GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
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It is often difficult for those who are not Mexican to understand the tradition of
Day of the Dead. ''The word death is not pronounced in New York, in Paris, in
London, because it burns the lip,'' Octavio Paz, a famous Mexican writer and
winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature wrote in an essay about the Day of
the Dead. ''The Mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death, jokes about it,
caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it; it is one of his favorite toys and his most
steadfast love. True, there is perhaps as much fear in his attitude as in that of
others, but at least death is not hidden away."
(A) Los Términos: To prepare for the field trip and understand the intricacies of observing
Día de los Muertos, look up each term and use at least two websites to formulate your answer.
To search for the each term, you can use Google.
 Type the term and then, in quotes, type Day of the Dead.
 For many of the terms, I have already suggested
how to search for the answers.
 You may also want to enter these terms into
Google Images to see what objects may look like.
1. Árbol de la Vida (Tree of Life) – search using: "árbol de la vida" represent mexican folk art
a. What is its significance and how does it relate to the Day of the Dead?
b. Describe what it looks like or sketch one: Search Google Images: “árbol de la vida”
2. Calaveras is the name of two different types of art: sugar skulls and a type of poem.
a. Sugar Skull – What is its significance for the Day of the Dead.
Describe what it typically looks like and how it is decorated.
b. Calavera poem – Describe the “calavera poem”, when they originated and what its
significance or purpose is.
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3. La Catrina – Search Google:"la catrina" "day of the dead"
a. When did Jorge Guadalupe Posada first design this image and for what purpose?
b. Search Google Images: Describe the image of “La Catrina” or you can sketch it.
4. Cementerio (cemetery) – Search Google: cemetery "day of the dead" ritual
a. Who gathers at the cemetery over the course of the Days of the Dead and what they do there?
5. Cempasúchil or cempazuchitl or zempasuchil – Search Google: Cempasúchil "Day of the Dead" meaning
a. What is the origin of this word/From what language is it derived? What does it represent?
6. Copal – Search Google: copal meaning "Day of the Dead"
a. What is copal? From what language is the word derived? What does it represent?
7. Ofrenda (Altar/Offering) – Listed below are the four elements of life found on an altar.
a. What does each element represent? List items that are on an “ofrenda” to represent each one?
1. Earth
2. Wind/Air
3. Fire
4. Water
b. How many levels does an altar generally have? What does each represent?
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8. Pan de muerto –
a. Describe “pan de muerto” and its significance for the Day of the Dead.
b. In what shapes/forms are these made?
9. Papel picado
a. Describe what this is and what its significance is for Day of the Dead.
b. Compare its origins with how is it used today and what is it made of now.
(B) Answer the following questions with as much detail as possible.
* Refer to at least 2 sites to formulate your answer and note the websites.
1. “El Día de los Muertos” (The Day of the Dead) coincides with “La Noche de las Vísperas”
(Halloween). Are these days connected? What are the origins of each?
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2. What is “gentrification”? How does it relate to Pilsen?
3. This year’s Day of the Dead exhibit at the National Mexican Museum of Art includes a tribute
to the hundreds of student demonstrators killed 10 days before the 1968 summer Olympics on
October 2, 1968.
a. What were some of the major events taking place around the world in the 60s.
b. Why were the students demonstrating?
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