Day of the Dead in Michoacán: Morelia & Lake Pátzcuaro 2024

Visiting the Day of the Dead in Michoacan is a moving experience that will change how you feel about death. Of all the places that Day of the Dead is celebrated, the events around Lake Pátzcuaro are some of the most authentic. Touring Pátzcuaro, Tzintzuntzán, Santa Fe de la Laguna, and Morelia, Mochoacán will leave a lasting impression. The Purépecha people around Lake Pátzcuaro have centuries of tradition remembering their dead in a unique and beautiful way.

From East L.A. to Oaxaca and Mexico City, Mexico has a lot of different ways to celebrate Day of the Dead. Guadalajara recently inaugurated a Day of the Dead-themed amusement park. Mexico City has a massive parade that was inspired by a James Bond film. Day of the Dead is riding a Disney-themed bandwagon after the success of the movie Coco (2017). Rightly so, it was a beautiful movie but the way Disney tried to copyright the name Day of the Dead is the ultimate form of cultural appropriation.

Michoacan sees a lot of tourism during Day of the Dead so expect a lot of people out and about. The entire community takes part in the celebration by inviting professionals, students, and individuals to create art.

My wife is from Michoacán and we visit often. I have had the opportunity to experience Day of the Dead as a solo traveler and with my family. Morelia is my favorite base camp in the days leading up to the event so that I can eat, take the tours, watch the parades, and then head out to Lake Pátzcuaro on the Night of the Dead (November 1st to 2nd) with a tour.

In any case, I am going to lay out some of my favorite ways to experience this beautiful event.

When is Day of the Dead in Michoacán, Mexico?

Day of the Dead in Mexico is a week-long celebration culminating on the night of November 1st to the 2nd, referred to as Night of Souls or Animecha Kejtsïtakua in the Purépecha language. It is a celebration and ritual dedicated to the memory of our loved ones.

On the 28th of October, it is believed that souls begin to return. The altars are first dedicated to those who passed away through violence or of a tragic nature. The 30th and 31st of October are dedicated to children who passed away before they could be baptized. November 1st is Día de Todos los Santos and Día de los Inocentes (innocent children). November 2nd is Día de los Muertos or all adults.

In the month leading up to Day of the Dead, artists will be visiting Michoacán from across Mexico to create works that will be on display. There are altars, carpets of flowers and colored sand, paper mache catrina skeletons, and paintings on display throughout the region. Even the Morelia Film Festival is planned to coincide with the Day of the Dead events.

It is worth arriving in Michoacán well before November 1st. There is so much to do in the area you will want extra time to explore.

History of Day Of The Dead In Michoacán

In prehispanic times the cult of death was an intrinsic part of Native culture. When someone passed away and was buried, their family would organize a party to help guide them on the path to Mictlán, the mythological underworld. The family would place food that the deceased enjoyed in life believing they would get hungry on the journey.

The Native vision of Day of the Day involves the souls of the deceased returning temporarily to the world of the living to spend time with their loved ones and nourish themselves with their favorite foods that are left as offerings on altars made in their honor.

The historian, Elsa Malvido claims that it was President Lázaro Cárdenas who recognized the event and set the date to coincide with the Catholic All Saint’s Day, which celebrates the persecuted martyrs of Christianity.

This was a big deal because Cárdenas’ predecessor, Plutarco Elías Calles, waged a religious war against the Cristeros. He instituted many draconian anti-clerical laws and even outlawed religious festivals.

Cárdenas reconciled with the Catholic Church and eased anti-clerical policies that had fueled the conflict.

In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the historic center of Downtown Morelia as a cultural world heritage site and the indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2008.

The towns of Pátzcuaro and Tzintzuntzan are designated Pueblos Magicos by the federal Secretary of Tourism. This is one of the most beautiful and culturally significant events in the country.

How to Visit Day of the Dead in Michoacán

Many parts of Michoacán celebrate the Day of the Dead, but Morelia and Lake Pátzcuaro have many events and plenty of tourist infrastructure to handle the influx of visitors. From galleries and parades to tours and cemeteries, the state capital of Morelia has enough hotel rooms to accommodate plenty of travelers.

There are parades and public art exhibitions in Morelia building up to the main event but the soul of the holiday is found in the cemeteries around Lake Pátzcuaro on the night between the first and second of November.

Altars are set up everywhere in houses, businesses, and graveyards, and decorated with more flowers than most people will see in a lifetime. Candles, pictures of deceased loved ones, and their favorite food and drink have the ability to relive a time long past.

Patzcuaro is only 45 minutes away from Morelia, but parking fills up quickly on busy weekends. It is best to plan your movements in advance and leave the driving to others, especially after dark.

While traveling by myself, I took an all-night tour of Tzintzuntzan, Pátzcuaro, and Santa Fe de la Laguna organized by the local government. It was exhausting yet life-changing.

On subsequent trips, we drove independently and toured the cemeteries during the daytime with my family. They are two completely different experiences as you can see from the photos.

I do not recommend driving yourself at night. There are too many people walking around dark streets, lots of drinking, and not enough parking. Make your plans in advance around where you can find parking.

On another trip, we stayed in Pátzcuaro with the kids. We never took the car out of the parking lot because of the traffic. We didn’t see as much of the region on this trip because of the kids. I highly recommend the overnight tour from Morelia if you want to see as much as possible. Tours can be booked in the Plaza de Armas next to the Cathedral.

Something to keep in mind is that the people decorating gravesites in these communities are often mourning the loss of loved ones. There is a lot of emotion and I saw a lot of alcohol consumption. Please be respectful and don’t take pictures of people without their permission.

If you can handle the all-night schedule (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) this is the best way to visit the cemeteries on Noche de Muertos. The tour covers a ton of history and visits four villages along the shore of Lake Patzcuaro. The tour is run by the local government and does a really good job of sharing the cultural significance of Day of the Dead to travelers from all over the world. They have been developing relationships with local families to be invited into their houses and taste the traditional food of Michoacan. The tour is going to show you way more than you could ever find on your own and is worth every peso. There were professional photographers from important magazines on the same tour that I took.

In addition to the Noche de Muertos tour, there are a dozen other tours of the area. The nighttime tranvía (trolley) tour telling legends and ghost stories about the buildings in downtown Morelia is particularly enjoyable.

Itinerary Día de Muertos Festival Michoacán

No matter how much time you have to visit Day of the Dead in Michoacán it will be incredible. After visiting a few times, these are my recommendations to see and experience the most while you are in town.

Try to spend at least a week in the region. There are a ton of little towns dotting the region with unique local culture. I think the food in this area is some of the best in the country. Many of the recipes go back hundreds of years.

Do yourself a favor and stay a few extra days. You won’t regret it.

Morelia, Michoacán for Day of the Dead

I recommend arriving in Morelia a week before November 1st to enjoy the city before it gets too crowded. Once you get settled, make day trips to the villages around Lake Pátzcuaro to eat and explore.

Morelia is the capital of the State of Michoacan and about 45 minutes from Lake Patzcuaro. During the Spanish era, the city known as Valladolid was an important bishopric educating both Father Miguel Hidalgo and Agustin Iturbide, the founding fathers of Mexico.

The historic downtown area has over 200 buildings that are considered cultural patrimony and everything will be decorated for the event.

In 2024, the Morelia Film Festival runs from October 14th to the 27th. It is arguably the most important film festival in Mexico attracting big name Hollywood types to party and premier movies.

Morelia is home to Cinépolis, the most important movie theater chain in Mexico. As the tag line goes, This is the capital of cine. If you have the time, I would get to Morelia a week early to enjoy the city before it gets packed.

The municipal government of Morelia organizes a lot of events in the week leading up to Day of the Dead. You will find a speaker series with distinguished artists, folkloric dances, concerts with traditional music, art exhibitions, and a parade of students dressed as catrinas and catrines (elegant skeletons).

At least for me, one of the most enjoyable parts of seeing a new city in Mexico is visiting the municipal market. A good market has some of the best food in the region and you are likely to witness some culture as well.

Morelia’s Mercado Independencia is about a ten-minute walk from the Plaza de Armas and well worth the adventure.

Watching people trade piles of cempasúchil flowers will help you contextualize the decorations you see in the street. It is hard to fathom the number of flowers that are grown for this event.

People who work in the market know how to eat well and you will find some world-class street food in unassuming corners. It is an absolute must to find the vendor with the longest line and buy a corunda and an huchepo. It is part of the experience that you will remember forever. The corn is an heirloom varietal that tastes like nothing that you have had before.

The historic core of Morelia is considered a UNESCO World Heritage site dating to the 16th century. The whole town is decorated for Day of the Dead. There have to be millions of orange cempasúchil flowers carpeting the streets to make murals and decorate the altars. There are Catrina skeletons dressed in 19th-century European haute couture.

Many of the best hotels are going to be booked well in advance. If you can’t get a room at one of the boutique, colonial-era hotels downtown, Morelia is big enough that you can find something cheap and safe just outside of the city center. If you want to stay at something nice on the lakeside, you will need to plan well in advance and have some cash. This is the ultimate high season.

Another reason to use Morelia as a base camp is a tour operator that leaves from the Tranvía kiosk in the Plaza de Armas, next to the cathedral. They offer a number of excellent tours but the Lake Patzcuaro tour is truly special. The tours are set up by the local government, they have incredible tour guides, and they have connections that let you visit the altars in private homes.

One of my favorite places to explore in Morelia for Day of the Dead is the Michoacán Artisan Institute in the Temple of San Francisco. It is within walking distance of the Cathedral and Plaza de Armas just five blocks to the east.

The Artisan Institute is full of museum-quality pieces representing the regional folk art of Michoacán. The building is decorated for Day of the Dead and in the days leading up to November 1st, local students create tapestries and art pieces in the plaza in front of the building.

In the Spanish era, priests taught villagers a trade. To this day, many villages are renowned for particular trades such as pottery, carpentry, guitar making, and glass blowing. There are unique regional styles that have been refined over centuries. My favorite coffee cup was made in Pátzcuaro with a distinctive local style.

Santa Fé de la Laguna

Santa Fe de la Laguna is a 16th-century Purépecha village with cobblestone streets, whitewashed adobe brick buildings, red tile rooves, and a church that looks identical to the one in Disney’s Coco. In fact, director Lee Unkrich spent time in Santa Fe de la Laguna while researching the movie.

If you take the tour leaving from Morelia’s Plaza de Armas then Santa Fe de la Laguna will be your first stop. The tour operator maintains relationships with villagers who allow you to enter their homes to view their ofrendas, (or altars to the dead) and have dinner.

Dinner is prepared in a traditional kitchen with a wood-burning comal and oven. Much of the food that is served is grown and prepared locally. The corn that is grown in this part of Mexico is special. It’s not likely that you have seen corn like this in your local supermarket.

After visiting the ofrendas and having dinner, there is a folkloric dance and a field hockey exhibition. The style of field hockey that is played in Santa Fe de la Laguna is probably a little rougher than the sort that was played at your high school. Here, the wicker ball is set on fire and the hockey sticks don’t use any grip tape.

Tzintzuntzan

Tzintzuntzan, or place of the hummingbirds, is the old capital of the Purépecha empire that was overthrown by the Spanish in 1520. There is an important archaeological site and museum dedicated to the history of the original people of this area. The Tarascan state was the second-largest in Mesoamerica when the Spanish arrived and was comprised of Purépechas, Nahuas (the language spoken at the famous, La Ticla surf spot), Otomis, and Chichimecas. It is just as common to hear Purépecha spoken in the street as it is to hear Spanish.

In the days leading up to the Noche de Muertos families will decorate the gravesites of their loved ones with pictures, flowers, candles, food, and drink. In this moving video by Chef Nico Mejia, the philharmonic orchestra of a recently departed young trumpet player comes together to play music, break bread, and carry offerings to the cemetery where their friend is laid to rest. It is a gesture of respect and affection where, for a short period of time, the living and the departed get to hang out.

Please be respectful while touring the cemeteries. Keep in mind that these are people who have lost loved ones, sometimes recently. Tourism is permitted but the event is not conceived for tourists but for locals. Make sure to ask permission before taking someone’s photo.

Pátzcuaro

The City of Patzcuaro is the largest community along the shores of the lake with the same name. After Tzintzuntzan was overthrown by the Spanish army, Bishop Vasco de Quiroga moved the capital of the province to Patzcuaro for a period before it was ultimately moved to Valladolid, what is today known as Morelia. Both Patzcuaro and Tzintzuntzan are both recognized as Pueblos Mágicos by the secretary of tourism because of their cultural significance. Both are truly magical.

If you are traveling on your own, it would be best to arrive early to Patzcuaro on Noche de Muertos. The streets are narrow and parking is hard to come by. There will be an intense amount of traffic and lots of people will be drinking. If you will be operating a motor vehicle, do so with extreme caution because you will be sharing the road with all forms of transportation on poorly lit streets.

As you walk through the cemeteries during Day of the Dead and perceive the aroma of cempasúchil flowers it will change your life. It’s interesting how smells can evoke memories but from here on out you will always associate the smell of marigolds with Day of the Dead in Michoacan. The flower petals are said to light the path to the other side and therefore the more the better.

Where To Stay For Day Of The Dead In Michoacán

Day of the Dead in Michoacan is a major tourist event and many of the best accommodations will be booked and paid for well in advance.

Pátzcuaro and Tzintzuntzan are small towns with a limited number of hotel rooms.

Morelia is a city of 850,00 people and there will always be rooms to be found. The best accommodations in the historic core are booked quickly but the size of the city means that you will be able to find something on the outskirts or in the suburbs.

Where to Stay in Morelia

Try to stay in the historic downtown area of Morelia. From there it is within walking distance of all of the museums, parades, and events. It is not likely to find last-minute accommodations in Downtown Morelia around Day of the Dead.

Unfortunately, the historic Hotel Virrey de Mendoza has been closed since the pandemic, and the workers union is occupying the building as part of a labor strike.

Hotel de la Soledad (Luxury)

This hotel is an absolutely stunning example of 18th-century colonial architecture and is located just one block away from the Morelia Cathedral. There are 40 rooms including 7 suites that are brightly decorated to reflect the history and traditions of Morelia but with some modern details.

Hotel Boutique Rayon 50 (Midrange)

The Hotel Boutique Rayon 50 has amazing reviews online but we felt it was not the correct choice for families with little kids. The place is beautiful and situated just a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas but our toddler found everything that was breakable in the room. And the loft isn’t great for little kids either. For those of you who travel without kids, I would highly recommend staying here.

Hotel Diana del Bosque by DOT Urban (Budget)

This is the first hotel that I stayed at in Morelia when visiting for Day of the Dead without making reservations in advance. It is located a little ways away from the cathedral on the far side of the Bosque Cuauhtémoc park but still within walking distance. You probably won’t want to make that walk multiple times in one day. It is closer to the Callejón del Romance and the Fuente de las Tarascas.

For a budget hotel, the Hotel Diana del Bosque was perfect for my needs as a last-minute traveler.

Where to stay in Pátzcuaro

Pátzcuaro is a small town and finding a place to stay during Day of the Dead will be a challenge if you do not make reservations WELL in advance. Traffic is all but shut down on the night between the 1st and the 2nd, and parking is next to impossible to find for several days. It is best to plan ahead and hunker down if you are going to stay in Pátzcuaro for Day of the Dead.

Hotel Mansion Iturbe

This is one of the more speical hotels in Mexico. The 17th-century building is located on the main plaza, the Plaza Grande de Pátzcuaro and withing walking distance to many of the cultural excursions.

There are only 12 guestrooms so you really need to book in advance. And remember that Pátzcuaro is a great place to visit year-round, not just on Day of the Dead.

Conclusion: Day Of The Dead In Michoacán

Visiting the Day of the Dead celebrations in Michoacan, Mexico is a visceral experience that will evoke strong emotions. There is a heavy dose of nostalgia as we remember the lives of those we hold close who have departed before us. While the name of the event may be Day of the Dead, there is a celebration of life at its core. We want to remember the lives of your loved ones and how they chose to live.

One of my favorite parts of taking my parents to Michoacan to visit Day of the Dead was watching my mom build an altar for my grandmother, cook her favorite dishes, and tell stories about her childhood. Day of the Dead is a special holiday that will change how you feel about death and bring you closer to your family. If you have the opportunity, you should visit Michoacan to experience it for yourself.