Halloween is coming...

Dear Shiny Patrons,

The days in Mexico City are becoming more windy, more melancholic, more eerie. The wind I'm referring to is the strong cold wind that we start feeling when Day of The Dead is coming.

I'm sure you have heard of the Day of the Dead, it's celebrated on the 1st and 2nd Day of November, just right after Halloween. Celebrating these days means paying respect to the lives of all the people who are not with us anymore: friends, family members, neighbors, even Mexican singers and pets.

During these days, there are so many parades in Mexico City, where you can appreciate a colourful decoration, people with their faces painted as skulls, and orange marigold flowers around the city. It's a tradition that most people like it. Locals and foreigners come to Mexico City to see the colourful days.

I leave you a link to my Walking Channel where you can watch what I'm talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC6mg5VEeyk

Having grown up in the south of Mexico, meant having different traditions than the rest of the country, especially Mexico City. I remember going with my grandma from house to house leaving some flowers to the families and candles. My grandma and I would sit in front of the altar (around 15-20 min), made of banana leaves, marigold flowers, bread, candles and dishes the deceased liked eating. In return, we would get some bread and hot chocolate, which is pure local chocolate without any cocoa butter, sugar and milk. In my town, we would grind this chocolate and mix it with hot water until the top foam appear. It might sound weird to many of you, but this hot chocolate is light and makes you feel warmth.

After paying respect, we would move to another house. The days of Xandu' (day of the dead in Zapotec), were and still are my favorite days of the year. We would walk on the streets and feel the cold wind in our faces (very uncommon in my town), the dry leaves blown by the wind, and the smell of copal incense coming out of the houses.

I still can visualize my grandma walking on the streets of my town, carrying marigold flowers with her hair moved by the gusts of wind. Grandma, you were my hero!

After some text that describes my emotions and memories around the Day of the Dead. I wanted to ask you:

Would you like to see a shoe shine related to the Day of the Dead or Halloween?

Your opinion matters to me! I hope you have a great week and September.

Katia.