Today I retraced my steps from yesterday and went back to the huge panteon in the city and out to San Antonino again. My thoughts were to try and catch the various stages at each place. San Antonino is such a special cemetery. I think it is my favorite.
The people are always so friendly and their technique of mixing the soil to make a plaster and then using it to put a skim coat on the graves seems to be quite unique.
I have not seen it anywhere else, anyway.
Yesterday the sun was shining, but today, as soon as I arrived it started to rain quite heavily. I could see the sun in the distance and i kept hoping to catch some light at the end of the day, but no luck as the rain seemed stuck on top of us.
I just sat and waited and eventually i was completely alone in the cemetery with the rain pinging off the tin arch I was hiding under.
I enjoyed the solitude and contemplated many things, mostly the beauty and serenity of the setting.
Mexico has so much it could teach El Norte if they would ever pay attention. In the US, death is to be feared, kept at a distance, often sanitized to the point of being easy to ignore. 
Here, it is with us all the time, a friend. I love watching families assemble around the graves, cleaning and freshening them up and then celebrating with the departed's favorite fooda, drink and music. Children laugh and play games on the graves. 
It is almost impossible to feel any sorrow, only happiness and a deep connection to the never-ending cycle.
After the rain in San Antonino, I drove back over the mountains into cool, clear air and stopped at San Bartolo Coyotepec just to pay my respects and see what was happening there. Each cemetery is so different, but in all of them, people are celebrating this wonderful tradition. I renews the souls of both living and deal.More mañana.....
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