Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - In celebration of Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the oceanfront Velas Vallarta offers two new activities for guests to experience the Mexican culture and history of the holiday. Guests of all ages are invited to decorate La Catrina masks as well as ceramic sugar skulls for the temporary altars placed at the resort through November 2nd.

Additionally, La Catrina and clay and ceramic Sugar Skull art from Jalisco, the state in which Velas Vallarta is located, and Michoacán, the preeminent place for handicrafts in the country, will be available for purchase.

Día de Los Muertos is celebrated all across Mexico, where people honor and remember their deceased loved ones, preparing altars and celebrations upon their grave sites in hopes they’ll return to be with them again.

La Catrina is one of the main symbols of Day of the Dead, symbolizing the willingness and resilience of all Mexican people who in turn laugh at death, instead of fearing it. The elegantly-dressed skeleton serves as a reminder that death equalizes us all, regardless of our societal class.

Another emblem is a sugar skull. Now made from paper mache or hardened clay, sugar skulls got their name from the clay-molded sugar with which they were originally made. Sugar skulls are traditionally very colorful and whimsical to encourage and guide the deceased back to earth.