In El laberinto de la soledad (The Labyrinth of Solitude), published in 1950, Octavio Paz writes about the Mexican fiesta in the chapter “Todos santos, día de muertos” (All Saints, Day of the Dead). At the fiesta, he writes, “el tiempo suspende su carrera, hace un alto” (time suspends its course and comes to a halt).
The fiesta, in his words, offers “un presente redondo y perfecto, de danza y juerga” (a round and perfect present, of dance and revelry). “El tiempo deja de ser sucesión” (Time stops being a succession).