Huehues is a word of Nahuatl origin, used in the Sierra Mazateca to refer to the elderly. From there derives the term Huehuenton, which represents the deceased souls that dance among the living.
According to tradition, from October 27th to November 3rd, the offerings for the dead arrive at the cemeteries and transform into portals that links the spiritual with the earthly dimension. From that moment on, the living shed their personality and identity to become a Huehuenton in the following days.
From the first day, the Huehuentones (both young and old) go out to sing and dance through the streets of Huautla. Those who participate in the celebration dress up in various ways, but the most common costume is the typical Mazatec attire, consisting of the huipil (a traditional blouse), cotton pants-shirt, huaraches (sandals), and the ixtle hat. Their faces are covered with carved wooden masks, (they can also use other materials such as cardboard and rubber).
The host families welcome the Huehuentones into their homes with food, fruits, sweets, tamales, coffee, mezcal, aguardiente, tobacco, among other things. Then, the characters perform a gratitude ritual in Mazatec, and continue their journey singing and dancing to other houses.
We chose to name the best coffee from this region as Huehuentones to remind us that coffee comes from a very different part of the world, whose culture and life are kilometers away from the Western world.
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