Day of the Dead

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is an act of faith and ritualism in Ecuador and is celebrated on November 2 of each year. Find out more about our traditions.

All Deceased and All Dead Day

  • Day of the Dead
  • Date: Saturday 2 November
  • Finish Holiday: Moves to Friday, November 1
  • Day Unrecoverable

Day of the Dead

Several days before November 2, the official date for the celebration of the Day of the Dead in Ecuador, in the interior of Ecuadorian homes are prepared two ancestral dishes and Ecuadorian tradition: The bread guaguas and the purple colada.

Day of the Dead Ecuador

The colada morada, an ancestral drink with a history that dates back more than 5,000 years, is a thick mazamorra that includes aromatic herbs, fermented corn flour, sugar honey, pieces of sweet fruit, blackberry, mortiño (a type of blueberry that occurs in the moors) and as mandatory elements are the ishpingo, cinnamon flower, ataco and myrtle leaves. It highlights this typical dish in the highlands, the black corn is the main product for the mixture (colada), is only used in Ecuador for its preparation and in the ancient indigenous rites this was used.

Faithful Deceased

The colada is accompanied by bread in human figures or bread guaguas and in the past you could find animal forms as well. This bread, rich in butter and butter, is covered with sugar paste and because it uses wheat, it is speculated that its origin is European. For example, in the Andean communities, peasants usually eat other typical dishes of the region such as mote, habas, cuyes asados, and chicha.

Día de los Santos Difuntos (Day of the Saints Dead)

  • Relatives visiting the graves of their relatives
  • Attendance at the Mass of the Dead is a ritual celebration to pray for the souls of those who departed for eternity.

Día de los Fieles Difuntos (Day of the Faithful Dead)

  • Interior of the Chapel, Christ in the front part of the cemetery
  • With respect to the customs, although they have been changing with the passage of time, the one of kneading the Pan de finados is maintained, with its exquisite varieties: buñuelos, pan de huevo, botadas, empanadas, guaguas de pan, colada morada and the singular shampoos.
  • For decades in this celebration has been very attractive a craft of the Granda family initially made by Doña Rosita Granda and now maintained by her daughter Miss Laura Granda, which consists of the preparation of marzipan borreguitos in which you can admire the skill and color of its creator.

Day of the Dead

  • The Day of the Dead is an event of Ecuadorian culture. The celebration of the Day of the Dead is held every November 2 commemorating the departure of the one who in life was a loved one. It is customary to visit the cemeteries where his last dwelling is located, arrange his tomb, place flowers, and in an act of faith make a few prayers for the rest of his soul. It is also a tradition to taste a delicious purple colada, accompanied by the famous guguas de pan, in the company of his family and closest friends and with the present memory of those who no longer accompany us in this life.
  • In the indigenous worldview, their dead do not die, but pass on to another life where dialogue is possible. The main ingredients for "dialogue" with the dead are shampoos and bread kneaded at home. The preparation of shampoos, the ritual funerary food of the northern towns, requires corn flour, panela, and green lemon leaves. This preparation is consumed exclusively in November or at adult funerals and is considered the favorite collection of the dead.



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