San Martín Chalchicuautla (Mexico).- For 800 years, entire families in the Mexican region of the Huasteca have celebrated death in life at the Xantolo festival, in which they wear unique masks while dancing the traditional son .

In Mexico, the first days of November are reserved for the celebration of the deceased, but in this area of the eastern part of the country, the comparsas distinguish Xantolo Xantolo is a mixture of Latin and Nahuatl that means "All Saints Day", a sign that the festival is the union of two cultures: Spanish Catholicism and indigenous traditions, explains Julio García del Ángel, researcher and master craftsman of the town of San Martín Chalchicuautla.

The essentials of this tradition, García highlights, are the masks, unique and handcrafted pieces of pemuche wood, a tree from the area, and cow, raccoon, squirrel or badger skin, which families use to dance to death and toast Offerings.

The comparsas represent a family with characters such as the old man, death, the devil and the comancha, who dance huasteco sones to play, remember and say goodbye to the deceased, adds García.

In addition to these dances, the inhabitants of the town take to the streets to visit the houses of the neighbors, and go to the pantheons to bring offerings and serenades of northern music to their dead.