Animals join Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, and Fido and Tigger get their own altars

MEXICO – During the famous Mexico trip, you don’t forget about the animals Celebration of the Day of the Deadwhen even Fido and Tigger are given a seat at the altars that Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs.

While deceased people are usually placed on altars with their favorite foods and drinks, the nature of pet food can make things a little different.

The holiday has its roots in pre-Hispanic Mexican customs, as does the respect for animals. The small, hairless dogs it was believed that Mexicans kept them before the Spanish conquest to help their owners in the afterlife, and they were sometimes buried in a special way.

However, in recent years, the number of pets on family altars has increased.

Day of the Dead begins on October 31 to commemorate people who died in accidents; it continues on November 1 to commemorate those who died in childhood, and then on November 2 to commemorate those who died in adulthood.

The celebration includes entire families cleaning and decorating the graves, which are covered with orange marigolds. Both in cemeteries and at home altars, loved ones light candles and make offerings of their deceased loved ones’ favorite foods and drinks.

The presence of pets has gained such momentum that October 27 is now considered the Day of the Dead for pets, and the National Institute of Anthropology and History posts tips on how to place them on altars on its social media platforms.

Mexican graphic designer Meztli Lizaola makes sure every year that her beloved tawny chihuahua Taco, who died two years ago, has a place at the altar on a table in the corner of her living room.

Taco’s ashes are in the urn, as is a photo of him with vivid eyes, next to a photo of Lizaoli’s late father.

Around the photos were placed cempasúchil with orange flowers – a variety of marigold – as well as candles and skull figurines.

Taco was an omnivore and, as his name suggests, enjoyed tacos (especially roasted pork) and other traditional Mexican human foods such as quesadillas and concha cakes.

But since he has four other dogs, he can’t leave Taco’s favorite foods on the altar; some sneaky puppy will probably kidnap him.

For years, elements of Halloween have been mixed with seasonal celebrations, and it’s no different when it comes to pets. For those who still have living dogs and cats, it is not uncommon to find a wide variety of Halloween costumes for animals at pet stores, including prisoner-style “bad dog” costumes.

Ethnohistorian Juan Pablo García Urióstegui says the presence of pets and Halloween’s influence are part of changes in the traditional holiday that have accelerated, especially in the last three years.

“We are witnessing changes in traditions. It’s happening very quickly,” said García Urióstegui of Mexico’s National Anthropological Museum. Nowadays, it is not unusual to find pets on planes, in bars and restaurants, and even during their owners’ medical visits.

First, especially in large cities, the large family with many children is often a thing of the past, and couples with only pets – called “perrihijos” or “dog children” – are now not uncommon.

“That’s where you see death practices starting to become more widespread,” he said. “They are no longer just another companion… they are living beings who hold memories and whose memory should be commemorated.”

However, the admiration for dogs dates back to Mexican times, where hairless dogs called xoloitzcuintles were common before the Spanish brought their larger, furrier hounds to Mexico during the conquest of 1519–1521.

Pre-Hispanic dogs were often sacrificed or buried near their owners – or depicted in the form of carefully crafted ceramic figurines – because the owner needed the dogs’ heightened senses to find their way to the underworld after death.

Lizaola still feels Taco’s absence. His face is tattooed on her right arm. The dog changed her and her partner’s lives.

“There is a before and after in my life,” she said, noting that Taco inspired them to become more involved in supporting abandoned animals and rescuing dogs from the streets.

Initially, there was some resistance in her family to placing Taco on the altar, a place long reserved for deceased family members. But as the family’s pets were dying out, they showed up and “now there are more dogs than people here,” she said.