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the day of the dead in mexico is one of the most important cultural traditions and each city and
state offers a unique experience for celebrating it was really tough to choose where we wanted to
spend our very first dia de muertos but ultimately we chose aguascalientes for a very special reason
it is important that via de muertos is treated with love respect and an understanding that it
is not mexican halloween but a sacred remembering and a celebration of family and ancestors
people often think this holiday celebrates death but in actuality it celebrates life
the life of loved ones who've passed while at the same time respectfully honoring and preserving
this important tradition that dates back thousands of years and is the religious and cultural legacy
of the mexicans the maya the telescope and other native peoples of what is today known as mexico
as well as indigenous traditional territories that are divided by today's contemporary borders
this is why there are regional differences to how it is celebrated and the manner in which it is
celebrated is influenced by families religion and their tribe specific history and customs
as a result of the european and spanish invasion and forced conversion to christianity and
catholicism and the ongoing colonization of what is today mexico via de muertos now takes place
on november 1 and 2 having been merged with all saints day and all souls day typically november
1 is to honor children and infants known as dia de los santos november 2nd honors adults and is known
as the ademuertos and es dia de los dipuntos the day of the faithful dead before mexico's
invasion by spaniards these holy days for the meshika took place in what approximates us today
month of june august and they were celebrated for an entire month some say those festivities
were dedicated to mick de casiwatina that or otherwise known as the lady of the dead and
they say that she corresponds to the modern day catrina the iconic character created in 1910 by
illustrator joseph guadalupe but that's unlikely as la catrina has her own interesting story
did you know that la catrina was not originally associated with
dia de muertos origins of la catrina stems from political unrest
and she was and is a political warrior who arose as a truth-teller from the sharp mind
and pen from satirical and political cartoonist by the name of jose guadalupe posada jose guadalupe
posada was born in aguascalientes in 1852. posada is the original artist of the famous la caravera
became known for using skulls and bones to critique government corruption
and call out inequities between the rich and the poor during a time when many in mexico
were illiterate the message of political cartoons could be easily understood even without reading
the articles many created posada with raising the political and social consciousness of the common
labor exposing social injustice at the time when most at that level were blind to it he used la
calavera garbanzera to poke fun of mexicans of native heritage who strove to look european and
those who focus on acquiring wealth and turn their back on their community and indigenous values
garbanzeros or garbanzeras refer to people who farm garbanzos chickpeas for a living which was
often the job of poor indigenous peoples posada used skulls to represent humans to remind people
that no matter what you wear or how european you try to be one day you'll end up looking
like the rest in bones the skulls and skeletons have been a part of indigenous celebrations for
thousands of years and it's only relatively recent that la catrina has become emblematic
of the day of the dead celebrations and this is a result of artistic influence political statements
and long-standing traditions that merge together so in case you're wondering how the la calavera
garbanzera become la catrina they they're very similar but they're not the same the original
drawing is just from the neck up to her head displaying the wealth of the boudoirs of the time
but since diego rivera in 1945 inspired by posada decided to make a mural in alameda representing
the important people of mexico he decided to add frida kahlo himself and finish off la calavera
he ended up drawing her with an entire body and named her la catrina it is from that
representation that la catrina is very popular and has become a staple for el dia de muertos
many people make altars or frendas in their homes to honor their loved ones who have died every
ofrenda also includes the four elements water wind earth and fire water is left in a pitcher or a cup
so the spirits can quench their thirst from their long journey from the underworld papel picado or
traditional paper banners represent the wind earth is represented by food especially bread candles
and sometimes salts are often left in the form of a cross to represent the cardinal directions
so the spirit can find their way every state in mexico has its own particular way of setting up
their referenda in some regions you can find a flat surface with all of the elements on it
while in others you can find several levels the most common ones have three levels which
represent heaven earth and the underworld with more elaborate of friends you can find up to seven
levels a calavera is a skull and a calaveras is a sugar skull that's often placed on the altar and
can have the name of the deceased person inscribed on the forehead the cempasuchil or
known as la flor de muerto is the flower used in the day of the dead altars to decorate the graves
and the ofrendas it grows plentifully at this time of year in mexico and its pungent odor is said to
attract the spirits who come to visit their mortal loved ones on this day this flower used since
ancient times for its medicinal purposes brings a unique color to the altar that makes the spirits
feel joyful and peaceful you can also find them in orange and purple representing the earth and grief
they are also thought to guide the spirits thanks to their potent and fresh scent
in some regions of mexico sand sculptures or tapestries otherwise known as tapetes
are a vital part of the celebration these are created with sand or wood chips and pigment
sometimes other elements such as seeds beans flower petals
sawdust and may depict either religious themes but most often depict death in a playful manner
the tradition of making tapetes originated in spain as part of the catholic feast of corpus
christi eventually leading up to good friday and holy week the event marks the death and
resurrection of christ and that the bitters for these celebrations depicts scenes of the passion
so there are some connections between christianity catholicism and dia de muertos
copal incense was burned in mesoamerica in ancient times and is still burned for special ceremonies
and is often placed on or near the day of the dead altars as another olfactory
element to draw in the spirits the word kopal comes from the nawaz word kopali which means
incense kopali incense comes from the kopaltri it symbolizes the transformation from the physical
the tree to the supernatural the perfumed smoke the rising smoke takes the prayers to the heavens
and the gods pre-hispanic civilizations such as that of the aztecs and mayans
placed it in a clay incense burner as food for the gods in this ritual the copal was
offered to the four cardinal points and to the sun to guarantee the protection of the people
and gratitude for the crops it is placed in the offerings of the day of the dead as a purifier
of the environment which allows the spirits of our loved ones to enter the homes without risk
when we were inside the casa cultura enjoying the altar and filming actually we heard music
through a window and realized that the public library is connected
by a wall to the casa la cultura so we made our way over and entered an event
that is put on by a group of widows who lost their husbands to the pandemic
and between the the the altar the women emotional and dressed as kadrinas and the beautiful music
kevin and i started tearing up and thinking of the loved ones we've lost not just in recent years or
in past years but in this past year and a half in the pandemic we both lost several family members
i lost my dad i lost a cousin to cancer i lost my grandfather
and and they were all gone too soon and i know that kevin can tell you that he's lost
more than a few members to the pandemic and so we want to dedicate this video in their honor as well
as the remembrance and the love that we have in our hearts we put into these videos but we also
share our love for our family members with you via these videos
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