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Learn How To Draw and Color A Sugar Skull -- Part 2 -- iCanHazDraw!

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Take your sugar skull drawing to the next level by adding some super bright colors! Neons work really well to make this design festive and fun!

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High Speed (×16) drawing movie "Zentangle Skull" Please check my behance as well. https://www.behance.net/NoahsARTGallery You can see the process of my drawing and how to fill in the space with botanical zentangle. I also made iPhone case & T-shirts with this zentangle skull. please those items from the link below.

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Learn How To Draw and Color A Sugar Skull -- Part 1 -- iCanHazDraw!

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skulls are created either for children or as offerings to be placed on altars known as ofrendas for the Día de Muertos which has roots in the Aztec, Mayan, and Toltec cultural celebration of the Day of the Dead. ... Children who have died, represented by small sugar skulls, are celebrated on November 1.

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The making of Day of the Dead Spectre clip

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The making of Day of the Dead Spectre clip

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SPECTRE vlog features Day of the Dead festival

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The Book of Life Official Trailer (2014) Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum HD

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Who is Day of the Dead dedicated to? - video

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Who is Day of the Dead dedicated to? - video

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Day of the Dead Celebration (Celebracion Dia de los Muertos) | Muy Bueno

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WATCH THE VIDEO / OR BROWSE THROUGH THE WEBSITE - think about...

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WATCH THE VIDEO / OR BROWSE THROUGH THE WEBSITE - think about...

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1. When is Day of the Dead celebrated?

2. Why is it celebrated? What is the purpose of this celebration?

3. Where is it celebrated? What culture practices this custom?

4. Who is it celebrated for? Who are the people that they 'honour'?

5. How is it celebrated? What do people do on that day?

6. Name a similar celebration in your own culture that is similar to Day of the Dead.

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CLOSE

For Gennaro Garcia, his childhood memories of Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, are as colorful and vivid as the art he creates.

The 44-year-old spent his early years in Manzanillo, Colima, in southern Mexico. Every Nov. 1-2, his family would visit the cemetery where his relatives were buried. They would clean the tombs, making them look as good as new. There would be music, tequila and mezcal. And food, lots of food.

"It was a party," says Garcia, who lives in the Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood. "Everybody in town would come to the cemetery to spend time with the dead. I remember meeting and seeing all of my friends at the cemetery on that day. It was like a celebration of life."

And, he stresses, there was never any fear.

"Part of our tradition in Mexico is to not be scared of death and to smile at it. It's a celebration of our ancestors as they were when they were on this earth, alive. It was never a sad thing or a scary thing."

Day of the Dead survives, celebrates life

Like the memory of a loved one that never fades, Dia de Los Muertos also survives. It may change and evolve, but it never vanishes. The Spaniards learned that when they arrived in central Mexico in the 16th century. They viewed the ritual, which was started by the Aztecs some 3,000 years ago, as sacrilegious. But the festival couldn't be quashed.

Not only did it survive, it thrived, moving from southern Mexico and spreading north. It also merged with elements of Christianity. Originally celebrated in the summer, it moved to Nov. 1 and 2 to coincide with All Saints Days and All Souls Day.

Day of the Dead is still celebrated throughout Mexico and has even gone Hollywood: Daniel Craig's James Bond pursued a baddie through Mexico City during a massive Day of the Dead carnival in 2015's "Spectre." The 2014 film "The Book of Life" features a Day of the Dead theme and animation filled with calacas (skeletons) and calaveras (skulls).

Itt has also moved to certain regions of the United States. In Arizona, for example, there are more than a dozen events that mark the occasion to honor the dead.

Celebrating with altars, processions

At the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, their annual celebration has turned into one of the organization's signature events. There is an exhibition of ofrendas, or offerings to the deceased on altars, as well as music, storytelling and a procession.

Ken Schutz, executive director at the garden, said their event - now in its 13th year - has grown annually, something he sees as a natural progression.

"Nationally, you hear more and more about Day of the Dead," he says. "Our country and our state is becoming more multicultural, and it's higher on everyone's radar. It's becoming part of the national consciousness."

The garden designed its festival to appeal to people who connect with the spiritual aspect as well as those who are more into the playful aesthetic of sugar skulls and dancing skeletons.

"That's important for me on a deep level," Schutz says. "People can plug in in different ways. For some folks, it's a party. That's true in Mexico, and that's true here. But for the indigenous communities, it's a very important holiday, and we try to stay true to that spirit."

Schutz has experienced the power of Day of the Dead first-hand. Several years ago, he spent a week in Oaxaca in southern Mexico during the annual celebration.

DAY OF THE DEAD: Landing page | 2016 events | Where to shop for Dia de los Muertos | History | Crafts | Recipes | For teachers and students

'A profound experience'

"It's a profound experience," Schutz says. "It can be shocking at first, when you go beyond the color and look at the deeper meaning. It was a time of happiness, a time of cooking. There was lots of decorating and bringing colors and flowers into the home. Families would come together to prepare an altar."

Like Garcia, he went to a cemetery at night. And, like most people born and raised with an American sensibility, it was initially an unsettling concept.

"To me, it was the most culturally unfamiliar part of the experience: To sit in a cemetery all night with a mariachi band and a picnic basket at the graveside. The whole thing - it's a whole different way to look at what it means to be alive. It was life-changing for me. I think that's one of the beautiful things about living in a multicultural society: You have the privilege of seeing and sharing perspectives with other cultures."

Oliverio Balcells, who originally is from Guadalajara, Jalisco, is very familiar with the tradition. As a child, he grew up in a "very Christian-Catholic" home, he says, and Day of the Dead was a regular part. There would be trips to the cemetery. In school, children would create skeleton-themed crafts to prepare for the holiday.

Now, however, "I don't really follow with the religion anymore," the Tempe man says with a chuckle. "I just explain to my kids: I don't go to church or to cemeteries anymore."

Tribute to loved ones

Phoenix artist Lucinda Yrene gives a tutorial on how to do adults and kids makeup to look like a Day of the Dead sugar skull. (Photo: Pat Shannahan/The Republic)

But Day of the Dead is a key part of the art he creates. He has made ofrendas for years. This year, he has a display at the garden of a spectacular ofrenda that stands 6 feet. Dominated by black and vibrant purples, it features a large butterfly and a symbol of a cocoon. In Mexico, monarch butterflies appear in November, and many believe they carry the souls of ancestors.

Balcells laughs when he says it's not obvious what was on his mind when he created the ofrenda. But his mother, Marta Delgado, died last year. The altar is a tribute to her.

"You wish this person was here with you," he says. "You want to remember this person, and that's why you do it."

Making the piece was "difficult," he says. "I could not keep my emotions separate. Making an ofrenda is not something that is going to cure you of that feeling of sadness. But the feelings and the memories and all those things? When you finish, and you say, 'It's done,' and you know the purpose and meaning behind it, it's good to have this expression. And that helps you cope with the other parts."

As Day of the Dead has expanded, there could be some fear that certain aspects - the spirituality, in particular - could get lost. Marco Albarran, an exhibit developer at Arizona State University, says evolution is natural.

Still a spiritual holiday?

"Here in the United States, they're just trying to connect to something," he says. "All humans celebrate something that is very similar, but everybody in each place has their own kind of twist, so it becomes more a humanistic celebration than a specifically Mexican one."

Still, there are some elements that bother him about the commercialization of the days.

"Just go to the 99 cents store," he says. "You're going to see Dia de Los Muertos mixed in with Halloween. And then you go to a festival, and you look at Dia de Los Muertos art and it's made in China? That's not right."

He says he will hear people criticize certain Dia de Los Muertos celebrations, saying they're not traditional.

"But even what people perceive as traditional isn't traditional," he says. "I came from a family that was very traditional, and when we came to the border (in Sonora), that tradition still continued, but not as strong. It became very weak.

"Here, it's almost kind of lost. It's hard to connect with family the way we did when we were young, because everybody's doing different things. If it wasn't for Facebook, I don't know what we'd do."

Garcia knows that feeling. When he came to the United States, annual visits to cemeteries stopped. After all, he had no relatives buried here. He might go with friends, but it wasn't the same thing.

Keeping tradition

Art pieces are pictured at the Ofrenda Exhibition at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix on Friday, Oct. 21, 2016. Ofrendas are offerings to the dead, as part of the Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertos. The exhibit, open until Nov. 2, displays original ofrenda pieces by local artists. (Photo: Ben Moffat/The Republic)

But now that his daughter, Frida, is 6 years old, he and his wife, Briseida Silva, have decided she can be introduced to the meaning behind the art that he does.

"I've been waiting for this moment so we can teach her about Dia de los Muertos," he says. "At an earlier age, they don't understand it completely. Now, she has her own opinions, her own understanding of the celebration. She can understand it, and she doesn't think it's boring. For us, it's as important as teaching her Spanish."

They talk about the grandparents and great-grandparents Frida never knew, and she listens intently.

"That's the beautiful part," he says. "When you see her eyes and she's trying to soak in these people and to understand they've passed away and we're celebrating what they did, their way of life, what they used to eat, their favorite pastry - that's the important thing."
Reach the reporter at randy.cordova@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8849. Twitter.com/randy_cordova.
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Day of the Dead history: Ritual dates back 3,000 years and is still evolving

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CLOSE For Gennaro Garcia, his childhood memories of Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, are as colorful and vivid as the art he creates. The 44-year-old spent his early years in Manzanillo, Colima, in southern Mexico. Every Nov. 1-2, his family would visit the cemetery where his relatives were buried.

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Origins, beliefs, traditions practiced in and out of Mexico

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Day of the Dead

Observed by

Mexico, and regions with large Mexican populations

Type

Cultural

Christian (with syncretic elements)[1]

Significance

Prayer and remembrance of friends and family members who have died

Celebrations

Creation of home altars to remember the dead, traditional dishes for the Day of the Dead

Begins

November 1

Ends

November 2

Date
November 2

Next time

2 November 2024

Frequency

Annual

Related to

All Saints' Day, All Hallows' Eve, All Souls Day[1]

The Day of the Dead ( Spanish: el Día de Muertos or el Día de los Muertos) is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely observed in Mexico, where it largely developed, and is also observed in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage. The observance falls during the Christian period of Allhallowtide. Some argue that there are Indigenous Mexican or ancient Aztec influences that account for the custom, and it has become a way to remember those forebears of Mexican culture. The Day of the Dead is largely seen as having a festive characteristic. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and to remember friends and family members who have died. These celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.

Traditions connected with the holiday include honoring the deceased using calaveras and marigold flowers known as cempazúchitl, building home altars called ofrendas with the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these items as gifts for the deceased. The celebration is not solely focused on the dead, as it is also common to give gifts to friends such as candy sugar skulls, to share traditional pan de muerto with family and friends, and to write light-hearted and often irreverent verses in the form of mock epitaphs dedicated to living friends and acquaintances, a literary form known as calaveras literarias.

In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Origins, history, and similarities to other festivities

Mexican academics are divided on whether the festivity has genuine indigenous pre-Hispanic roots or whether it is a 20th-century rebranded version of a Spanish tradition developed during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas to encourage Mexican nationalism through an "Aztec" identity. The festivity has become a national symbol in recent decades and it is taught in the nation's school system asserting a native origin. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Views differ on whether the festivity has indigenous pre-Hispanic roots, whether it is a more modern adaptation of an existing European tradition, or a combination of both as a manifestation of syncretism. The beginning of the Christian observance of Allhallowtide, including All Saints' Day and its vigil, as well as All Souls' Day, is observed on the same days in places like Spain and Southern Europe, and elsewhere in Christendom. Critics of the native American origin claim that even though pre-Columbian Mexico had traditions that honored the dead, current depictions of the festivity have more in common with European traditions of Danse macabre and their allegories of life and death personified in the human skeleton to remind of the ephemeral nature of life. Over the past decades, however, Mexican academia has increasingly questioned the validity of this assumption, even going as far as calling it a politically motivated fabrication. Historian Elsa Malvido, researcher for the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH, or National Institute of Anthropology and History) and founder of the institute's Taller de Estudios sobre la Muerte (Workshop of Studies on Death), was the first to do so in the context of her wider research into Mexican attitudes to death and disease across the centuries. Malvido completely discards a native or even syncretic origin arguing that the tradition can be fully traced to Medieval Europe. She highlights the existence of similar traditions on the same day, not just in Spain, but in the rest of Catholic Southern Europe and Latin America such as altars for the dead, sweets in the shape of skulls and bread in the shape of bones.

Agustin Sanchez Gonzalez has a similar view in his article published in the INAH's bi-monthly journal Arqueología Mexicana. Gonzalez states that, even though the "indigenous" narrative became hegemonic, the spirit of the festivity has far more in common with European traditions of Danse macabre and their allegories of life and death personified in the human skeleton to remind us the ephemeral nature of life. He also highlights that in the 19th-century press there was little mention of the Day of the Dead in the sense that we know it today. All there was were long processions to cemeteries, sometimes ending with drunkenness. Elsa Malvido also points to the recent origin of the tradition of "velar" or staying up all night with the dead. It resulted from the Reform Laws under the presidency of Benito Juarez which forced family pantheons out of Churches and into civil cemeteries, requiring rich families to have servants guard family possessions displayed at altars.

The historian Ricardo Pérez Montfort has further demonstrated how the ideology known as indigenismo became more and more closely linked to post-revolutionary official projects whereas Hispanismo was identified with conservative political stances. This exclusive nationalism began to displace all other cultural perspectives, to the point that in the 1930s the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl was officially promoted by the government as a substitute for the Spanish Three Kings tradition, with a person dressed up as the deity offering gifts to poor children.

In this context, the Day of the Dead began to be officially isolated from the Catholic Church by the leftist government of Lázaro Cárdenas motivated both by "indigenismo" and left-leaning anti-clericalism. Malvido herself goes as far as calling the festivity a "Cardenist invention" whereby the Catholic elements are removed and emphasis is laid on indigenous iconography, the focus on death and what Malvido considers to be the cultural invention according to which Mexicans venerate death. Gonzalez explains that Mexican nationalism developed diverse cultural expressions with a seal of tradition but which are essentially social constructs which eventually developed ancestral tones. One of these would be the Catholic Día de Muertos which, during the 20th century, appropriated the elements of an ancient pagan rite.

One key element of the re-developed festivity which appears during this time is La Calavera Catrina by Mexican lithographer José Guadalupe Posada. According to Gonzalez, while Posada is portrayed in current times as the "restorer" of Mexico's pre-Hispanic tradition, he was never interested in Native American culture or history. Posada was predominantly interested in drawing scary images which are far closer to those of the European renaissance or the horrors painted by Francisco de Goya in the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon than to the Mexica tzompantli. The recent trans-Atlantic connection can also be observed in the pervasive use of couplet in allegories of death and the play Don Juan Tenorio by 19th-century Spanish writer José Zorrilla which is represented on this date both in Spain and in Mexico since the early 19th century due to its ghostly apparitions and cemetery scenes.

Opposing views assert that despite the obvious European influence, there exists proof of pre-Columbian festivities that were very similar in spirit, with the Aztec people having at least six celebrations during the year that were very similar to Day of the Dead, the closest one being Quecholli, a celebration that honored Mixcóatl (the god of war) and was celebrated between October 20 and November 8. This celebration included elements such as the placement of altars with food (tamales) near the burying grounds of warriors to help them in their journey to the afterlife. Influential Mexican poet and Nobel prize laureate Octavio Paz strongly supported the syncretic view of the Día de Muertos tradition being a continuity of ancient Aztec festivals celebrating death, as is most evident in the chapter "All Saints, Day of the Dead" of his 1950 book-length essay The Labyrinth of Solitude.

Ruben C. Cordova emphasizes the zeal with which the Spanish attempted to extinguish indigenous religious beliefs and practices, such that it is often difficult to reconstruct their main features. Over time, indigenous converts became extremely devout Catholics. As Mexico modernized, the traditional practices that the Spanish had brought to the Americas survived most robustly in rural and less affluent communities, which had high concentrations of indigenous and mestizo populations. Thus archaic Spanish religious practices in marginal areas came to be mistakenly regarded as the "pure" core of primarily "indigenous" Day of the Dead festivities.

The Aztecs devoted two twenty-day months in their ritual calendar to the dead: the ninth and tenth months, which were for children and adults, respectively. Cordova argues that some recollection of these festivals "was compressed down to two days and cryptically celebrated within the Catholic liturgical calendar", which is why, in Mexico, "unlike other Latin American countries with Day of the Dead traditions - All Saints' Day is dedicated to children, and All Souls' Day is dedicated to adults."

He also notes that the same object, such as a stone skull carved by the Aztecs, would have different meanings in different religious contexts. For the Aztecs, bones-and skulls in particular-were reservoirs of enormous sacred power. A stone skull could evoke sacrifice, and the skull racks where the skulls of sacrificed captives were displayed. The Spanish could take an Aztec skull and repurpose it by placing it on a holy water font, or under a cross in a cemetery, whereby it would be transformed into a memento mori.

Regardless of its origin, the festivity has become a national symbol in Mexico and as such is taught in the nation's school system, typically asserting a native origin. It is also a school holiday nationwide.

Observance in Mexico

Altars and installations in Mexico City museums and public spaces

A number of Mexico City's museums and public spaces have played an important part in developing and promoting urban Day of the Dead traditions through altars and installations. These notable organizations include: Anahuacalli, The Frida Kahlo Museum, The Museum of Popular Cultures, The Dolores Olmedo Museum, The Museum of the First Printing Press, and The Cloister of Sor Juana. From turn of the millennium until the imposition of the James Bond-inspired parade, remarkable large-scale installations were created on the Zocalo, Mexico City's central square.

During Día de Muertos, the tradition is to build private altars ("ofrendas") containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the words of the living directed to them. These altars are often placed at home or in public spaces such as schools and libraries, but it is also common for people to go to cemeteries to place these altars next to the tombs of the departed.

Plans for the day are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the three-day period families usually clean and decorate graves; most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas (altars), which often include orange Mexican marigolds (Tagetes erecta) called cempasúchil (originally named cempōhualxōchitl, Nāhuatl for 'twenty flowers'). In modern Mexico the marigold is sometimes called Flor de Muerto ('Flower of Dead'). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings. It is also believed the bright petals with a strong scent can guide the souls from cemeteries to their family homes. The common name in English, marigold, is derived from Mary's gold, a name first applied to a similar plant native to Europe, Calendula officinalis.

Toys are brought for dead children ( los angelitos, or 'the little angels'), and bottles of tequila, mezcal or pulque or jars of atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Some families have ofrendas in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto ('bread of dead'), and sugar skulls; and beverages such as atole. The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrendas' food, so though the celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it lacks nutritional value. Pillows and blankets are left out so the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives. In many places, people have picnics at the grave site, as well.

Families tidying and decorating graves at a cemetery in Almoloya del Río in the State of Mexico, 1995

Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes; these sometimes feature a Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other people, scores of candles, and an ofrenda. Traditionally, families spend some time around the altar, praying and telling anecdotes about the deceased. In some locations, celebrants wear shells on their clothing, so when they dance, the noise will wake up the dead; some will also dress up as the deceased.

During Day of the Dead festivities, food is both eaten by living people and given to the spirits of their departed ancestors as ofrendas ('offerings'). Tamales are one of the most common dishes prepared for this day for both purposes.

Family altar for the Day of the Dead on a patio

Pan de muerto and calaveras are associated specifically with Day of the Dead. Pan de muerto is a type of sweet roll shaped like a bun, topped with sugar, and often decorated with bone-shaped pieces of the same pastry. Calaveras, or sugar skulls, display colorful designs to represent the vitality and individual personality of the departed.

In addition to food, drinks are also important to the tradition of Day of the Dead. Historically, the main alcoholic drink was pulque; today families will commonly drink the favorite beverage of their deceased ancestors. Other drinks associated with the holiday are atole and champurrado, warm, thick, non-alcoholic masa drinks.

Agua de Jamaica (water of hibiscus) is a popular herbal tea made of the flowers and leaves of the Jamaican hibiscus plant (Hibiscus sabdariffa), known as flor de Jamaica in Mexico. It is served cold and quite sweet with a lot of ice. The ruby-red beverage is also known as hibiscus tea in English-speaking countries.

In the Yucatán Peninsula, mukbil pollo ( píib chicken) is traditionally prepared on October 31 or November 1, and eaten by the family throughout the following days. It is similar to a big tamale, composed of masa and pork lard, and stuffed with pork, chicken, tomato, garlic, peppers, onions, epazote, achiote, and spices. Once stuffed, the mukbil pollo is bathed in kool sauce, made with meat broth, habanero chili, and corn masa. It is then covered in banana leaves and steamed in an underground oven over the course of several hours. Once cooked, it is dug up and opened to eat.

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (in Spanish calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for skeleton), and foods such as chocolate or sugar skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Sugar skulls can be given as gifts to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto, a sweet egg bread made in various shapes from plain rounds to skulls, often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.

In some parts of the country, especially the larger cities, children in costumes roam the streets, knocking on people's doors for a calaverita, a small gift of candies or money; they also ask passersby for it. This custom is similar to that of Halloween's trick-or-treating in the United States, but without the component of mischief to homeowners if no treat is given.

A distinctive literary form exists within this holiday where people write short poems in traditional rhyming verse, called calaveras literarias (lit. "literary skulls"), which are mocking, light-hearted epitaphs mostly dedicated to friends, classmates, co-workers, or family members (living or dead) but also to public or historical figures, describing interesting habits and attitudes, as well as comedic or absurd anecdotes that use death-related imagery which includes but is not limited to cemeteries, skulls, or the grim reaper, all of this in situations where the dedicatee has an encounter with death itself. This custom originated in the 18th or 19th century after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future which included the words "and all of us were dead", and then proceeding to read the tombstones. Current newspapers dedicate calaveras literarias to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of the famous calaveras of José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican illustrator. In modern Mexico, calaveras literarias are a staple of the holiday in many institutions and organizations, for example, in public schools, students are encouraged or required to write them as part of the language class.

José Guadalupe Posada's depiction of La Calavera Catrina, shown wearing a then-fashionable early 20th-century hat.[39]

Posada's most famous print, La Calavera Catrina ("The Elegant Skull"), was likely intended as a criticism of Mexican upper-class women who imitated European fashions. It was first published posthumously in a broadside with a text (not by Posada) that mocked working-class vendors of chickpeas.

Posada's image of a skeletal figure with a big hat decorated with two ostrich feathers and flowers was elaborated into a full scale figure by Mexican Muralist Diego Rivera in a fresco painted in 1946-47. Rivera's Catrina has a simple Tehuana dress and a feather boa, as well as other features that make allusions to the indigenous peoples of Mexico. Through the addition of these indigenous features, Rivera rehabilitated Catrina into a nationalist emblem.

The Catrina character has become deeply associated with the Day of the Dead. Catrina figures made of a wide range of materials, as well as people with Catrina costumes, have come to play a prominent role in modern Day of the Dead observances in Mexico and elsewhere. The Catrina phenomenon has in fact gone beyond Day of the Dead, resulting in non-seasonal and even permanent "Catrinas", including COVID-19 masks, tattoos, permanently decorated cars, and Catrina-themed artworks. Some artists have even developed a sub-specialization in Catrina imagery.

Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817-1893) are also traditional on this day.

Local traditions

The traditions and activities that take place in celebration of the Day of the Dead are not universal, often varying from town to town. For example, in the town of Pátzcuaro on the Lago de Pátzcuaro in Michoacán, the tradition is very different if the deceased is a child rather than an adult. On November 1 of the year after a child's death, the godparents set a table in the parents' home with sweets, fruits, pan de muerto, a cross, a rosary (used to ask the Virgin Mary to pray for them), and candles. This is meant to celebrate the child's life, in respect and appreciation for the parents. There is also dancing with colorful costumes, often with skull-shaped masks and devil masks in the plaza or garden of the town. At midnight on November 2, the people light candles and ride winged boats called mariposas (butterflies) to Janitzio, an island in the middle of the lake where there is a cemetery, to honor and celebrate the lives of the dead there.

In contrast, the town of Ocotepec, north of Cuernavaca in the State of Morelos, opens its doors to visitors in exchange for veladoras (small wax candles) to show respect for the recently deceased. In return the visitors receive tamales and atole. This is done only by the owners of the house where someone in the household has died in the previous year. Many people of the surrounding areas arrive early to eat for free and enjoy the elaborate altars set up to receive the visitors.

Another peculiar tradition involving children is La Danza de los Viejitos (the Dance of the Old Men) where boys and young men dressed like grandfathers crouch and jump in an energetic dance.

In the 2015 James Bond film , the opening sequence features a Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City. At the time, no such parade took place in Mexico City; one year later, due to the interest in the film and the government desire to promote the Mexican culture, the federal and local authorities decided to organize an actual Día de Muertos parade through Paseo de la Reforma and Centro Historico on October 29, 2016, which was attended by 250,000 people. This could be seen as an example of the pizza effect. The idea of a massive celebration was also popularized in the Disney Pixar movie .

Observances outside of Mexico

United States

An ánima for the dead

Women with calaveras makeup celebrating Día de Muertos in the Mission District of San Francisco, California

In many U.S. communities with Mexican residents, Day of the Dead celebrations are very similar to those held in Mexico. In some of these communities, in states such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, the celebrations tend to be mostly traditional. The All Souls Procession has been an annual event since 1990 in Tucson, Arizona. The event combines elements of traditional Day of the Dead celebrations with those of pagan harvest festivals. People wearing masks carry signs honoring the dead and an urn in which people can place slips of paper with prayers on them to be burned. Likewise, Old Town San Diego, California, annually hosts a traditional two-day celebration culminating in a candlelight procession to the historic El Campo Santo Cemetery.

The festival also was held annually at historic Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Sponsored by Forest Hills Educational Trust and the folkloric performance group La Piñata, the Day of the Dead festivities celebrated the cycle of life and death. People brought offerings of flowers, photos, mementos, and food for their departed loved ones, which they placed at an elaborately and colorfully decorated altar. A program of traditional music and dance also accompanied the community event. The Jamaica Plain celebration was discontinued in 2011.

The Smithsonian Institution, in collaboration with the University of Texas at El Paso and Second Life, have created a Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum and accompanying multimedia e-book: Día de los Muertos: Day of the Dead. The project's website contains some of the text and images which explain the origins of some of the customary core practices related to the Day of the Dead, such as the background beliefs and the offrenda (the special altar commemorating one's deceased loved one). The Made For iTunes multimedia e-book version provides additional content, such as further details; additional photo galleries; pop-up profiles of influential Latino artists and cultural figures over the decades; and video clips of interviews with artists who make Día de Muertos-themed artwork, explanations and performances of Aztec and other traditional dances, an animation short that explains the customs to children, virtual poetry readings in English and Spanish.

In 2021, the Biden-Harris administration celebrated the Día de Muertos.

California

Santa Ana, California, is said to hold the "largest event in Southern California" honoring Día de Muertos, called the annual Noche de Altares, which began in 2002. The celebration of the Day of the Dead in Santa Ana has grown to two large events with the creation of an event held at the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center for the first time on November 1, 2015.

In other communities, interactions between Mexican traditions and American culture are resulting in celebrations in which Mexican traditions are being extended to make artistic or sometimes political statements. For example, in Los Angeles, California, the Self Help Graphics & Art Mexican-American cultural center presents an annual Day of the Dead celebration that includes both traditional and political elements, such as altars to honor the victims of the Iraq War, highlighting the high casualty rate among Latino soldiers. An updated, intercultural version of the Day of the Dead is also evolving at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. There, in a mixture of Native Californian art, Mexican traditions and Hollywood hip, conventional altars are set up side by side with altars to Jayne Mansfield and Johnny Ramone. Colorful native dancers and music intermix with performance artists, while sly pranksters play on traditional themes.

Similar traditional and intercultural updating of Mexican celebrations are held in San Francisco. For example, the Galería de la Raza, SomArts Cultural Center, Mission Cultural Center, de Young Museum and altars at Garfield Square by the Marigold Project. Oakland is home to Corazon Del Pueblo in the Fruitvale district. Corazon Del Pueblo has a shop offering handcrafted Mexican gifts and a museum devoted to Day of the Dead artifacts. Also, the Fruitvale district in Oakland serves as the hub of the Día de Muertos annual festival which occurs the last weekend of October. Here, a mix of several Mexican traditions come together with traditional Aztec dancers, regional Mexican music, and other Mexican artisans to celebrate the day.

In San Diego, California, the city that borders Mexico, the celebrations range across the entire county. All the way up at the most northern part of the county, Oceanside celebrates their annual event which includes community and family altars built around the Oceanside Civic Center and Pier View Way, as well as events at the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. In the more central area of San Diego, City Heights celebrates through a public festival in Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park that includes at least 35 altars, lowriders, and entertainment, all for free. Down in Chula Vista, they celebrate the tradition through a movie night at Third and Davidson streets where they will be screening "Coco." This movie night also consists of a community altar, an Altar contest, a catrin/catrina contest, as well as lots of music, food, and vendors. Overall, San Diego is booming with colorful celebrations honoring ancestors across the county.

In Italy, November 2 is All Souls' Day and is colloquially known as Day of the Dead or "Giorno dei Morti". While many regional nuances exist, celebrations generally consist of placing flowers at cemeteries and family burial sites and speaking to deceased relatives. Some traditions also include lighting a red candle or "lumino" on the window sills at sunset and laying out a table of food for deceased relatives who will come to visit. Like other Day of the Dead traditions around the world, Giorno dei Morti is a day dedicated to honoring the lives of those who have died. Additionally, it is a tradition that teaches children not to be afraid of death.

In Sicily, families celebrate a long-held Day of the Dead tradition called The Festival of the Dead or "Festa dei Morti". On the eve of November 1, La Festa di Ognissanti, or All Saints' Day, older family members act as the "defunti", or spirits of deceased family members, who sneak into the home and hide sweets and gifts for their young descendants to awake to. On the morning of November 2, children begin the day by hunting to find the gifts in shoes or a special wicker basket of the dead called "cannistru dei morti" or "u cannistru", which typically consist of various sweets, small toys, boned-shaped almond flavored cookies called "ossa dei morti", sugar dolls called "pupi di zucchero", and fruit, vegetable, and ghoul shaped marzipan treats called " Frutta martorana". The pupi di zucchero, thought to be an Arabic cultural import, are often found in the shapes of folkloric characters who represent humanized versions of the souls of the dead. Eating the sugar dolls reflects the idea of the individual absorbing the dead and, in doing so, bringing the dead back to life within themselves on November 2. After gifts are shared and breakfast is enjoyed, the whole family will often visit the cemetery or burial site bearing flowers. They will light candles and play amongst the graves to thank the deceased for the gifts, before enjoying a hearty feast. The tradition holds that the spirits of the deceased will remain with the family to enjoy a day of feasting and merriment.

Acclaimed Sicilian author Andrea Camilleri recounts his Giorno dei Morti experience as boy, as well as the negative cultural impact that WWII era American influence had on the long-held tradition.

"Every Sicilian house where there was a little boy was populated with dead familiar to him. Not ghosts with white linzòlo and with the scrunch of chains, mind you, not those that are frightening, but such and as they were seen in the photographs exhibited in the living room, worn, the occasional half smile printed on the face, the good ironed dress in a workmanlike manner, they made no difference with the living. We Nicareddri, before going to bed, put a wicker basket under the bed (the size varied according to the money there was in the family) that at night the dear dead would fill with sweets and gifts that we would find on the 2nd morning upon awakening. After a restless sleep we woke up at dawn to go hunting... Because the dead wanted to play with us, to give us fun, and therefore they didn't put the basket back where they had found it, but went to hide it carefully, we had to look for it... The toys were tin trains, wooden toy cars, rag dolls, wooden cubes that formed landscapes... On November 2nd we returned the visit that the dead had paid us the day before: it was not a ritual, but an affectionate custom. Then, in 1943, with the American soldiers the Christmas tree arrived and slowly, year after year, the dead lost their way to the houses where they were waiting for them, happy and awake until the end, the children or the children of the children... Pity. We had lost the possibility of touching, materially, that thread that binds our personal history to that of those who had preceded us..."

Food plays an important part of Italy's day of the dead tradition, with various regional treats being used as offerings to the dead on their journey to the afterlife. In Tuscany and Milan the "pane dei morti" or "bread of the dead" is said to be the characteristic offering. In northern Apulia, a wheat growing region, a sweet dish for the Day of the Dead is Colva or "Grains of the Dead". Fave dei morti or "fava beans of the dead" are another dish for the day found widespread through Italy. Ossa dei morti, suitably elongated and frosted "bones of the dead" are sweets found in Apulia and Sicily. In Sicily, families enjoy special day of the dead cakes and cookies that are made into symbolic shapes such as skulls and finger bones. The "sweets of the dead" are a marzipan treats called frutta martorana. On the night of November 1, Sicilian parents and grandparents traditionally buy Frutta di Martorana to gift to children on November 2.

In addition to visiting their own family members, some people pay respects to those without a family. Some Italians take it upon themselves to adopt centuries-old unclaimed bodies and give them offerings like money or jewelry as a way to ease their pain and ask for favors.

Asia and Oceania

Mexican-style Day of the Dead celebrations occur in major cities in Australia, Fiji, and Indonesia. Additionally, prominent celebrations are held in Wellington, New Zealand, complete with altars celebrating the deceased with flowers and gifts.

Philippines

A ofrenda in a Filipino American household.

Due to the close cultural connections of the Philippines and Mexico, with extensive links going back to the Spanish Empire, the Day of the Dead is celebrated in this Hispanic-Asian country as well. In the Philippines "Undás", "Araw ng mga Yumao" (Tagalog: "Day of those who have died"), coincides with the Roman Catholic celebration of All Saints' Day and continues on to the following day: All Souls' Day. Filipinos traditionally observe this day by visiting the family dead to clean and repair their tombs, just as is done in Mexico. Offerings of prayers, flowers, candles, and even food, while Chinese Filipinos additionally burn joss sticks and joss paper ( kim). Many also spend the day and ensuing night holding reunions at the cemetery, having feasts and merriment.

Czech Republic

As part of a promotion by the Mexican embassy in Prague, Czech Republic, since the late 20th century, some local citizens join in a Mexican-style Day of the Dead. A theater group conducts events involving candles, masks, and make-up using luminous paint in the form of sugar skulls.

In Belize, Day of the Dead is practiced by people of the Yucatec Maya ethnicity. The celebration is known as Hanal Pixan which means 'food for the souls' in their language. Altars are constructed and decorated with food, drinks, candies, and candles put on them.

Día de las Ñatitas ("Day of the Skulls") is a festival celebrated in La Paz, Bolivia, at the beginning of November after the celebrations of All Saints. In pre-Columbian times indigenous Andeans had a tradition of sharing a day with the bones of their ancestors on the third year after burial. Today families keep only the skulls for such rituals. Traditionally, the skulls of family members are kept at home to watch over the family and protect them during the year. On November 9, the family crowns the skulls with fresh flowers, sometimes also dressing them in various garments, and making offerings of cigarettes, coca leaves, alcohol, and various other items in thanks for the year's protection. The skulls are also sometimes taken to the central cemetery in La Paz for a special Mass and blessing.

The Brazilian public holiday of Dia de Finados, Dia dos Mortos or Dia dos Fiéis Defuntos (Portuguese: "Day of the Dead" or "Day of the Faithful Deceased") is celebrated on November 2. Similar to other Day of the Dead celebrations, people go to cemeteries and churches with flowers and candles and offer prayers. The celebration is intended as a positive honoring of the dead. Memorializing the dead draws from indigenous and European Catholic origins.

Costa Rica celebrates Día De Los Muertos on November 2. The day is also called Día de Todos Santos ( All Saints Day) and Día de Todos Almas ( All Souls Day). Catholic masses are celebrated and people visit their loved ones' graves to decorate them with flowers and candles.

In Ecuador the Day of the Dead is observed to some extent by all parts of society, though it is especially important to the indigenous Kichwa peoples, who make up an estimated quarter of the population. Indigena families gather together in the community cemetery with offerings of food for a day-long remembrance of their ancestors and lost loved ones. Ceremonial foods include colada morada, a spiced fruit porridge that derives its deep purple color from the Andean blackberry and purple maize. This is typically consumed with guaguas de pan, bread shaped like infants (or, more generally, people), though variations include many pigs-the latter being traditional to the city of Loja. The bread, which is wheat flour-based today, but was made with masa in the Pre-Columbian era, can be made savory with cheese inside or sweet with a filling of guava paste. These traditions have permeated mainstream society, as well, where food establishments add both colada morada and guaguas de pan to their menus for the season. Many non-indigenous Ecuadorians visit the graves of the deceased, cleaning and bringing flowers, or preparing the traditional foods, too.

Guatemalan celebrations of the Day of the Dead, on November 1, are highlighted by the construction and flying of giant kites. It is customary to fly kites to help the spirits find their way back to Earth. A few kites have notes for the dead attached to the strings of the kites. The kites are used as a kind of telecommunication to heaven. A big event also is the consumption of , which is made only for this day during the year. In addition to the traditional visits to grave sites of ancestors, the tombs and graves are decorated with flowers, candles, and food for the dead. In a few towns, Guatemalans repair and repaint the cemetery with vibrant colors to bring the cemetery to life. They fix things that have gotten damaged over the years or just simply need a touch-up, such as wooden grave cross markers. They also lay flower wreaths on the graves. Some families have picnics in the cemetery.

It is common for Peruvians to visit the cemetery, play music and bring flowers to decorate the graves of dead relatives.

Southern Italy and Sicily

A traditional biscotti-type cookie, ossa di morto or bones of the dead are made and placed in shoes once worn by dead relatives.

References

Further reading

Andrade, Mary J. Day of the Dead A Passion for Life - Día de los Muertos Pasión por la Vida. La Oferta Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9791624-04

Anguiano, Mariana, et al. Las tradiciones de Día de Muertos en México. Mexico City 1987.

Brandes, Stanley (1997). "Sugar, Colonialism, and Death: On the Origins of Mexico's Day of the Dead". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 39 (2): 270-299. doi:10.1017/S0010417500020624. S2CID 145402658.

Brandes, Stanley (1998). "The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican National Identity". Journal of American Folklore. 111 (442): 359-380. doi:10.2307/541045. JSTOR 541045.

Brandes, Stanley (1998). "Iconography in Mexico's Day of the Dead". Ethnohistory. 45 (2). Duke University Press: 181-218. doi:10.2307/483058. JSTOR 483058.

Brandes, Stanley (2006). Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead. Blackwell Publishing. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-4051-5247-1.

Cadafalch, Antoni. The Day of the Dead. Korero Books, 2011. ISBN 978-1-907621-01-7

Carmichael, Elizabeth; Sayer, Chloe. The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico. Great Britain: The Bath Press, 1991. ISBN 0-7141-2503-2

Conklin, Paul (2001). "Death Takes a Holiday". U.S. Catholic. 66: 38-41.

Cordova, Ruben C. (2005). "Calaveras". In Ilan Stavans, ed.-in-chief, and Harold Augenbraum, assoc. ed., Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States. Danbury, CT: Grolier Academic Reference, 4 vols.: I: 248 - 249.

Cordova, Ruben C. (2005). "Posada, José Guadalupe". In Ilan Stavans, ed.-in-chief, and Harold Augenbraum, assoc. ed., Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States. Danbury, CT: Grolier Academic Reference, 4 vols.: II: 258 - 259.

Cordova, Ruben C. (2019). "Is Day of the Dead More Indigenous or Catholic? Friars Durán and Sahagún vs. Wikipedia". Glasstire, October 31.

Cordova, Ruben C. (2019). "José Guadalupe Posada and Diego Rivera Fashion Catrina: From Sellout To National Icon (and Back Again?)". Glasstire, November 2.

Cordova, Ruben C. (2019). "A Guide to Day of the Dead in Mexico City". Glasstire, November 2.

Cordova, Ruben C. (2019). The Day of the Dead in Art. San Antonio, TX: City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture, Centro de Artes. https://www.getcreativesanantonio.com/Portals/3/Files/DOD_CATALGOGUE_digital.pdf

Cordova, Ruben C. (2020). "A Brief History of Day of the Dead". San Antonio Report, November 1,

Cordova, Ruben C. (2020). "Catrina Mania!". Glasstire, November 2.

Cordova, Ruben C. (2021). "Catrina Mania III". Glasstire, November 1.

Cordova, Ruben C. (2022). "Catrina Mania IV: Brandon Maldonado's Catrinas". Glasstire, October 30.

Garcia-Rivera, Alex (1997). "Death Takes a Holiday". U.S. Catholic. 62: 50.

Haley, Shawn D.; Fukuda, Curt. Day of the Dead: When Two Worlds Meet in Oaxaca. Berhahn Books, 2004. ISBN 1-84545-083-3

Lane, Sarah and Marilyn Turkovich, Días de los Muertos/Days of the Dead. Chicago 1987.

Lomnitz, Claudio. Death and the Idea of Mexico. Zone Books, 2005. ISBN 1-890951-53-6

Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo, et al. "Miccahuitl: El culto a la muerte", special issue of Artes de México 145 (1971)

Nutini, Hugo G. Todos Santos in Rural Tlaxcala: A Syncretic, Expressive, and Symbolic Analysis of the Cult of the Dead. Princeton 1988.

Oliver Vega, Beatriz, et al. The Days of the Dead, a Mexican Tradition. Mexico City 1988.

Roy, Ann (1995). "A Crack Between the Worlds". Commonwealth. 122: 13-16.

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Day of the Dead Observed by Mexico, and regions with large Mexican populations Type Cultural Christian (with syncretic elements)[1] Significance Prayer and remembrance of friends and family members who have died Celebrations Creation of home altars to remember the dead, traditional dishes for the Day of the Dead Begins November

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