Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Happy Todos Santos Day Bolivia!

Human skull decorated for use in Bolivia's annual Todos Santos festival.
Decorated human skull in Bolivia
I've discovered that no one in Bolivia has ever read my blog. (Probably because they don't celebrate Halloween there.) They do however celebrate El Dia de los Muertos and Todos los Santos, which is sort of Halloween-y. So in the interest of attracting some new Bolivian readers, I present today's post. (Feel free to pass it along to all your Bolivian friends.)

"Originally, the locals used to take their dead out of their graves and share a day with them. The gruesome part is that in the past the dead used to be dug out of their graves; nowadays only the skulls are used. Obviously lacking a nose, the skulls are affectionately called "ñatitas" (short nosed). If a skull is not available, a family's member dresses up as the dead and enacts him during the day, talking with the family about the last year and giving counseling." (For more information on this Bolivian holiday, click here).

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