Pets join Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations as Fido and Tiger get their own altars

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Pets are not forgotten during the famous Mexico Feast of the Day of the Deadwhen even Fido and Tiger are given a place at the altars that Mexican families have erected to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photos.

Although human dead are usually served their favorite food or drink on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different.

The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as well as the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs Before the Spanish conquest, Mexicans were believed to guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given special funerals.

But the inclusion of pets on family altars has increased in recent years.

Day of the Dead begins on October 31 to commemorate those who have died in accidents; it continues on November 1 to commemorate those who died in childhood and then on November 2 for those who died as adults.

The celebrations include cleaning and decorating entire families’ graves, which are covered with orange marigolds. In both cemeteries and at home altars, family members light candles and offer up the favorite foods and drinks of their deceased relatives.

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

Every year, Mexico City graphic designer Meztli Lizaola makes sure her beloved 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 lie in an urn, as does his photo with lively eyes, next to a photo of Lizaola’s late father.

The orange-flowered cempasúchil – a type of marigold – is placed around the photos, as well as candles and statues of skulls.

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

But because she has four other dogs, she can’t leave Taco’s favorite food on the altar; some sneaky pup will probably get it.

For years, elements of Halloween have been mixed into the seasonal festivities, and pets are no different. For those who have living dogs and cats, it is not uncommon to find a wide variety of Halloween costumes for pets at pet stores, including captivity-style “bad dog” costumes.

Ethnohistorian Juan Pablo García Urióstegui says the inclusion of pets and Halloween influences are part of the changes to the traditional holiday that have accelerated, especially in the past three years.

“We are experiencing changes in traditions. It’s happening very quickly,” says García Urióstegui of Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology. Now it’s not uncommon to find pets on airplanes, in bars and restaurants, or even at their owners’ medical appointments.

For one thing, the large family with numerous children, especially in big cities, is often a thing of the past, and couples who only have pets – sometimes called ‘perrihijos’ or ‘dog children’ – are now not uncommon.

“That’s where you see these death practices taking hold,” he said. “They are no longer just a companion… they are living beings who hold memories and whose memories need to be commemorated.”

But admiration for dogs goes way back in Mexico, where hairless dogs known as xoloitzcuintles were common before the Spanish brought their larger, furrier dogs to Mexico during the conquest of 1519-1521.

The pre-Hispanic dogs were often sacrificed or buried near their owners – or presented as carefully crafted ceramic figurines – because the owner needed the dogs’ keen senses to find the path to the underworld after death.

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

“There’s kind of 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 within her family to placing Taco on the altar, a place long reserved for deceased relatives. But when family members’ pets died, they came around and “now they’re more dogs than people,” she said.