Life's a Beach | Expat Life in Playa del Carmen

Throughout the past week, Dia de los Muertos and Hanal Pixan have been celebrated all over Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya with altars and other representations set up in various locations. Schools, stores and businesses all set up their own ofrendas. An exhibition of Hanal Pixan altars was erected by members of the Maya community downtown under the DIF palapa. Organized by a cultural group, the Playa del Carmen community was invited to help set up a large altar on 5 Ave. set against a backdrop of paintings from famous local artist Jaime Fiero Duran.

One of the more whimsical expositions is the "Calaveras de Paseo" on display in the Centro Maya Mall. Calavera is a Spanish word meaning skull, and can refer to a number of cultural phenomena associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead and the Roman Catholic holiday, All Souls Day. It can refer to any artistic representations of skulls or poems that are written for the Day of the Dead but intended to humorously criticize the living. For the past few years, cultural and civic groups, local businesses and other organizations have decorated giant "calaveras" which are then set up for display in the corridors of the mall. This year, the skulls are all gathered in the circular formation at the east end of the mall, near Italianis Restaurant. The colorful calaveras will be on display for the rest of the week at least. Stop by and see them!

Michele Kinnon and her husband Rob are the owners of BuyPlaya Real Estate Advisors and FurnitureMEX, both based in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Michele is a member of Rotary Club of Playa del Carmen Seaside and participated on the founding committee for Taste of Playa, the Riviera Maya's largest and longest running culinary festival. She also blogs, writes local interest articles and administrates the Riviera Maya Events Calendar. Michele and Rob have lived in Playa del Carmen with their two children since 2004. Follow her updates on Google+.