María José de Ayala couldn't attend her father's funeral in Mexico City when he died.

It was Sept. 11, 2001, and she was in Santa Fe. The airports shut down; by the time the runways reopened, the family had held his funeral.

But de Ayala knew she would have a chance to honor him two months later, and every year after, on the Day of the Dead.

As Halloween is ending in the U.S. and ghouls slip away, the Day of the Dead — El Día de Los Muertos — is just getting under way across Mexico to honor the souls of departed loved ones.

The Day of the Dead is an ancient tradition that actually encompasses two days, Nov. 1 and 2. On those days, the markets, cemeteries and homes of many Mexican villages fill with the fragrance from thousands of large marigolds or cempasuchil; the sweet smell of copal incense; and the glow of candles. Families create altars with mementos and the favorite foods of children and adults who've passed on.

Some believe that the scent of the flowers and incense and light from the candles guide the spirits of their loved ones home. "If you go right now to Mexico, especially the villages, this is the only thing you smell," said Ayala, who grew up near Mexico City.

To celebrate the Day of the Dead, people begin by setting up the altars for children on the morning of Nov. 1 and then go to the cemetery to clean all the graves. They return home to cook more and attend Mass. Before midnight on Nov. 1, families change the altars for deceased adult relatives and then return to the cemetery. Many spend the night with candles lit and the sounds of mariachi music playing nearby. Families talk to each other and think about those who've died. On Nov. 2, everyone shares the food from the altars with each other.


The Day of the Dead tradition, with roots in Aztec and Spanish cultures, varies from village to village — but the symbolism of the Day of the Dead altar in homes is similar everywhere, Ayala said.

For people from cultures that don't celebrate the deceased and are reluctant to discuss death, the altar would be disconcerting. But for people who celebrate the Day of the Dead, like Ayala, who became a U.S. citizen this summer, it is a time to honor the lives of loved ones and remember that we all will die one day.

Where Ayala grew up the altar — or ofrenda — consists of three tiers, sometimes made of tables or boxes. The tiers are covered with a white cloth symbolizing purity and edged with purple papel picado — cut-out paper flags. The top tier holds a picture of a saint or Jesus, representing heaven. The middle layer holds a picture of the deceased, incense to keep away bad spirits, and salt, representing a return to the earth.

The bottom tier holds toys for children or some of an adult's favorite things and food, all signifying the material world. "The foods you prepare are the foods they used to enjoy when they were alive," Ayala said. For her dad, she sets out his favorite mole, chile, rice, a pack of cigarettes and his favorite whiskey. "That way he'll know the ofrenda is for him," she said. "You really are celebrating life the way they lived it."

Marigolds and candles surround all layers of the table. A petate — a small rug made of palm leaves — is laid underneath, a symbol of the Mesoamerican tradition of wrapping the deceased in petates and incinerating them.

And scattered about the altars are sugar skulls, sometimes elaborately decorated with sequined eyes, glitter designs on the forehead and icing.

The skull is a symbol of what was good and "sweet" about a person, Ayala said. "You remember the good, not the bad. You are celebrating a specific life, but also all of life," she said.

The sugar skulls also represent all of us who will one day be only bones, she said, adding that some people put their own names on the skulls' foreheads.


When Ayala arrived in Santa Fe eight years ago and started making a traditional altar to honor her grandmother on the Day of the Dead, she couldn't find sugar skulls.

In Mexico, they were readily available in markets, but not in Santa Fe, she said.

It took her some time to track down Reign Trading Company in Rosemead, Calif., a company that sold skull molds online. Now Ayala makes several hundred a year and shows people in Santa Fe how to decorate them and honor their loved ones.

On Oct. 26, she brought 500 sugar skulls to the International Folk Art Museum for people to decorate during her Day of the Dead program. She took more skulls to area public schools that invited her to talk about the tradition.

She's seen how decorating the skulls and discussing death openly helps people cope. "One man decorating a skull last year said he had first seen Day of the Dead in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán in Mexico after his granddaughter died. He told me it changed the way he saw death and helped stop his grieving," she said.

A widow who attended Ayala's Day of the Dead workshop at the Folk Art Museum a few years ago saw the skulls and started crying. Then she asked Ayala to make a large sugar skull for her late husband. Ayala decorated it with flowers. When the woman saw it, she was delighted.

"How did you know he was a gardener?" she asked.

When Ayala takes the skulls to schools and children begin decorating them, it isn't easy at first. "Kids don't talk about these things," she said. "Adults don't talk to them about it."

But as they decorate, they begin talking about people they've loved and lost. Time and time again, Ayala has watched the children open up.

Some kids eat the sugar skulls afterward. "But I don't recommend that," she said with a smile.

Ayala cannot imagine a year without celebrating the Day of the Dead. "We grow up with that," she said. "I can't understand why people have a problem with death. It is not that I'm waiting for it and not that I didn't cry a lot when my dad died (and other relatives). We grieve, but we welcome them back and celebrate them every year," she said.

"It's very, very beautiful."


María José de Ayala shared some of her favorite recipes for Day of the Dead foods.

On the Web: find sugar skulls at www.reigntrading.com.

SUGAR SKULLS
(Makes about 15 small skulls, 1-inch long)

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon meringue powder
1 teaspoon water

Mix sugar and meringue powder in a bowl. Add water and mix with your hands until "dough" feels sandy. If it is too sticky, add more sugar, little by little; if it is too dry and crumbles, add water, drop by drop, until you get that sandy texture. Pack tightly into a skull mold.

Turn skull out of mold by setting the mold upside down on a piece of cardboard or a tray. Let skulls dry for 24 hours before decorating.

DAY OF THE DEAD SWEET TAMALES
(Makes 8)

2 tablespoons pine nuts
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1-1/4 cups masa harina
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup apricots
2 tablespoons candied papaya
1 tablespoon orange zest
10 large dried corn husks, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes

To prepare the filling, place the pine nuts in a hot skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place the butter, baking powder, salt, honey and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream on high speed until light and smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the masa harina and turn the speed down to low. Add the milk, cinnamon, raisins, apricots, papaya, orange zest and toasted pine nuts and mix until a firm dough forms. Work the dough by hand for about 1 minute, until the dough is thoroughly mixed and gathered together. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.

Drain the corn husks. Lay out 8 husks. Place a portion of the dough in each husk and spread out evenly, leaving about 1-1/2 inches of exposed corn husk at each end and 3/4 inch at each side. Bring the sides of the corn husk together, folding the dough on itself. Tuck one side of the husk under the other and roll up the tamale so the dough is completely enclosed inside the husk. Twist each end of the husk and tie them with strips of reserved corn husks.

Repeat with the remaining corn husks and filling.

Steam the tamales for 30 to 35 minutes over lightly boiling water, adding more boiling water as needed. The tamales are done when they feel firm to the touch — but are not hard — and the dough comes away easily from the husk.

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES WITH CINNAMON AND CLOVES
(Serves 8-10)

For the syrup:
6 cups water
4 cups sugar
6 piloncillo (Mexican sugar) cones or 4-1/2 cups dark brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
For the potatoes:
4 large yellow sweet potatoes (about 1 pound each)
1/2 cup melted butter

Make the syrup: Place the water in a medium saucepan. Add sugar, piloncillo (or brown sugar), cinnamon and cloves and cook for 2-1/2 hours, or until the syrup is thick.

Prepare the potatoes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the whole, unpeeled sweet potatoes in a large baking dish with a lid. Brush potatoes with melted butter and cover. Bake for 2 hours, or until done, basting the sweet potatoes with their own juices every 20 minutes.

When the potatoes are tender — test with a toothpick or fork to be sure they are ready to eat — slice them and pour the warm syrup over them.




This dish comes from the famed Santa Rosa Convent in Puebla (birthplace of mole):

TINGA

For the meat:
12 cups water
2 pounds flank steak
1 medium white onion
1/2 garlic head, cut in half across the grain
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig marjoram
Salt
For the sauce:
3/4 cup olive oil
6 garlic cloves
2 medium white onions
1-1/2 cups chorizo sausage, fried
2-3/4 pounds tomatoes
2 canned chiles chipotles, cut in strips
4 bay leaves
2 whole cloves, ground
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1/2 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in cold water (if necessary)
For serving:
Cooked white rice
2 ripe avocados, sliced
1 medium purple onion, sliced thinly

Prepare the meat: Bring the water to a boil in a pressure cooker or medium saucepan. Add the meat, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram and salt to taste. Cook for 1-1/4 hours if using a pressure cooker, 2-1/2 hours if using a regular saucepan, or until the meat is very tender. (You may need to add water if cooking in a regular saucepan.)

Allow the meat to cool in the broth. Remove from broth and shred finely. Reserve about 1 cup of strained cooking broth.

Make the sauce: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Sauté the garlic and onion. Stir in fried chorizo, tomato and chiles chipotles and sauté a few minutes more. Add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, salt, vinegar and brown sugar. (If the sauce is too thin, you may add 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in cold water.)

To serve: Stir the meat into the hot sauce. Make a ring with the hot white rice. Put the meat in the center of the circle and garnish the plate with slices of avocado and purple onions.