BajaNomad - Is Halloween a dirty word in Baja??

Is Halloween a dirty word in Baja??

EnsenadaDr - 10-12-2011 at 09:59 PM

Well, yes, my mother's favorite holiday was Halloween, so I thought I would bring a bag of candy down for the kids in my Centro de Salud...well don't you know I have gotten responses from, "No, its only an AMERICAN holiday..." to, no, we don't celebrate Halloween, we are Christian..to "YES, we LOVE it..so what's the deal...please inform me!!!

chinolbz - 10-12-2011 at 10:17 PM

We have been in Baja on Halloween in many different many different locations and always had Trick-or-Treaters. Day of the dead I think. Parents travel with their kids to watch over them. We always make sure we have U.S.A candy. And lots of film or disk space in the camera!

Paulina - 10-12-2011 at 10:22 PM

The Punta Banda volunteer fire department is accepting candy donations for Halloween. They get quite a few trick or treaters every year.

P>*)))>{

Oggie - 10-13-2011 at 07:08 AM

Last year I had to look very hard in Ensenada to find traditional "Day of the Dead" decorations for my daughter-in -law to use. American halloween stuff was everywhere.

DENNIS - 10-13-2011 at 07:47 AM

There are the hard-core purists that say Halloween corrupts the significance of the "Day Of The Dead", but most of them will also tell you the United States is part and parcel of Satans Great Plan.
As long as I've been here, Halloween has been celebrated by all ages, but not by everybody. Some will turn off the lights and refuse to participate. For sure, they didn't get to enjoy the day when they were young.
In town, families will pile their kids into a car, as many as can be stuffed into it, and will cruise up and down the streets looking for a friendly house that will welcome the call of "Tricky Tricky Halloween"...as it is said here. Their loot bags will be held open to receive their treats and at the far side of the crowd will be the parents , open bags in hand, to receive their alloted share. In some cases, they'll return the following day to repeat the ordeal....and again, until you have to say, "Halloween is over. Hasta next year."

What the nasty purists fail to realize is that the day has no political reference and that it's a day for kids.....of all ages.

zforbes - 10-13-2011 at 08:12 AM

Even in the states there are those who consider Halloween "unchristian" and a pagan practice. What I've noticed in the four years that I've been in Asuncion is that there are more youngsters calling out "tricky tricky" each year.

KASHEYDOG - 10-13-2011 at 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

What the nasty purists fail to realize is that the day has no political reference and that it's a day for kids.....of all ages.

Good one Dennis. I agree. For all those NASTY PURISTS, baah humbug right back at ya..............

[Edited on 10-13-11 by KASHEYDOG]

SkyMedBarbara - 10-13-2011 at 08:36 AM

Last Halloween we had over 100 kids with parents (usually waiting in the car if the kids were over 6 or 7). They came by in the carload from Loreto to Nopolo and were dressed up in costumes. Really cute and polite with their "trick or treat" voices. Expect the same this year...getting their candy ready.

backninedan - 10-13-2011 at 09:05 AM

I moved to Loreto nine years ago and Halloween was nothing. Now the kids hit mostly the business area, but they sure have the idea down pat. Tricky Tricky Halloween is the greeting, instead of trick or treat, but the idea is the same....gimme candy.

Have always enjoyed Halloween....made for us kids.

Pompano - 10-13-2011 at 09:23 AM

It was Halloween in Coyote Bay, 2010....

Somehow....I had completely forgot to stock up on candy and treats for these goblins.

What to do?

Improvise!

Grabbing the blender, We Had Margaritas!

Although the littlest tyke preferred Baileys on ice cream. :rolleyes:

I believe we have started a whole new tradition.

Woooosh - 10-13-2011 at 09:33 AM

We usually have between 600-700 "tricky-trickers". The first 100 are local kids with their parents walking around before sunset. The rest come after dark from TJ and pop out of vans like shiner circus clowns. In previous years we we hired a security guard for the street so we could be outside having fun with the kids. Too dangerous this year- so it's local kids only and close-up at dark.

mcfez - 10-13-2011 at 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
There are the hard-core purists that say Halloween corrupts the significance of the "Day Of The Dead", but most of them will also tell you the United States is part and parcel of Satans Great Plan.
As long as I've been here, Halloween has been celebrated by all ages, but not by everybody. Some will turn off the lights and refuse to participate. For sure, they didn't get to enjoy the day when they were young.
In town, families will pile their kids into a car, as many as can be stuffed into it, and will cruise up and down the streets looking for a friendly house that will welcome the call of "Tricky Tricky Halloween"...as it is said here. Their loot bags will be held open to receive their treats and at the far side of the crowd will be the parents , open bags in hand, to receive their alloted share. In some cases, they'll return the following day to repeat the ordeal....and again, until you have to say, "Halloween is over. Hasta next year."

What the nasty purists fail to realize is that the day has no political reference and that it's a day for kids.....of all ages.

What???? Halloween is not a political reference? I always thought those Zombies represented Washington.......

Hey...I see Halloween in San Felipe a lot. Kids love it.

DENNIS - 10-13-2011 at 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
What???? Halloween is not a political reference? I always thought those Zombies represented Washington.......

Hey...I see Halloween in San Felipe a lot. Kids love it.

Well...there probably are a lot of spooky religious conotations, but kids don't know anything about all that. In most cases, neither do their parents.
Actually, I think Halloween was invented by Dentists.......in Washington. :light:

Is Halloween a dirty word in Baja??

greengoes - 10-13-2011 at 11:42 AM

No

It is called El Día de las Brujas by the locals. It was kinda tacked on to the front of El Dia de los Muertos. It bled across the border and kids do love candy.

[Edited on 10-13-2011 by greengoes]

BajaBlanca - 10-13-2011 at 12:09 PM

not one child has ever come to our door here in la bocana... and every year I prepare with a LOT of candy .. this year Rudy left a lot of gum to give away !! Let's see if they come - if note, I will hijack the candy to use as prizes when the kids go cleaning up town with me ....

mcfez - 10-13-2011 at 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBlanca
not one child has ever come to our door here in la bocana... and every year I prepare with a LOT of candy .. this year Rudy left a lot of gum to give away !! Let's see if they come - if note, I will hijack the candy to use as prizes when the kids go cleaning up town with me ....

Do they know about the American tradition? Perhaps you can start something there :light:

DENNIS - 10-13-2011 at 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
Do they know about the American tradition? Perhaps you can start something there :light:

Many of the working class folks in Mexico have spent time in the US. They are largely responsible for the cultural interchange that is Mexico today.

sanquintinsince73 - 10-13-2011 at 02:09 PM

I've seen in the news that adult's are not allowed to roam the streets of TJ in costume because many times in the past the bandits wear costumes on Halloween just to rob Oxxo's. Many, many kids from TJ do come over to the Southbay on Halloween to trick or treat.

http://youtu.be/oFtG0jcFzPU

Oso - 10-13-2011 at 04:23 PM

My wife and I met on Day of the Dead, so in all the stateside places we've lived, where that holiday is not well known, we've celebrated Halloween as an "anniversary" and made a fairly big deal of it.

Now we live a whole mile on the US side of the border. San Luis, AZ is like 99.9% Mexican and Halloween is BIG. We decorate with hanging ghosts, a lit-up Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster, etc. and buy 30-40 # s of candy. We get literally hundreds of trick-or-treaters, ALL Mexican.

Both Days of the Dead (11/1 is for departed kids, 11/2 is for adults) are also observed but quieter and more personal with church, sprucing up gravesites, maybe home altars. Yuma sometimes has an exhibit of altars with various civic sponsors. I've been thinking of doing one. In the last few years I've lost a father, a brother and three of my oldest friends. My wife has lost both parents and several brothers and sisters. If we can dig up photos etc. we may arrange a small table with marigolds and so on.

They say when you reach this age the only two things you do more often than when you were young are urinate and attend funerals.

Tricky trick

EnsenadaDr - 10-15-2011 at 04:15 PM

Yeah, that is exactly what they say, "tricky trick"..a lady that took care of my daughter a few years back, Mexican lady, took my daughter trick or treating with the locals, but for some reason Mexicans vehemently accuse the US of starting Halloween, for some reason they don't want to take responsibility for it.

Quote:

Originally posted by Wooooh
We usually have between 600-700 "tricky-trickers". The first 100 local kids with their parents walking around before sunset. The rest come after dark from TJ and pop out of vans like shiner circus clowns. In previous years we we hired a security guard for the street so we could be outside having fun with the kids. Too dangerous this year- so it's local kids only and close-up at dark.

CaboRon - 10-16-2011 at 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
Yeah, that is exactly what they say, "tricky trick"..a lady that took care of my daughter a few years back, Mexican lady, took my daughter trick or treating with the locals, but for some reason Mexicans vehemently accuse the US of starting Halloween, for some reason they don't want to take responsibility for it.

Quote:

In La Paz, they came to the door and said "I Want My Halloween"

Bajame - 10-16-2011 at 06:38 PM

Last year in San Ignacio there were a small group of older kids who almost knock me down and were grabbing the candy from me. so from now on, only in the Plaza where most of the kids are anyway will there be candy given out from me anyway. They really do love the trick or treating. They say here, Happy Halloween!