Día de los Muertos Crosses Over Into U.S. Main Stream Culture

Día de los Muertos is an ancient religious holiday, traditionally celebrated on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, that originated over three-thousand years ago during the reign of the Aztec Empire.

Family and friends partake in the ancient religious celebration at the 26th Annual Día de los Muertos Marigold Parade and Celebration in Albuquerque, N.M. (Yesenia Davila/UNM)

The name literally translates to ‘Day of the Dead’ and it is a time people of Mexican descent use to celebrate and honor their dead ancestors.

Before the colonization of Mexico, the Aztec people thought it was disrespectful to mourn the dead and elected to instead celebrate the life the deceased had lived. It was, and still is, believed that on these days the dead travel from their realm of rest back to earth to visit their family. Even after the Spanish conquistadors came to Mexico, the holiday persevered and was incorporated into Catholicism by combining the indigenous practice with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

To prepare a place for their ancestors to come through, families create ofrendas, which are alters decorated in marigold flowers that are believed to help guide the ancestors. Marigolds are often spread from the ancestors’ grave all the way to the ofrenda, which often resides in the family’s home. These alters will also contain photographs of deceased loved ones, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), water and other things their ancestors may have loved in life. The days are spent telling tales of family members who have passed and honoring their memories. During these two days of festivities it is common for celebrants to don calavera (skull) makeup or dress up as la Calavera Catrina, a popular symbol for Day of the Dead.

A float containing icons of calaveras at the 26th Annual Día de los Muertos Marigold Parade and Celebration in Albuquerque, N.M. (Yesenia Davila/UNM)

Of course throughout time there are changes within tradition, especially when a holiday as old as Día de los Muertos crosses over into other countries. Even within Mexico itself the holiday has evolved. This is because of the open channel of communication between the United States and Mexico via the internet, movies, and conversation between families in America to their families back in Mexico. U.S.

Someone that has experienced this change first hand is Dr. Patricia Covarrubias, a professor at the University of New Mexico within the department of Chicana and Chicano Studies. A native of Mexico, Dr. Covarrubias has lived in the United States for the past 50 years and tells of a time Día de los Muertos was different.

“It’s more than this business of parades…that’s more recent and I think it’s maybe influence of the U.S. on Mexico rather than Mexican influence on the U.S. — these parades exist now in Mexico too but I had never seen one of these parades until I came here to the U.S. In rural cities people would set up ofrendas in their homes and now I guess it’s in museums and even sidewalks in Mexico. All these parades didn’t happen when I was a child in Mexico but that was 60 years ago so I think there is that reciprocal influence. There’s a conversation between cultures now.”

America’s pop culture has not only impacted how Día de los Muertos is celebrated here in the United States, but also in Mexico. After the release of the James Bond movie “Spectre” which featured a Día de los Muertos parade, Mexico City threw its first ever parade for the religious holiday. This has been occurring in the United States for several decades, as evident by the 26th Annual South Valley Día de los Muertos Marigold Parade and Celebration held this past Sunday in Albuquerque, N.M.

But what exactly does this merging of cultures mean? As Dr. Covarrubias suggested, the holiday has become a little distorted. Many Americans confuse the holiday as ‘Mexican Halloween’ which is far from the truth. According to the National Public Radio (NPR) Día de los Muertos has also become more commercialized which sometimes leads to the true transcendent meaning of the celebration being robbed or forgotten. Instances where the meaning is forgotten altogether is when the traditional costume of la Calavera Catrína or el Catrín is used by others in a somehow surprisingly accepted form of cultural appropriation as a Halloween costume.

Milly Ledwith wears a gold crown and traditional calavera makeup for Día de los Muertos (Yesenia Davila/UNM)

On the other hand, it is a great way to share culture in the mixing pot that is America. Milly Ledwith, a celebrant who grew up with the tradition and was in attendance of the Día de los Muertos parade in Albuquerque commented, “I think it’s great…the integration brings personality to a city, it brings culture…it brings something else that a lot of cities don’t have…I think it’s change in a good way that we have more culture itself in the U.S.”

In the times we live in it is impossible for change not to occur or for cultures to not experience one another. So the best thing we can do is educate ourselves, be respectful of one another and our cultural differences.