What will happen to Day of the Dead marigolds after November?

By the second week of November, most Día de Muertos celebrations have passed, but the musky scent of marigold flowers is still in the air in Oaxaca.

Día de Muertos is a particularly eventful time to visit Mexico and Oaxaca. People celebrate the dead with ceremonies by decorating graves, houses and altars to receive the souls of their deceased loved ones. Offerings include photos of the dead, candles, bottles of mezcal and tequila, food candy skulls and thousands of orange marigolds, known as cempasúchil in Mexico.

The origins of Day of the Dead celebrations can be traced back to Mexico. They honored the goddess Mictecacihuatl, or Lady of the Dead, who was said to allow souls to return to earth to visit family. They commemorated the dead with flowers.

The word Cempasúchil comes from Nahuatl words. cempoallimeans “twenty” and xochitlor “flower”. Therefore, marigold is a “twenty-petaled flower”. According to legend, these flowers were gifted to the Mexican people by the sun god Tonatiuh so that they could honor their dead.

Flowers symbolize the short and temporary beauty of life. These are an important element of Day of the Dead. They are used to make floral arches, wreaths, wreaths and crosses. In addition to their decorative uses, these sun-coloured flowers are also used in Day of the Dead rituals.

Although many different flowers are used in Day of the Dead celebrations, cempasúchil is particularly important.

With their bright colors and rich scents, cempasúchil are believed to attract the souls of the dead. Families will scatter orange leaves to pave the way from their front door to the home altar. In smaller towns, people may create a floral path from the cemetery to their front door to guide the dead back home.

Marigold petals are also thought to have cleansing properties. The cross on the ground allows the souls to be cleansed as they pass by.

Visiting beautifully decorated altars and making offerings of cempasúchil are ways visitors can respectfully participate in Day of the Dead celebrations. Building your own altar to celebrate loved ones from the past is also a thoughtful way to dive into this tradition.

After the Days of the Dead have passed, living altars, arches, and bright cempasúchil garlands are torn down. Even though fresh flowers are wilting, they can still be stored and used. Drying and storing flowers can be a great way to decorate for next year. They will retain some of their color and musky scent.

Dried cempasúchil can also be used to dye textiles. If you visit the Oaxacan weaving town of Teotitlán del Valle after Día de Muertos, you’ll find masses of these orange blossoms. It is allowed to dry and used throughout the year to obtain a dark yellow dye.

To remove the dye, simply add the dried flowers to boiling water, like a large pot of tea! After just a few minutes, yellow dye emerges from the flowers. To achieve a bold result of dyeing cotton, simply prep the fabric using a mordant and then add it to the pot with the flowers. After about an hour you should have a rich yellow fabric.

Alongside the traditional artisan work found in Teotitlán del Valle, many contemporary Oaxacan designers are exploring painting with cempasúchil this time of year. In addition to producing beautiful clothes, Orígen Textil also offers workshops where you can learn the use of natural dyes such as cempasúchil.

Cempasúchil flowers can also be brewed to make tea or syrup for a seasonal cocktail. They can also be distilled with agave to make a delicious style of mezcal. The process of making mezcal distilled with flowers is similar to traditional ‘pechuga’ mezcals, which are also made after the Day of the Dead.

Adding leaves or whole flower heads to the distillation of agave will give the final spirit magnificent floral aromas and a complex flavor profile reminiscent of ‘amargo’ spirits. Mezcal is delicious sipping or mixed into refreshing cocktails.

Mezcal brands such as La Jicarita, Bozal and Salvadores produce this cempasúchil spirit.

Speaking with Salvadores founder Sal Palacios, he explained that the cempasúchil print was inspired by the Day of the Dead. “The aromas of cempasúchil during Día de Muertos truly bring nostalgia to my heart. So I decided to make a distilled spirit with cempasúchil, tejocote and tangerine.”

Salvadores likes to drink Cempasúchil in a vela glass, “giving the mezcal time to speak to me, bringing memories.”

Brooks Bailey designs cocktails for Rambling Spirits. As the base of your negroni, Salvadores recommends using cempasúchil with campari and dry white vermouth, garnished with a spray of orange zest. To make this cocktail even more special, freeze the marigold in an ice cube!

Anna Bruce He is an award-winning British photojournalist based in Oaxaca, Mexico. Just some of the media organizations he has worked for include Vice, The Financial Times, Time Out, Huffington Post, The Times of London, BBC and Sony TV. Learn more about their work on his website or visit him on social media instagram or on Facebook.