As Day of the Dead approaches, fields in Tenancingo, a town in the State of Mexico, burst into brilliant orange. This municipality is the country’s leading grower of cempasúchil, the marigold flower that has decorated altars and graves honoring the deceased for generations. Its vivid color and strong scent are said to guide spirits back to the world of the living during the holiday, celebrated each year on November 1 and 2.
Tenancingo isn’t alone in meeting the seasonal demand. Growers in Tláhuac and Xochimilco, two boroughs on the southern edge of Mexico City known for their canals and chinampas (traditional floating gardens), also supply large quantities of the flower during this peak harvest period.
The tradition has crossed the border along with Mexican communities in the United States. Los Angeles has become one of the biggest buyers of cempasúchil in the US, where families recreate the colorful altars, known as ofrendas, to remember loved ones who have passed away. The flower’s popularity underscores how deeply Day of the Dead customs, recognized by UNESCO as part of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage, have taken root well beyond Mexico’s borders.
For more on how this flower connects communities on both sides of the border, read the full story at Telemundo.
Source: De Tenancingo sale el cempasúchil para pintar de anaranjado el Día de Muertos en México y EE.UU. (telemundo.com).
Image: Samu from Alpedrete, Spain.