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Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead, is a two-day holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, where it began. Far from being a sad occasion, it is colorful, humorous and joyful. The holiday reaches back to Mexico’s pre-Columbian history, and has spread internationally through modern pop culture.
The All Souls Procession, part of the All Souls Weekend, is a large celebration and mourning for our loved ones and ancestors. A vibrant parade with artists and performers of all kinds coming together to commemorate those no longer with us. The 2020 Procession will be live streamed, if you wish to participate.
A brief look at the celebration's polytheistic and pagan origins.
By Unknown author
It is essential to note that, although the Day of the Dead is associated with Mexico and Mexico alone, its celebration coincides with pan-Roman Catholic feast days, specifically All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. The term Día de Muertos is essentially Mexican, although perhaps the earliest use of this term comes from a Catalan document produced on October 15, 1671, by the Barcelona silversmith’s guild in which reference is made to the Diada dels Morts. Throughout the Spanish-speaking world outside of Mexico, All Saints’ Day is generally called el Día de Todos Santos, while All Souls’ Day is referred to variously as el Día de Animas (Souls’ Day) or el Día de los Fieles Difuntos (the Day of the Faithful Deceased). In the state of Michoacán, the most popular term is la Noche de Muertos (the Night of the Dead), which emphasizes the importance of the all-night candlelight vigil on November 1-2 to the celebration of the holiday in this region.
A common Mexican trait on either side of the U.S.–Mexico border is the passionate interest in Mexicanidad (Mexicanness) and what comprises Mexican identity. Perhaps this obsession to understand the concept of Mexicanidad comes from nearly five centuries of mestizaje – the interracial and cultural mixing that first occurred in Mesoamerica among Native Indigenous groups, European Spanish and enslaved Africans during the 1520s. By the 18th century, Mexican identity had developed. Mestizaje was the process that constructed it. The museum’s permanent collection showcases the dynamic and distinct Mexican stories in North America, and sheds light on why Mexican identity cannot be regarded as singular; its vast diversity defies any notion of one linear history.
FORGOTTEN is a 2017 short film by Victor J. Rodriguez about the meaning behind Dia de Muertos celebrations.
The Latino Holiday Book is the essential resource for everyone wanting to celebrate and honor the special traditions and celebrations of Hispanic Americans. Author Valerie Menard takes readers through the full year, covering new year's traditions, Día de los Reyes, Calle Ocho, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, the feast of independence, National Puerto Rican Day, the feast of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre and Our Lady of the Divine Inspiration, Día de la Raza (the Latin American version ofColumbus Day), Día de los Muertos, the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and Christmas. Weddings, birthdays, and quinceañeras are also explored in rich detail. For each celebration, Menard discusses their religious or social history, typical customs, special foods and activities, and gives recipes and instructions for making the authentic foods and crafts that particularly represent a day's traditions. With a foreword by Cheech Marin, this newly revised and expanded edition is more inclusive of Dominicans and Colombians and features two new holidays: Mother's Day and Día de los Niños.
Each October, as the Day of the Dead draws near, Mexican markets overflow with decorated breads, fanciful paper cutouts, and whimsical toy skulls and skeletons. To honor deceased relatives, Mexicans decorate graves and erect home altars. Drawing on a rich array of historical and ethnographic evidence, this volume reveals the origin and changing character of this celebrated holiday. It explores the emergence of the Day of the Dead as a symbol of Mexican and Mexican-American national identity. Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead poses a serious challenge to the widespread stereotype of the morbid Mexican, unafraid of death, and obsessed with dying. In fact, the Day of the Dead, as shown here, is a powerful affirmation of life and creativity. Beautifully illustrated, this book is essential for anyone interested in Mexican culture, art, and folklore, as well as contemporary globalization and identity formation.
Bring home the richness and authenticity of the foods of Mexico's main holidays and celebrations! This cookbook offers insight into the traditional Mexican holidays throughout the year, providing historical background and cultural and food information.
Follow two children as they celebrate their ancestors on this vibrant holiday. They offer marigolds, sugar skulls, and special bread, and make delicious foods. By spreading marigold petals, they guide the dead home to join the festivities. Finally, after singing and dancing, it's time for bed. Bob Barner's luscious collages incorporate the traditional symbols of Day of the Dead. His poetic text is both English and Spanish. An author's note provides additional information on the holiday.
Like "Esperanza Rising" and "Rules of Attraction," this coming-of-age novel, "Some Rivers End on The Day of the Dead" follows a Hispanic teen, Marisol. She and her mother are on the run from their home in Tijuana, Mexico. Her father, investigating the drug wars as a journalist, has been murdered. But Marisol's new home is a riverbed camp in a rich California suburb. A wildfire separates Marisol from her mother and her school. Cut off and alone, she challenges herself to find a way to reunite with her family and to celebrate the Day of the Dead in Mexico to honor her father with the proper traditions.
Discover the story behind José Guadalupe Posada's iconic Día de Muertos skeletons in this fascinating picture book from award-winning creator Duncan Tonatiuh A Robert F. Sibert Award Winner, Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book, and ALA/ALSC Notable Children's Book! Funny Bones tells the story of how calaveras came to be. The amusing figures are the creation of Mexican artist José Guadalupe (Lupe) Posada (1852-1913). Lupe learned the art of printing at a young age and soon had his own shop. In a country that was not known for freedom of speech, he drew political cartoons, much to the amusement of the local population but not that of the politicians. He continued to draw cartoons, but he is best known today for his calavera drawings. They have become synonymous with Mexico's Día de Muertos festival. Calaveras are skeletons performing all sorts of activities, both everyday and festive: dancing in the streets, playing instruments in a band, pedaling bicycles, promenading in the park, and even sweeping the sidewalks. They are not intended to be frightening, but rather to celebrate the joy of living as well as provide humorous observations about people. Award-winning author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh relates the pivotal moments of Lupe's life and explains the different artistic processes he used. Juxtaposing his own artwork with Lupe's, Tonatiuh brings to light the remarkable life and work of a man beloved by many but whose name has remained in obscurity.
From early times to the present, Mexican culture has embodied themes of death, sacrifice, and destiny. Once a year, starting at the end of October, Mexicans celebrate death in a national fiesta known as Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). During the festival, the living invite their dead to join with the family and to share a meal and time together before they return to the land of the dead. This Mexican holiday originated with Aztec festivities held in late July and early August.
In Mexico, the festival of Día de los Muertos embodies the greatest expression of both popular Catholicism and the national cuisine. People construct altars in homes and graveyards throughout the country in order to feed the souls of the dead.
The Day of the Dead has long been one of Mexico’s richest, most varied, and famous annual holidays. Foreign visitors flock to Mexico during the last days of October and first days of November to witness a fantastic, original, and creative cultural display. Candies, breads, paper cutouts, and toys fashioned of plastic and clay, all playing humorously on the theme of death, are evident everywhere. Miniature sweets in the form of skulls, skeletons, and caskets give evidence of an almost irreverent confrontation with mortality.
The feast of All Saints Day and the liturgical celebration of All Souls Day have long histories in Western Christendom. The origins of these occasions in the Christian yearly cycle are uncertain, but by the fourteenth century they ranked immediately after Christmas and Holy Week in importance, and their celebration had been fixed on November 1 for All Saints Day and November 2 (or November 3 if November 2 fell on a Sunday) for All Souls Day.
In the northern hemisphere, Day of the Dead celebrations take place at a cold and dark time of year. Documents dating back to the early Middle Ages attest to the season's communal activities, including the late harvest. It is a time when people customarily sought to consolidate relationships through convivial rituals and liturgies before the winter set in.
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