Travel Guide Pomuch

Located 70 km from Campeche, Pomuch has gained a regional reputation for the bread rolls that emerge daily from its wood-fired ovens. They have been crackling for more than 130 years now, since the famous and no less village-like Huachita bakery opened. But this village is perhaps also best known for having maintained its funeral rites against all odds. Here, it is said that the dead live in the open air. In the past, the dead were traditionally preserved by the family. Once the flesh had decomposed, the bones were collected and brought home where they continued to inspire the family with their presence. Gradually, the inhabitants were forced to concentrate them in the cemetery, but they nevertheless retained their burial customs. For the graves are rather like niches that keep the bones of loved ones in small wooden boxes, sometimes in full view of everyone. Here, no fuss is made, the deceased are part of existence and of everyday life. Moreover, the celebrations of the Day of the Dead (between October 21 and November 2) are an opportunity to remember them. The bones are taken out of the urns and lovingly cleaned in an unchanging order, starting with the feet and ending with the skull. This physical contact with the bones of the deceased is considered a deeply sacred moment. Finally, they are carefully placed in new textiles that have been embroidered for the occasion during the year.