Celebrating the spirits' return.

• Author: Scalora, Salvatore

Elaborate celebrations of the Days of the Dead on Mexico's Janitzio Island pay homage to the ancestors and strengthen bonds among the living

By the eerily calm waters of the dock at Patzcuaro, passengers are steadily boarding the boat launches to Janitzio Island. One of four islands set in the center of twelve-mile-long Lake Patzcuaro in Mexico's northwestern state of Michoacan, Janitzio is reachable only by a fleet of public ferry boats that take a half hour to make the journey. Like gigantic, metallic water wasps, the boats have been swarming in and out of their dockside nests since early morning. Through the veiled mist of the cool, nocturnal air, one can see the island's twinkling lights off in the inky distance.

The long-awaited Noche de los Muertos, the Night of the Dead, has fallen over the region's lake islands and villages. In the dark, dusty streets of old Patzcuaro, the state's colonial capital, lean dogs howl, nervously sniffing the air, perhaps announcing the presence of spirits. But it is not the scent of death that marks the atmosphere, but the pungent perfume of marigolds and the mustiness of copal incense. Tonight, November 1, it is believed, the weary souls of the dead travel from their realm to the world of the living. The old ones say that when the spirits journey back to the world of the living, their path must be made clear; the roadway must not be slippery with the flow of human tears.

Brightly painted and steel roofed, the engine-powered launches, which can carry between sixty to eighty passengers at a time, bear such names as Monica, Erika, Laura, Victoria, Eva, Lupita, Esmeralda, Chabela, and Deyanira. Musicians often accompany the passengers, enlivening the crossing with melodies that drown out the steady growl of the inboard engine. Even at 2 A.M. the boat launches to Janitzio are filled to capacity. Overflow crowds of tourists have been swarming to the island since sundown.

Before the light faded, workers had set long poles, from which they hung tin pots, into the shallow muddy floor of the lake. At dusk, the pots were filled with kerosene-soaked rags and set afire to act as lanterns upon the lake. The entire fleet of boats is in use tonight, coming and going in rapid succession; but because they lack substantial running lights, the danger of a collision in the dark is ever present, and by this hour of the early morning, the pots are mostly extinguished or smoldering. The driver is on his feet steering from the back of the boat; his young assistant is on the prow keeping watch. The engine slows suddenly as the driver and navigator yell to one another. A moment of silence, then a sudden thud as the boat's metal hull scrapes with that of an oncoming boat. A scare but nothing serious, yet a reminder to all aboard that the possibility of sudden death is among us in this world.

It is only in Mexico that death is an occasion for such an all-encompassing annual celebration. Death may be feared, but it is also embraced, even becoming the subject of humor. Occurring on November 1 and 2, and coinciding with the Roman Catholic holy days of All Saints' and All Souls', known as Todos Santos, the Days of the Dead are the most important religious...