others celebrate on the day of November 2nd (Día de los Muertos). Entire communities converge as family members, both alive and dead, join together in the graveyards to remember, and to honor their rich history and resilient traditional culture. They bring brilliant flowers and candles to decorate graves, as well as personal offerings to the departed such as photographs, favorite foods, drinks, and “pan de muertos,” or bread of the dead. Many believe that the spirits of the dead return from “the other side” to join them, while others are simply there to honor and remember.
But the celebration of the Day of the Dead is much more than just a visit to the cemeteries. The Day of the Dead is not so much about death, as it is about life. It is a celebration of life, about viewing death as a part of life, and about living each day to the fullest. The result is a lively and spectacular week-long festival with music, dance, great food, fabulous traditional crafts, and friendly people.
Why Pátzcuaro?
A moving and delightful mixture of pre-Columbian and colonial period customs, the Pátzcuaro region’s world famous celebrations of the Day of the Dead are the most traditional, or least changed “Día de los Muertos” in México. In addition, the quaint villages of the exotic volcanic highlands and lush Tropical Slope are fine cultural and architectural relics of the 16th century, while the incomparable Pátzcuaro, founded in 1540 by the humanist Vasco de Quiroga, is crowned México’s most colonial town.
Why travel with Henry and ATI? Why is our program unique?
After more than 30 years of traveling to and researching Pátzcuaro and the Day of the Dead, no one knows this region like we do. That’s why our program is unique. Our knowledge and experience help make for a magical journey and when traveling with us, you’ll have a great adventure and a relaxing vacation because we handle the details. We know where to go, and when to be there. Your itinerary will include “must see” destinations. At others times throughout the week, you’ll be able to tailor your own experience by selecting from a variety of optional activities. People have different interests, and our program is full of different options. At the beginning of the program, we will orient you to the multitude of activities and choices. These events include our exclusive optional presentations about the fascinating history and culture of this wonderful region.
How is the Day of the Dead different from other ATI programs?
- The Day of the Dead: “Our Classic Adventure” is adventure travel- not a Spanish language course!
The Day of the Dead is an adventure where you don’t need any Spanish to have a great time. If you desire, the opportunity to use your Spanish is great. At ATI we offer two fundamentally different types of programs, “adventure travel” and “Spanish language.” Adventure travel programs are not Spanish classes, and visa versa.
- The Day of the Dead is a delightful extravaganza of opportunities, choices, and flexibility, accomplished by at selected times operating in more than one small group.
On the Day of the Dead we operate from a “home base.” We spend each night in Pátzcuaro where we dine, relax, and explore. Each day, you will travel as a member of a small group on scheduled excursions. At other times you get to choose what you’ll do from a list of possible activities. On these days, the people you travel with will depend on the activity that you select. This home base, small group format enables us to offer not just one itinerary to one group of people, but a fantastic array of diverse activities, choices, and flexibility in which you tailor your trip to your interests. Most people love the flexibility and the choices. The only real problem is that there’s too much to see and do.
Other Programs Before & After “Day of the Dead”
Our “Day of the Dead” program is the main event. However, before the “Day of the Dead,” we are offering a “Mexico City Extension,” where you can travel to Mexico City before the Day of the Dead to enjoy the sights in and around the city. After the Day of the Dead, you can stay on for our next program, the Pueblos Mágicos: “Pátzcuaro, Morelia & Guanajuato”
“Mexico City Extension”
Many people would like to see Mexico City, but are afraid to go on there own. Others don’t consider themselves “big city people.” Whatever your hesitation, believe us when we tell you that México City has a lot to offer. Mysterious pre-Columbian ruins, great archaeological, historical, and art museums, as well as wonderful restaurants are only a few reasons that Mexico City definitely deserves your attention. Before the Day of the Dead program, why don’t you come early for two days and see the sights in Mexico City? People often ask us to show them Mexico’s capital, and this year we will. We would love to show it to you.
The “Mexico City Extension” begins Wednesday morning. We visit the massive ruins at Teotihuacan. This “World Heritage Site” is the largest archaeological site in the New World. After lunch, we’ll travel to the sacred Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron saint. On Thursday, we head for the Zócalo, México’s National Plaza, to see the ruins of the “Plaza Mayor” with its great museum, the National Cathedral, and the National Palace with its famed Diego Rivera murals. Thursday afternoon is reserved for other museums and markets.
Pueblos Mágicos: “Pátzcuaro, Morelia & Guanajuato”
Begin in Pátzcuaro at end of “Day of the Dead” & craft market, then enjoy regal Morelia, Mexico’s most colonial state capital. Lovely plazas, fountains, aqueducts & churches, great museums, fine restaurants & nearby colonial Cuitzeo. Guanajuato is a labyrinth of hidden walkways & narrow streets linking a checkerboard of quaint plazas. The colorful downtown is alive with medieval music, mariachis, & theatre presentations. From Guanajuato we visit Dolores Hidalgo, Atotonilco & San Miguel de Allende.