Dia De Los Muertos

BYLOGAN WARD

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 14, 2022

Here’s one thing we know: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is not a Mexican version of Halloween.

Though related, the two annual events differ greatly in traditions and tone. Whereas Halloween embraces terror and mischief on the last night of October, Day of the Dead festivities unfold over the first two days of November in an explosion of color and life-affirming joy. Sure, the theme is death, but the point is to demonstrate love and respect for deceased family members. In towns and cities throughout Mexico, revelers don funky makeup and costumes, hold parades and parties, sing and dance, and make offerings to lost loved ones.
Here are 10 essential things you should know about Mexico’s most colorful annual event.

1. The holiday dates back thousands of years.

2. It has been recognized by UNESCO.

3. Altars are an important tradition...

4. ...and so are literary calaveras...
Calavera means “skull.” But during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, calavera was used to describe short, humorous poems, which were often sarcastic tombstone epitaphs published in newspapers that poked fun at the living. 

5. ...especially the calavera Catrina.
In 1947 artist Diego Rivera featured Posada’s stylized skeleton in his masterpiece mural “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park.” Posada’s skeletal bust was dressed in a large feminine hat, and Rivera made his female and named her Catrina, slang for “the rich.” Today, the calavera Catrina, or elegant skull, is the Day of the Dead’s most ubiquitous symbol.

6. Families bring food to the dead.

7. People dress in costumes.

8. Streets are decorated in papel picado.

9. Mexico City hosts an iconic parade.

10. Other communities celebrate in unique ways.

Pátzcuaro:  Indigenous people from the countryside converge on the shores of Pátzcuaro Lake, where they pile into canoes, a single candle burning in each bow, and paddle over to a tiny island called Janitzio for an all-night vigil in an indigenous cemetery.
Mixquic: In this Mexico City suburb, bells from the historic Augustinian convent toll and community members bearing candles and flowers process to the local cemetery, where they clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones.
Tuxtepec: This small city in the northeastern part of Oaxaca state is best known for its sawdust rugs. For days, locals painstakingly arrange colored sawdust, flower petals, rice, pine needles, and other organic materials in elaborate, ruglike patterns on city streets. Traditionally made for important processions, Tuxtepec’s sawdust rugs are judged in a contest held during Día de los Muertos.
Aguascalientes: Located roughly 140 miles north of Guadalajara, Aguascalientes—birthplace of engraver José Guadalupe Posada—stretches its Day of the Dead celebrations to nearly a week during its Festival de Calaveras (Festival of Skulls). The festival culminates in a grand parade of skulls along Avenida Madero.

Full Article on National Geographic
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/top-ten-day-of-dead-mexico

photos: 

Skeleton statues decorate Mexico City for Day of the Dead on November 2, 2018.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAIR CABRERA, NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

Papel picado, or pierced papers, blow in the wind in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. You can find papel picado around Mexico throughout the year, but especially around Day of the Dead.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RAUL TOUZON

A young Mexican woman dressed as la Catrina and wearing an embroidered face mask, performs during Day of the Dead celebrations on October 29, 2021, in Taxco de Alarcón, Mexico.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAN SOCHOR, GETTY IMAGES

Revelers in Mexico City celebrate the Day of the Dead by dressing up as the holiday's most ubiquitous symbol, a skeletal figure known as the calavera Catrina.

PHOTOGRAPH BY TOMAS BRAVO, REUTERS