GOOD SPIRITS

On a visit to Oaxaca for the Day of the Dead festival, Flora Stubbs pays tribute to her own family history while immersing herself in Mexico's beguiling cuisine, culture, and crafts.

I think it must have been my mother's mom, Moyra, from whom I inherited my love of travel. Widowed in her sixties, she used her late husband's pension to fund a succession of solo trips, each more ambitious than the last. I still remember the photos: Moyra cruising the Danube; Moyra in front of the Pyramids; Moyra in Tiananmen Square, looking sharp as ever in her panama hat.

My grandmother lived to 103, but she never made it to Mexico. Almost a decade after she passed away, I was invited to Oaxaca for Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. "Darling, how wonderful," I could almost hear her saying. The organizers told me I could bring a picture of a deceased relative to honor at the festival. So I dug out Moyra's photo, tucked it in my hand luggage, and off the two of us went.

Día de los Muertos, as anyone who has seen the Disney movie Coco will tell you, is one of Latin America's most culturally significant and visually exuberant holidays-and many people see the city of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, as its epicenter. In late October and early November, the cobblestoned streets erupt with costume parades, cemeteries glow with candlelight, and inside every home an ofrenda, or altar, is set up to commemorate loved ones who have passed away.

I was joining a group trip arranged by Prior, a travel company that, since launching in 2018, has acquired a reputation for curating experiences that combine authenticity with a perfectly curated, Instagram-ready aesthetic. (A robust celebrity client list hasn't damaged its cachet, either.) A new series of itineraries, launched in collaboration with Capital One, is geared around festivals; Día de los Muertos would be the first.