Within the framework of the Festival of the Souls 2024, the Mérida City Council inaugurated last night a monumental altar in the main square of the city, which measures about 15 meters long, six meters high, and about four meters deep with which it seeks to promote traditions and cultural expressions related to the Day of the Dead.
The director of Identity and Culture of the City Council, Karla Berrón Cámara, explained during the protocol act that was headed by Mayor Cecilia Patrón Laviada, that the mega offering will be installed until November 2.
On that altar there will be elements that are placed to remember adults, water was also placed for those souls who return thirsty from the afterlife, salt which is the element that purifies the souls on their return, and incense that shows them the way to meet their loved ones, she added.
Similarly, there is an altar dedicated to children where photographs, food, fruit, bread, and candles were placed, and special attention was given to an altar dedicated to the “lonely souls.”
Remembering the “lonely soul” is a practice that is still in force in the Mayan communities where an offering is placed for those souls that return but no longer have relatives to remember them in the world of the living, she said.
“The other families put up altars for the lonely souls, which is a practice that continues to be part of the culture and traditions of the Yucatecans and the Meridanos and that we wanted to share with our own and with the visitors who come to see this monumental altar,” she said.
He also reiterated that the offering will remain installed until November 2 and those who wish to do so may bring photos of their loved ones who have already passed away to take photos in this mega installation dedicated to the faithful departed and which, as mentioned, is part of the activities of the Festival of Souls 2024.
