Preparation for the commemoration of the Animecha kejzitakua begins the night of the 1st on this picturesque island in Lake Pátzcuaro. Almost at midnight, just before the end of All Souls Day, women and children go to the cemetery in silence to arrange the offering to their loved ones. These include beautiful yellow flowers and, placed on delicately embroidered tablecloths, are the favorite foods of the deceased. The candles lit in the cemetery illuminate the faces which, on that night, will depart with the dead. A bell hanging in the archway leading into the cemetery tolls all night to evoke the spirits of the departed. The participation in the ritual of the vigil is considered sacred for the inhabitants of Janitzio.
