November 1st: Día de Todos los Santos, Spain’s Day of the Dead
Across much of the Latin world, November 1st is a massive occasion.
Día de Todos los Santos (or All Saints’ Day in English) directly follows Halloween and is a public holiday in Spain. It’s a day when families and individuals remember those who have died; one during which cemeteries across the country fill up with those who wish to pay a visit to their loved ones’ final resting places.
In some cases, especially if the person has recently died, or they died in sudden or tragic circumstances, families will spend many days in the build-up preparing the niche for visitors.
This could involve cleaning it, giving it a fresh lick of paint, placing candles or laying new flowers. In fact, you won’t fail to notice that florists are particularly busy at this time of year!
On the day itself, you may also see people eating sweet cakes and treats (namely borrachuelos, buñuelos and huesos de santos) in the cemetery. This is because it’s believed that each one eaten would save a soul from purgatory.
In Malaga, the historic Cementerio San Miguel is definitely worth a visit. As is the English Cemetery.
Daryl moved to Malaga permanently in 2014 having first fallen in love with the city on his Erasmus year. After working for many years at local expat newspaper SUR in English, Daryl gained expert knowledge in life from the perspective of foreign residents and decided to co-found Malaga Guru in 2016.