Heritage designation← Previous revisionRevision as of 12:08, 10 October 2026 Line 76: Line 76: By 2021, Day of the Dead in Pomuch was noted as having been a tourist attraction for decades. Attendance was in the hundreds. The town applied for the [[Pueblos Mágicos]] tourism label as its notoriety climbed in 2023,{{Sfn|Apipilhuasco Miranda|2025|p=203}} receiving {{Currency|55 million|MXN}} in national funding for infrastructure, tourist facilities, and cultural preservation as part of the [[Tren Maya]] rail project.{{cite news |last1=Vázquez |first1=David |title=Obras del Tren Maya, beneficiarán a Pomuch, Campeche, con una inversión de 55 mdp |url=https://www.poresto.com/campeche/2023/8/9/obras-del-tren-maya-beneficiaran-pomuch-campeche-con-una-inversion-de-55-mdp.html |access-date=4 October 2026 |work=Por Esto! |date=9 August 2023 |language=es |trans-title=Tren Maya construction, will benefit Pomuch, Campeche, with an investment of 55 mdp}} The Campeche state government estimated that 8,000 attendees generated {{Currency|9 million|MXN}} in 2024.{{cite web |title=PRESENTAN ACTIVIDADES DEL FESTIVAL DE DÍA DE MUERTOS, "POMUCH PARA EL MUNDO", 2024 – Sala de Prensa |url=https://ucs.campeche.gob.mx/presentan-actividades-del-festival-de-dia-de-muertos-pomuch-para-el-mundo-2024/ |publisher=Social Communication Unit of the State of Campeche |access-date=3 October 2026 |language=es |date=23 October 2024 |trans-title=Festival de Día de Muertos: Pomuch para el Mundo, 2024 – Press Room}} By 2021, Day of the Dead in Pomuch was noted as having been a tourist attraction for decades. Attendance was in the hundreds. The town applied for the [[Pueblos Mágicos]] tourism label as its notoriety climbed in 2023,{{Sfn|Apipilhuasco Miranda|2025|p=203}} receiving {{Currency|55 million|MXN}} in national funding for infrastructure, tourist facilities, and cultural preservation as part of the [[Tren Maya]] rail project.{{cite news |last1=Vázquez |first1=David |title=Obras del Tren Maya, beneficiarán a Pomuch, Campeche, con una inversión de 55 mdp |url=https://www.poresto.com/campeche/2023/8/9/obras-del-tren-maya-beneficiaran-pomuch-campeche-con-una-inversion-de-55-mdp.html |access-date=4 October 2026 |work=Por Esto! |date=9 August 2023 |language=es |trans-title=Tren Maya construction, will benefit Pomuch, Campeche, with an investment of 55 mdp}} The Campeche state government estimated that 8,000 attendees generated {{Currency|9 million|MXN}} in 2024.{{cite web |title=PRESENTAN ACTIVIDADES DEL FESTIVAL DE DÍA DE MUERTOS, "POMUCH PARA EL MUNDO", 2024 – Sala de Prensa |url=https://ucs.campeche.gob.mx/presentan-actividades-del-festival-de-dia-de-muertos-pomuch-para-el-mundo-2024/ |publisher=Social Communication Unit of the State of Campeche |access-date=3 October 2026 |language=es |date=23 October 2024 |trans-title=Festival de Día de Muertos: Pomuch para el Mundo, 2024 – Press Room}} [[Image:Pomuch un lugar que vive por sus muertos.jpg|thumb|A man holding a skull in Pomuch]] [[Image:Pomuch un lugar que vive por sus muertos.jpg|thumb|upright|A man holding a skull in Pomuch]] The commercialization of the event caused some controversy. Tensions emerged over tourists filming private bone cleanings, as well as local authorities charging entry fees to the cemetery.{{Sfn|Apipilhuasco Miranda|2025|pp=196–197}} In 2025, visitors were charged {{Currency|30|MXN}} to enter the cemetery between 24 October and 30 October. The local Festival Organizing Committee issued a statement saying in part, "It is a private and intimate event, [and] we do not consider it right to reduce it to a commercial product as some authorities [have begun] to do without knowledge of the violation of sacred and private spaces."{{cite news |last1=Santana |first1=Flor Estrella |title=Pomuch invita a celebrar a los finados: ya limpian a sus difuntos y habrá un festival de 13 horas |trans-title=Pomuch invites the deceased to celebrate: they're already cleaning their deceased and there will be a 13-hour festival|url=https://www.yucatan.com.mx/mexico/2025/10/25/pomuch-invita-a-celebrar-a-los-finados-ya-limpian-a-sus-difuntos-y-habra-un-festival-de-13-horas.html |access-date=3 October 2026 |work=[[Diario de Yucatán]] |date=25 October 2025 |language=es}} Residents were described as "split" about the decision, while a local politician, Carlos Ucán, called it a "fine line between sharing and monetizing" when families allowed public viewing of the remains.{{cite news |last1=Nicas |first1=Jack |last2=Carrasquero |first2=Marian |title=For Day of the Dead, One Mexican Town Digs Up Its Dead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/world/americas/mexico-day-of-the-dead-bones-pomuch.html |access-date=3 October 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=2 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251103024512/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/world/americas/mexico-day-of-the-dead-bones-pomuch.html |archive-date=3 November 2025}} Activists formed the rival {{lang|es|Festival Chéen Teech Kajá’anech Tin Tuukul}} ("you are only in my thoughts" festival) in response to the increased tourist activity.{{Sfn|Apipilhuasco Miranda|2025|pp=198–199}} The commercialization of the event caused some controversy. Tensions emerged over tourists filming private bone cleanings, as well as local authorities charging entry fees to the cemetery.{{Sfn|Apipilhuasco Miranda|2025|pp=196–197}} In 2025, visitors were charged {{Currency|30|MXN}} to enter the cemetery between 24 October and 30 October. The local Festival Organizing Committee issued a statement saying in part, "It is a private and intimate event, [and] we do not consider it right to reduce it to a commercial product as some authorities [have begun] to do without knowledge of the violation of sacred and private spaces."{{cite news |last1=Santana |first1=Flor Estrella |title=Pomuch invita a celebrar a los finados: ya limpian a sus difuntos y habrá un festival de 13 horas |trans-title=Pomuch invites the deceased to celebrate: they're already cleaning their deceased and there will be a 13-hour festival|url=https://www.yucatan.com.mx/mexico/2025/10/25/pomuch-invita-a-celebrar-a-los-finados-ya-limpian-a-sus-difuntos-y-habra-un-festival-de-13-horas.html |access-date=3 October 2026 |work=[[Diario de Yucatán]] |date=25 October 2025 |language=es}} Residents were described as "split" about the decision, while a local politician, Carlos Ucán, called it a "fine line between sharing and monetizing" when families allowed public viewing of the remains.{{cite news |last1=Nicas |first1=Jack |last2=Carrasquero |first2=Marian |title=For Day of the Dead, One Mexican Town Digs Up Its Dead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/world/americas/mexico-day-of-the-dead-bones-pomuch.html |access-date=3 October 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=2 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251103024512/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/world/americas/mexico-day-of-the-dead-bones-pomuch.html |archive-date=3 November 2025}} Activists formed the rival {{lang|es|Festival Chéen Teech Kajá’anech Tin Tuukul}} ("you are only in my thoughts" festival) in response to the increased tourist activity.{{Sfn|Apipilhuasco Miranda|2025|pp=198–199}}