Halloween in South America, and the older days after it

Trick or treat in Colombia, creole music in Peru, and bread and purple maize for the dead in the Andes

Halloween arrived late in South America, and how much it matters depends on where you are. In Colombia it is a huge night for children. In Peru it shares the date with a national music day. And in the Andes the days that really count come straight after it, on 1 and 2 November.

Colombia: a night for children

In Colombia, Halloween is often called el Día de las Brujas, Witches' Day. Children go out in costume with their parents, to neighbours' doors, school parties and shopping centres, where the shops hand out sweets: en el centro comercial dan dulces. At the door they sing a rhyme that starts ¡Triqui triqui!, a Colombian take on trick or treat. A compliment that always lands is ¡Qué lindo disfraz!, what a lovely costume, with lindo, the everyday South American word for lovely.

If you are taking children, the instructions use the ustedes command: no se suelten de la mano, do not let go of each other's hands, and no acepten dulces abiertos, do not take opened sweets.

Further south

In Argentina, Chile and Uruguay Halloween is growing, mostly as costume parties and a few streets of trick or treating. In Argentina and Chile children ask ¿Dulce o truco? Pumpkins there are usually zapallos, and sweets are often golosinas.

Peru: creole music on the 31st

Since 1944, 31 October in Peru has also been el Día de la Canción Criolla, a day for the creole music of the coast, its waltzes and festejos. Some Peruvians keep it instead of Halloween, and in Lima both happen the same night. Look for peña criolla on posters: a night of live music, food and dancing.

Ecuador: colada morada

In Ecuador, 2 November is el Día de los Difuntos, a public holiday, un feriado, when families visit the graves of their relatives. For weeks before it, bakeries and cafés sell colada morada, a thick hot drink of purple maize flour, fruit and spices, with guaguas de pan, sweet breads shaped like swaddled babies. Guagua is Quechua for baby, which surprises anyone who has learned it as the word for a bus in the Caribbean and the Canary Islands.

Bolivia: a table for the souls

In Bolivia, Todos Santos on 1 and 2 November is one of the year's most important family days. Families set a table for the souls of their dead with tantawawas, bread figures of children and people, bread ladders for the souls to climb, sugar cane, flowers and the dead person's favourite food and drink. By tradition the souls arrive at midday on the 1st and leave at midday on the 2nd, and the family visits the cemetery to see them off.

Feriado or festivo

One word worth having: in most of South America a public holiday is un feriado; Spain, and Colombia too, say un festivo. Mexico's Day of the Dead, and Halloween and Todos los Santos in Spain, each have a guide of their own.