The influence of Xantolo overflowed with joy and color in the Museum of Mexico City

The reunion between the living and the deceased is symbolized by the Xantolo or Festival of Souls, whose influence overflowed the Museum of Mexico City with music, dance and merriment on Wednesday night to receive to our ancestors and pay them a joyful tribute on the eve of the Day of the Dead celebration.

For about an hour, that central and beautiful 18th century venue, also known as the old Palace of the Counts of Santiago de Calimaya, was transformed in an imaginary way into some town or ranchería in the Huasteca region, where that expression originates. cultural tribute to the deceased, with the colorful dances of Pixcuhuil, official group of Mexico City, and the lively music of the Sentir Huasteco trio, from Huejutla de Reyes, Hidalgo.

Before the joy of the public that filled the main patio of the museum and its balconies, the little more than 30 dancers of that group, formed six years ago, dressed in colorful costumes (including catrinas, charros and brides) and striking masks of death, demons, animals or fantastic beings, in addition to hats or flower headdresses, made the place a joy with their well-coordinated choreographies and their powerful and harmonious tap dances, encouraged by a festive series of nine xantolero sounds.

Having a large platform placed in the center of the patio as a stage, the Pixcuhuil group closed its performance with a fandango to which several of those gathered spontaneously joined, turning the moment into a pilgrimage in which, between screams, smiles and enjoyment, some popular songs were played and danced, such as The querreque y The petenera.

With the name of Xantolo: Festival of All Saints, this presentation took place as part of the Night of Museums organized by the Ministry of Culture of Mexico City.

At the end, the director of the Pixcuhuil group, Gabriela Miranda, explained to this newspaper that that meeting was an immersion in the Huasteca and Nahuatl tradition, in which the Xantolo troupes walk the streets to receive the deceased with music, sones dance and huapangos, symbolizing the sacred union between the living and the dead.

He said that Xantolo is considered the most important festival in Huasteca, a region of the country made up of the municipalities of San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, Puebla and Querétaro, where they use that expression to celebrate a reunion with the dead.

Registered in 2007 on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, this festival mixes beliefs of pre-Hispanic origin and traditions introduced by the Spanish colonizers. Her name is derived from Nahuatl and Latin, to mean all the saints, according to the dancer and choreographer.

But what it really represents is the festival of the spirits, the great festival of the Huasteca, it is when the dead come to visit us and we lend them our body to give them life that day. It is a very peculiar celebration in that region of the country, because it begins on June 24, with the planting of marigolds; From then on, certain particular festivities are offered.he detailed.

One is on September 29, when the masks are lowered and sahúmed, in addition to which we also prepare ourselves physically and mentally to be able to receive all this energy. Then, other dates come, such as Saint Luke’s, October 18, in which small offerings are made for the beings who did not have the opportunity to say goodbye, because they died by murder or in a tragedy, and thus each one has a particularity, until November 30, when the Xantolo ends.

According to Gabriela Miranda, on September 29, the day of Saint Michael the Archangel, the souls begin to pilgrimage, but the central part of the festival begins on October 31, which is dedicated to the deceased children, while the first and November 2 are intended for the adult deceased, dates on which the largest offerings are made.