These Dogs Play a Very Special Role on the Day of the Dead

Every year on November 1 and 2, the Mexican people and their diaspora celebrate Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. It’s a holiday when people honor the spirits of departed loved ones through altars, food, and other offerings — while the deceased make their four-year-long journey through nine arduous levels in Mictlán (or, the Aztec’s underworld) towards a final resting place. 

Xoloitzcuintli, also known as Mexican Hairless Dogs, have long been central to Día de los Muertos narratives. (In case you’re curious, Xoloitzcuintli is pronounced “show-low-eats-QUEENT-lee,” according to the American Kennel Club.) Xolos, as they’re more casually referred to, are believed to guard humans both in their mortal lives and in the afterlife. That’s why, in ancient times, they were often buried next to their people — and it’s why they are continually celebrated during Día de los Muertos festivities. 

According to beliefs, an Aztec god named Xolotl created this dog breed from the same bone of life as their humans to guide the latter’s souls through Mictlán. Among the Xolo’s key responsibilities was helping their pet parents cross the perilous Apanohuacalhuia River. According to some legends, people who treated dogs poorly were left stranded.

In some cases, the dogs were sadly sacrificed to join their humans in burial; archeologists have found their bones in Mayan tombs. But in other cases, archaeologists have found ceramic versions of the dogs symbolically buried with people, to similarly usher them through the afterlife. During Día de los Muertos, it isn’t uncommon to see family members create an altar (or ofrenda) that includes photos, toys, candles, and treats to honor a fallen pet.

The breed’s appeal on this mortal coil has been well documented, too. Because they are typically hairless (save a tuft of hair atop their heads), Xolos radiated so much warmth that Aztecs believed they possessed the ability to heal. So humans — believing the dogs can cure asthma, insomnia, toothaches, and rheumatism — kept them close like living, breathing hot-water bottles.  

The name Xoloitzcuintli is a mix of words: “Xolotl,” a reference to the aforementioned god of lightning and death, and “itzcuintli,” the Aztec word for dog. In the Nahuatl language, it’s purported that “Xolo” means “monster” — a reference to the dogs’ darker appearances. At one point in history, they were mistaken for Chupacabras. So it’s no surprise that Reader’s Digest once anointed Xolos the world’s ugliest dog. Many, however, would passionately disagree with that assessment.

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In modern times, Xolo enthusiasts have showered much love on the breed. They are adorably slim dogs, who can vary in height from 10 inches to 23 inches, with a life expectancy of 13 to 18 years. Artist Frida Kahlo included her Xolos, namely her favorite pup Señor Xototl, in her paintings. She also posed next to her Xolos in artwork drawn by her husband, the muralist Diego Rivera. (The latter even opened the first Xolo breeding kennel in 1925.) Decades later, Xolo fans demonstrated renewed interest in the breed via the Xolo Expedition of 1954, during which they found just 10 remaining Xolos across Mexico and kicked off a campaign to propagate them.

More recently, Pixar’s 2017 film Coco featured an adorable Xolo named Dante who never left the side of his human, Miguel, as he traversed the world of the undead. (These days, some dog lovers even participate in Día de los Muertos events with their Xolos in tow, painting them and dressing them in Aztec garb.) Meanwhile, Tijuana went so far as to name a soccer club after the dog. They’ve become such a status-symbol in the country that, by 2017, purebreds went for up to $5,000 in Mexico City. To that end, they are recognized by the American Kennel Club and now appear in the coveted Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. 

Trends aside, Xolos are legitimately quite extraordinary. As a breed, they date back 3,000 years, with one archeological dig seemingly backing up the idea that they existed 5,500 years ago. (A different study purports that the breed hasn’t changed all that much over the centuries.) Even Christopher Columbus commented on the Aztec’s love of this breed. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen in numerous cultures, Xolos became a food source to Spanish conquistadors, which led to their diminishing population.

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Today, the Xolo is recognized as Mexico’s national dog, and in 2020 it was named a symbol of Mexico City. Recent reports estimate that there are fewer than 30,000 Xolos around the world, making them just as exceptional to their pet parents as they were at the dawn of the 20th century. “You really have to be thinking [with Xolos] all the time,” Kay Lawson, a Xolo breeder and former president of the Xoloitzcuintli Club of America, told National Geographic. “They open doors, they open crates. This is a primitive dog. They’re extremely intelligent.”