The Best and easiest way to Study Spanish is with a Complete Spanish Immersion Program in a Spanish speaking country. So if you are serious about studying Spanish or learning Spanish, the "Spanish Institute of Merida" is the right place for you to do your Spanish studies. The Spanish Institute of Merida is a highly regarded Spanish Language School, specialized in teaching the Spanish language and its culture through a 3, 4-week Intensive Spanish Course in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Our students learn Spanish from the outset to think and express themselves in Spanish as they participate in our exceptional Award Winning Academic Curriculum and wide variety of extra curriculum activities. Founded in 1984... over 20 years of experience teaching Spanish as second language, the Spanish Institute is the best option for you to study Spanish abroad. Take spanish classes during the morning, and then visit the best places during your Afternoon Spanish conversation classes. Study Spanish with the best professors. We have the best spanish instructors. All our Spanish teachers have college degrees and years of experience teaching Spanish as Second Language. Take Spanish lessons, and learn mexican spanish fast, easily and in a fun way.
Hanal Pixan (Día de los Muertos)
Come celebrate the Mexican Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos at the Spanish Institute of Mérida.
Instead of celebrating Halloween, the Mexican people celebrate their loved ones passing on the Day of the Dead. It is a time of festivities to remember and honor their deceased loved ones. Festivities and parades are held on both November 1st, Day of the Little Angels Día de los Angelitos andNovember 2nd, All Saints Todos los Santos.
In Mérida, Yucatan Day of the Dead iscelebrated under the name of Hanal Pixan. In Mayan, Hanal Pixan, means the supper of the souls.
During the Day of the Dead, families celebrate by making offerings such as candles, incense, yellow marigolds and special food and beverages. They place these offering on an altar and display a photograph of the deceased.
The tradition Hanal Pixan food for both the living as well as an offering for the dead is the Mucbil Pollo.
It is a Mayan word meaning buried chicken. Corn dough mixed with a red paste called achoite is used to create a pie filled with cooked chicken, pork or both. Only female chickens may be cooked, because it is said that the rooster’s crow scares away the spirits. The pie is then wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a pib, an underground Mayan roasting oven.
“Dzules” or “Dzulitos” are also prepared for the celebration. They are sweet breads made in the form of children. They can also be purchased in the Mercado on the 31 of October.
In preparation for the visiting souls or animas, homes must be cleaned and streets swept. The floor is covered with flower petals. Families make altars together, feast upon the traditional foods and visit the graves of their loved ones. During this time they also hold special services in honor of the dead.
You’ll enjoy the processions to the cemetery where locals set off fireworks, pray, sing, feast and spend time with loved ones. It is celebration for both living and dead. It is a time to come to terms with our mortality and become aware of the cycle of life and death.
Shortly after the Day of the Dead celebrations Yucatan hosts the Xmatkuil Fair. The fair is visited by more than 1 million people each year. Enjoy 24-days of events and exhibits for everyone. It features traditional livestock, circus and clown festival, horse shows and roping, midway rides and games boxing and wrestling tournaments and plenty of traditional Yucatecan music, dances and handcrafts.
We invite you to come experience this cultural Mexican tradition while participating in our total immersion Spanish program!
Watch a video about Hanal Pixan
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Instead of celebrating Halloween, the Mexican people celebrate their loved ones passing on the Day of the Dead. It is a time of festivities to remember and honor their deceased loved ones. Festivities and parades are held on both November 1st, Day of the Little Angels Día de los Angelitos and November 2nd, All Saints Todos los Santos.
During the Day of the Dead, families celebrate by making offerings such as candles, incense, yellow marigolds and special food and beverages. They place these offering on an altar and display a photograph of the deceased.
It is a Mayan word meaning buried chicken. Corn dough mixed with a red paste called achoite is used to create a pie filled with cooked chicken, pork or both. Only female chickens may be cooked, because it is said that the rooster’s crow scares away the spirits. The pie is then wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a pib, an underground Mayan roasting oven.
In preparation for the visiting souls or animas, homes must be cleaned and streets swept. The floor is covered with flower petals. Families make altars together, feast upon the traditional foods and visit the graves of their loved ones. During this time they also hold special services in honor of the dead.
Shortly after the Day of the Dead celebrations Yucatan hosts the Xmatkuil Fair. The fair is visited by more than 1 million people each year. Enjoy 24-days of events and exhibits for everyone. It features traditional livestock, circus and clown festival, horse shows and roping, midway rides and games boxing and wrestling tournaments and plenty of traditional Yucatecan music, dances and handcrafts.
