Day of the Dead: Readying the flower that will guide the dead home
The bright yellow-orange marigold is said to lead the deceased back to the world of the living on Dia de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. Ahead of the holiday, flower growers are getting ready for their blooms' big day.
Busy time for Mexico's flower growers
In the flower-growing region of Xochimilco near Mexico City, growers and field workers are especially busy these days. On Nov. 2, the country will be celebrating Dia de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. On that day, the magnificent marigold will decorate houses, gravesites and altars across the country.
A flower to guide the dead
The Day of the Dead interweaves Catholic-Spanish influences with Indigenous ancestral culture, and was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. The bright yellow-orange petals of the marigold are said to show the dead the way from the cemetery to the family feasts that take place on the day.
By boat to market
From the fields in Xochimilco, the flowers are transported by barge via a canal system to the markets in the megalopolis of Mexico City.
Lots of traffic before the big day
In the weeks before the Day of the Dead, the canals are bustling with activity. Loaded boats heading to the markets in Mexico City meet empty barges coming back to pick up fresh blooms.
An old tradition
"We have always planted marigolds from the time of our ancestors," flower grower Cristobal Garcia told the Reuters news agency. "It is said that the color and the aroma make our dead visit us." But despite the high demand for the marigold, Mexico's flower industry is feeling the pinch.
Flower industry issues
Mexico's floriculture industry was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, along with energy and fertilizer prices, production costs have also risen. Marigold farmers, however, are confident they will be able to increase sales this year. For the first time since the pandemic, Day of the Dead celebrations can once again be held in public.
No more restrictions
During the pandemic, Day of the Dead celebrations were severely restricted to limit the spread of the virus. Families were allowed to decorate graves, as seen here in a cemetery in Oaxaca in 2021, but only under strict conditions. This year, marigolds will once again be on display in all their glory — pleasing both flower growers and those who want to remember their dead.