Prostrate yourself, here, where eternity begins. Worldly greatness here is dust. Here ends power, science, The vanity of the beautiful, The ceaseless struggle for existence, Ambition for gold and adventure. Here everything is converted into dust And nothing.
Prostrate yourself, here, where eternity begins. Worldly greatness here is dust. Here ends power, science, The vanity of the beautiful, The ceaseless struggle for existence, Ambition for gold and adventure. Here everything is converted into dust And nothing.


If a Foreigner Dies in Puerto Escondido - Updated


HERE’S THE CHOICE: BURIAL OR CREMATION OR HAVING the body flown home. Most Mexicans prefer burial, foreigners cremation. When a person dies in Puerto Escondido, the body is brought to a funeral home where the autopsy is performed by a doctor from the District Attorney’s office (Procuraduría). A death certificate is then issued, and the embassy informed.

If the person is receiving medical care, their doctor can sign off on the death certificate. It’s that simple. You just call the doctor and call the mortuary of your choice. Do NOT call for an ambulance. The funeral parlor will pick up the deceased and handle all the paperwork. Their main business is selling coffins. Prices vary widely. You can prepay and save your heirs the cost.

Funerales Alcalá, just off of Rinconada next to the hotel Xaiba, was founded in 1972 by Juan Carlos Alcalá Gopar and his wife Catalina Patiño. It was Puerto’s first mortuary and is now operated by his doña Catalina and her grandson Ángel Ernesto López Alcalá Back then Puerto had a population of under 3,500 and coffins were made by local carpenters. The custom was, and still is, for the body to go from the funeral home to the house of the deceased for the wake. There is a brass band. The band also plays at the internment the following day.

Catalina Patiño y Ángel Ernesto López Alcalá
Catalina Patiño y Ángel Ernesto López Alcalá
Victoria Eugenia Martínez Itubarría, Funerales Díaz
Victoria Eugenia Martínez Itubarría, Funerales Díaz


Capilla Funerales Díaz
Capilla Funerales Díaz


When Armando Carreño and his wife Victoria Eugenia Mártinez Itubarría took over Funerales Díaz in 1990, the population had reached 8,000. It is located near the VW showroom on the Carretera Costera (Hwy 200), and it is the mortuary of choice for Puerto’s long-time foreign residents. It is also the most costly.

Funeraria Santa Lucía, just opposite the airport on Highway 131, attended to eight foreign deaths between January and July of 2025. They were tourists from the US, Canada, France, Russia, England, Italy and Korea, ranging in age from 22 to 66. Most of their families wanted them cremated.


Funerales Santa Lucia
Funerales Santa Lucia


Puerto’s most economical mortuary is Funerales Ramírez located next to the Hospital General in La Parota.

Funerales Alcalá 954 107 1987.
Funerales Díaz 954 588 0015.
Funeraria Santa Lucía 951 590 6755.
Funerales Ramírez 954 167 5539, 954 150 8702.



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