Ocotepec

Ocotepec is an old Nahua village that the city of Cuernavaca has grown up around, though it still runs on its own calendar of fiestas, barrios and family traditions. For most of the year it's a busy roadside town on the way out of the city toward Tepoztlán. What makes it worth a special trip is the Day of the Dead, when Ocotepec puts on one of the best known celebrations in Morelos.

The custom that sets it apart is the ofrenda nueva. Families who lost someone during the past year build a large altar in the home, and on it they lay out a figure of the person, often dressed in new clothes, with sandals and a hat or rebozo, surrounded by flowers, candles, bread, tamales and the food and drink they liked. Altars for children are filled with toys and sweets. The house doors are opened to everyone: visitors arrive with a candle, the cera, to place in honor of the dead, and are usually offered coffee, bread or tamales in return.

The village cemetery is a sight in itself, a crowded hillside of small tombs built like miniature houses and chapels, many painted in bright colors. Visit with respect, since these are real family mourning rituals, not a show. Outside the season, you can still walk the cemetery and see the church and its plaza.