El dia de los muertos is celebrated differently, depending on the
region of Mexico where you are at. My family, and the people I know
in Zacoalco and Guadalajara, visit their dead loved ones on November
2 each year. I remember that when I was a kid they took me several
times to my grandfather's grave, and I remember that after a short
prayer, my dad used to talk directly to my grandfather, staring at
his grave, just like if he was having a conversation with him. I am
used to this, but maybe someone may think it is weird. Anyways,
after "talking" with my grandfather, we always cut some sugar cane
from a plantation inside the cemetery and ate the sticks on the way
back home.
I did not learn about altars for the dead until I came to the United
States. In Jalisco, I never saw one, I guess it is not a tradition
in the state. In California, I found out that those who put the
altars were mostly people from Michoacan. Down there, they really
have a big celebration for November 2