EL DÍA DE LOS
MUERTOS
THE DAY OF THE DEAD
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS VIDEO
 How did the little girl feel at first in the Land of the Dead?
-Scared, frightened, confused.
 What did the atmosphere of the Land of the Dead feel
like?
-Happy, cheerful, alive.
 Who was the skeleton that showed the little girl around the
Land of the Dead?
-Her mother
 Were you supposed to feel scared?
THE HUFFINGTON POST
“5 Dia De Los Muertos
Questions You Were Too
Afraid To Ask”
Posted: 11/01/2013 8:20 am EDT Updated: 11/03/2013 11:20 am
EST
5 DIA DE LOS
MUERTOS
QUESTIONS YOU
WERE TOO
AFRAID TO ASK
THE
HUFFINGTON
POST
POSTED:
11/01/2013 8:20 AM
EDT UPDATED:
11/03/2013 11:20 AM
EST
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
AND HALLOWEEN?
Día de los Muertos -- also known as
"Día de Muertos," or "Day of the
Dead" in English -- is a holiday with
Mexican origins that is celebrated
on November 1 - 2.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS AND
HALLOWEEN?
While some imagery might be close to that
of Halloween, there are significant
differences between the two. Día de los
Muertos is a day to celebrate death -- or,
more specifically, the deceased -- while on
Halloween, death is seen as something to be
feared.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS AND
HALLOWEEN?
Día de los Muertos has both indigenous
origins from the Aztec festival for
Mictecacihuatl, The Lady of The Dead,
and Catholic origins from the Spanish
conquistadors’ All Saints and All Souls
Day.
WAIT, IT’S A TWO-DAY HOLIDAY?
WAIT, IT’S A TWO-DAY HOLIDAY?
Yes, the original Aztec holiday was actually a
month long event, but when the Spanish
conquistadores arrived and turned Mexico
Catholic, the celebration became
intertwined with All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and
All Souls Day (Nov. 2).
WAIT, IT’S A TWO-DAY HOLIDAY?
Traditionally, Nov. 1 is when you welcome
the souls of children that have passed away,
known as Día de los Inocentes (Day of the
Innocents) or Día de los Angelitos (Day of
the Little Angels).
Nov. 2 is when the adult souls arrive.
HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE THE DEAD?
HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE THE DEAD?
Those who celebrate Día de los
Muertos will usually put up altars
honoring those members of the
family who have passed away.
HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE THE
DEAD?
They decorate the altars with candles, sugar
skulls, marigolds, food, beverages and
clothes.
These offerings, or "ofrendas," are gifts for
the dead and are usually a combination of
his or her favorite things.
HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE THE
DEAD?
HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE THE
DEAD?
Like the holiday itself, the altar also has
mixed imagery of both indigenous and
Catholic background.
The graves of the deceased are also visited
and honored with offerings as well as vigils.
WOULD YOU HAVE TO GO TO MEXICO
TO SEE THESE CELEBRATIONS?
No, although Día de los Muertos is a Mexican
National Holiday it is actually celebrated in other
countries as well such as Guatemala, Brazil and
Spain.
It is also becoming more and more popular in the
U.S. due to the large number of Mexican
immigrants and Mexican Americans.
WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THE
SKULLS?
WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THE SKULLS?
Skulls are everywhere during Día
de los Muertos. The origins trace
back to the pre-Hispanic era,
when they were kept as trophies
and used during rituals.
WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THE
SKULLS?
The most recognized skull on Dia de los Muertos
is the Calavera Catrina. The image as we know it
today originated with José Guadalupe Posada, a
Mexican Artist who depicted a fancy female
skeleton as a dig against the Europhile Mexican
elite during the Porfirio Díaz dictatorship. It
became an iconic image of the Mexican
Revolution at the beginning of the twentieth
century.
WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THE
SKULLS?
But the actual Catrina is said
to have originated thanks to
the Aztec tale of
Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of
the Dead.
5 DIA DE LOS MUERTOS QUESTIONS YOU WERE TOO
AFRAID TO ASK
THE HUFFINGTON POST
POSTED: 11/01/2013 8:20 AM EDT UPDATED: 11/03/2013
11:20 AM EST
LA CATRINA
La Calavera de la Catrina
» José Guadalupe Posada (Mexican,
1852–1913)
Intended as social satire, José
Guadalupe Posada’s calaveras (images
of skulls or animated skeletons)
commented on the social and political
lives of Mexicans in the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries.
LA CATRINA
Although originally conceived by Posada’s contemporary Manuel Manilla, the
calavera was popularized by Posada, whose cartoons circulated widely in
newspapers, street gazettes, broadsides, and commercial posters. Perhaps the
most famous of Posada’s calaveras is La Calavera de la Catrina, the skeleton
of a high-society lady wearing a large, fancy hat. This figure, in particular, has
become an icon of the Mexican Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
DIEGO RIVERA
La Catrina as painted by Diego
Rivera.
This fifty foot fresco takes the
viewer on a Sunday walk
through Alameda Park, Mexico
City's first city park that was
built on the grounds of an
ancient Aztec marketplace.
SUENO DE UNA TARDE DOMINICAL
EN LA ALEMEDA CENTRAL
FRESCO 1947-1948
The large mural represents three
principal eras of Mexican History:
The Conquest,
The Porfiriato Dictatorship, and
The Revolution of 1910.
SUENO DE UNA TARDE DOMINICAL
EN LA ALEMEDA CENTRAL
FRESCO 1947-1948
In chronological order starting from left to right we meet numerous
prominent figures from Mexican history.
In the center of the mural is Diego Rivera at the age of ten being led
by the hand by the Dame Catrina ("La Calavera Catrina"), a skeleton
figure parodying vanity created by the popular Mexican engraver Jose
Guadalupe Posada.
The well-dressed gentleman in a black suit and derby hat is Posada,
who stands on the right of Dame Catrina and gallantly offers her his
arm. Posada was highly respected by Rivera, who claimed him as one
his artistic luminaries and teachers.
SUENO DE UNA TARDE DOMINICAL
EN LA ALEMEDA CENTRAL
FRESCO 1947-1948
Posada's narrative style was an extremely influential model for Rivera's mural
painting. Calavera Catrina, a symbol of the urban bourgeoisie at the turn of the
nineteenth century must be taken here as an allusion to the Aztec Earth Mother
Coatlicue, who is frequently represented with a skull.
Coatlicue wears the plumed serpent, symbolic of her son Quertzalcoatl, around
her neck as a boa. Her belt-buckle displays the Aztec astrological sign of Ollin,
symbolizing perpetual motion.
The adjacent figure is Frida Kahlo in a traditional Mexican dress holding in her
left hand the Yin-Yang symbol of duality taken from Chinese philosophy, which
also represents the duality from pre-Columbian mythology. Kahlo's other hand
rest maternally on the shoulder of the young Diego, who sets out on his walk
through life and through the world under her protection.
DREAM OF A SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN ALAMEDA PARK
SUENO DE UNA TARDE DOMINICAL EN LA ALEMEDA CENTRAL
FRESCO 1947-1948
http://www.brownpride.com/history/history.asp?a=diegorivera/rivera_dream
WORKS CITED
http://www.brownpride.com/history/history.asp?a=diegorivera/rivera_dream
5 Dia De Los Muertos Questions You Were Too Afraid To Ask
The Huffington Post
Posted: 11/01/2013 8:20 am EDT Updated: 11/03/2013 11:20 am EST