Dia de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos, also known as Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead, is not Mexican Halloween. While it shares a connection to the Catholic holidays All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on November 1 and 2 (Halloween derives from "All Hallows' Eve"), Día de los Muertos is much closer to Memorial Day in spirit, a time to honor the dearly departed. The holiday has roots in an ancient indigenous rituals, including Maya and Aztec festivals for the dead, the most important perhaps being the Aztec festival held at the beginning of August for the skeletal goddess Mictecacihuatl, or the queen of the underworld and "keeper of the bones," to honor one's ancestors. After the Spanish colonized Mexico in the 16th century, the festival moved to October 31 through November 1 and became fused with the three-day Catholic observance of Allhallowtide to honor martyrs, saints, and Christians who have passed away. In general, by the late 20th century, October 31 to November 1 became the time to remember dead children and babies, or Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") or Día de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels"), while deceased adults are remembered November 1-2, Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos ("Day of the Deceased"). Day of the Dead celebrations involve setting up private altars known as "ofrendas" to late loved ones, adorned with photographs, crosses, candles, ornate sugar skulls known as "calaveras," folk-art skeleton figurines called "calacas," Aztec marigolds, "dead bread" or "pan de muertos," and the favorite foods and drinks of the deceased. Marigold petals are spread on the ground as a trail to the altars, as marigolds are thought to be so bright and lovely smelling that the dead cannot resist returning. The same offerings—symbols of abundance—are taken to the cemetery, often in a parade or procession, where graves are cleaned and decorated. Because the ancestors and departed are thought to visit from the beyond, celebrants will pray for them and share funny or joyful stories from their lives and play games. Some celebrations entail painting one's face or wearing a mask in the style of a sugar skull. The dead are believed to carry protection, good fortune, and wisdom to the living. Calaveras (sugar skulls) and calacas (skeleton figures) date to the 18th century. Between 1910 and 1913, Mexican printmaker, engraver, and cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada—known for satirizing politics through skeletal figures—created a zinc engraving then called "La Calavera Garbanceras," for a political broadside. "Garbanceras" was a derogatory term for native Mexican people who had adopted the style and airs of the European aristocracy, and his engraving showed a skeleton wearing an oversize Edwardian woman's hat embellished with flowers. The image became known as "La Calavera Catrina," or "The Well-Dressed Skeleton" or "Elegant Skull." It's a memento mori, a reminder that no matter how fine your clothes are, you too will die. The figure now known as Catrina became an icon in 1947, when famed Mexican artist Diego Rivera made her a central figure in his Mexico City mural, "Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central" or "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central," which included major Mexican figures from over 400 years, including Posada. Rivera's Catrina embraced Mexico's welcoming attitude toward death as a natural part of life, and connected the image to the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, who had evolved into Santa Muerte, or a saint known as "Our Holy Lady of Death"—"Lady Death" for short. Thanks to Rivera, La Calavera Catrina became a popular figure in Día de los Muertos celebrations around Mexico. You see folk-art Catrina calacas carved out of wood or made from papier-mâché, sugar, majolica pottery, or Barro negro black clay pottery. It's also common for women to paint their faces and dress like Catrina on Day of the Dead. Later, Catrina gained a male companion, known as a "Catrine." Other calaca skeletal figurines show common men and women, wearing their day-to-day clothes and marigold flowers and leaves—their skeleton imagery is thought to be derived from Mayan depictions of death. Calacas range from dollhouse-size miniatures to bigger-than-life-size puppets. Calacas are always joyful and smiling, depicted in colorful clothing, often dancing, riding bicycles, or playing sports or musical instruments. This traces back to the Aztec belief that no dead soul wants to be remembered in sadness. Some skeletons depict more mundane activities, like a person going to the doctor or working away at their computer. Sometimes calacas are featured in shadow boxes called "retablos," portraying scenes of everyday life. Variations of Día de los Muertos are also celebrated in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru, as well as parts of the United States and Oceania where Latinx people reside. In Guatemala, the skeleton or calaca is a foreboding figure, like the Grim Reaper, representing the fear of death. Celebrations there involve the construction of enormous kites. In modern U.S. pop culture, Day of the Dead iconography has influenced filmmaker Tim Burton, writer Neil Gaiman, and video-game maker Tim Schafer, who created "Grim Fandango." The traditions and beliefs of Día de los Muertos were most recently highlighted in the 2017 Pixar film, "Coco."