DACC Library: Hispanic and Latino Heritage: Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos

Day of the Dead, Spanish Día de los Muertos, a holiday in Mexico, is also observed to a lesser extent in other areas of Latin America and in the United States, honouring dead loved ones and making peace with the eventuality of death by treating it familiarly, without fear and dread.

from Britannica Academic

Image by Darvin Santos from Pixabay

Featured eBooks

Day of the Dead Folk Art by Kitty Williams (As told to); Stevie Mack
Publication Date: 2015
The folk art inspired by Day of the Dead, celebrated in Mexico and around the world, including the American Southwest, powerfully communicates the cultural traditions of this joyous holiday. As a companion volume to the authors' Day of the Dead, this book focuses on the artistic imagery of Day of the Dead, including the skulls, skeletons, and the iconic figure of Catrina, as seen in various pieces of market art, community art and contemporary art. The work and influence of important Mexican folk artists, such as Jose Guadalupe Posada and Diego Rivera, are represented and discussed.
Day of the Dead by Kitty Williams; Stevie Mack; Katheen Fisher
Publication Date: 2011
The Day of the Dead Celebration is the most important holiday of the year in Mexico and parts of the American Southwest, a joyful time when families remember their dead. Day of the Dead provides a colorful look at the iconic folk art and family traditions that play a vital role in the event, which happens across the country from October 31 through November 2.
Day of the Dead in the USA by Regina M. Marchi
Publication Date: 2009
Honoring relatives by tending graves, building altars, and cooking festive meals has been an honored tradition among Latin Americans for centuries. The tribute, "el Dia de los Muertos," has enjoyed renewed popularity since the 1970s when Latino activists and artists in the United States began expanding "Day of the Dead" north of the border with celebrations of performance art, Aztec danza, art exhibits, and other public expressions. Focusing on the power of ritual to serve as a communication medium, Regina M. Marchi combines a mix of ethnography, historical research, oral history, and critical cultural analysis to explore the manifold and unexpected transformations that occur when the tradition is embraced by the mainstream. A testament to the complex nature of ethnic identity, Day of the Dead in the USA provides insight into the power of ritual to create community, transmit oppositional messages, and advance educational, political, and economic goals.
Days of Death, Days of Life by Kristin Norget
Publication Date: 2006
Explores the practice and meanings of death rituals in poor urban neighborhoods on the outskirts of the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca. Drawing on her extensive fieldwork in Oaxaca City, Norget provides vivid descriptions of the Day of the Dead and other popular religious practices. She analyzes how the rites and beliefs associated with death shape and reflect poor Oaxacans' values and social identity.

Featured Videos

La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead - The Mexican Celebration of the Dead
A thorough look at the Mexican celebration of the dead, the sacred days when the souls of the departed return to visit the living. Tracing the Days of the Dead tradition from its roots in Indian culture to its manifestations in contemporary Chicano communities, this unconventional and visually arresting documentary contemplates the loving and sometimes humorous Mexican cultural attitudes toward "that constant companion," death.
Flor De Muertos
A celebratory journey into the rich borderlands culture between Tucson, Arizona and the towns of Nogales, Arizona and Mexico. Director Danny Vinik evokes the power and beauty of the Sonoran Desert and its people in this poetic exploration of life and death along the US/Mexico border. Features a stunning performance by acclaimed Americana band Calexico at Tucson's historic Rialto Theatre.
The Day of The Dead
The Mexican character, shaped by the fusion of Christianity and indigenous religion, is perhaps epitomized in the celebration of the Day of the Dead. This fanciful film takes us to the village of Patzcuaro, where, like villages all over Mexico, on October 31 people return home from everywhere to celebrate their ancestors and communicate with their long dead loved ones. This impressionistic pilgrimage takes us to the cemetery where graves are decorated and turned into works of art, with flowers, personal objects, food, offerings and thousands upon thousands of candles. For a twenty-four hour period,we follow Death on a tongue-in-cheek guided tour through the soul of a people.