Day of the Dead

Just had a very embarassing case of mistaken identity in the street. Thought I had recognised one of our contacts in Somoto, a New Yorker working for the peace corps. `Hey there Matt!´...`Sorry, have we met?´. Whoops, white people are all starting to look the same to me.
Anyway, today is the Day of the Dead in Nicaragua. The Holiday is far from being as I had expected it to be. Early in the morning we made a trip to the cemetary to lay some flowers for Josue´s father. I expected it to be a somber event, but it turned out to be just the opposite. We arrived at the cemetary and it was flooded with people. However, it seemed like more of a festival than a day for respecting your dead loved ones. People had set up stalls outside of the cemetary with food and flowers, and everyone seemed to be in a generally cheery mood. There were even ice cream and candyfloss salesmen walking around inside. We walked through the cemetary and it was like a trip to the grocery store, stopping and having conversations with everyone we recognised. Neat holiday, being able to pay your respects without it being a depressing matter.
I believe that the cemetary was the limit of the festivities, but the day isn´t quite over. It could yet involve some late night church services. I have heard of some Latin American countries who celebrate the event with parades and parties, but apparently Nicaragua doesn´t share in that custom.