Celebrate Día de los Muertos in 2020
Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is an annual celebration practiced in many Spanish-speaking countries with Indigenous roots. Each culture holds its own traditions but the shared purpose is celebrating and honoring the dead. For the past three years, Jennie King Mellon Library has held a Día de los Muertos event series as part of National Latinx Heritage Month. The celebrations continue in 2020. Join JKM virtually this week for two Día de los Muertos celebrations and check out additional ways to celebrate the holiday below:
Celebrate with JKM
Join JKM on Tuesday, October 27 from 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm for a virtual event led by Professor Mildred Lopez’s Spanish LNG161 and LNG261 students. The classes will lead a presentation on the history and culture surrounding Día de los Muertos followed by a bingo game and a paper flower craft. Learn more and register.
Alternately, you can join JKM on Thursday, October 29 from 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm for another Día de los Muertos event. Dr. Elsa Arce from Counseling Services will lead a discussion on how to cope with grief, celebrate life, and honor both. Professor Mildred Lopez will lecture on how women in Peru cope with the loss of children. Participants will have the opportunity to make a decorative Monarca butterfly. Learn more and register.
Educate yourself on the history
It’s important to know the difference between appropriating culture and honoring it. A big part of celebrating Día de los Muertos is respecting and understanding the rich history of the holiday. Día de los Muertos is marked by a blending of Spanish and Indigenous practices and includes All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2. This video explores the differences between Día de los Muertos customs in Mexico, Bolivia, and Ecuador. In Bolivia, the holiday features dance, music, and festive performances to honor the dead. In Mexico, participants visit the cemetery with offerings and spend time remembering, mourning, and celebrating their loved ones. In Ecuador, families wake up early to cook food for their departed loved ones and then share a meal in the cemetery.
If you’re looking to learn more, check out JKM’s list of recommended Day of the Dead reading and this list of Day of the Dead movies.
Build your own ofrenda
Ofrenda means offering. Traditional ofrendas are altars built to honor the spirits of loved ones who have passed away. Each altar is unique to those it honors, but traditional Mexican ofrendas include orange marigolds, which symbolized death to the Aztec people, incense, candles, water, sugar skulls, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), fruits, papel picado (paper cut outs), and photos of the dead. The special offerings are intended to please the spirits and to help them through the spirit path.
Make festive treats
Check out this list of Día de los Muertos recipes from Professor Mildred Lopez, including Traditional Indigenous Hot Xocolatl (chocolate) and Traditional Mexican Pan de Muerto. Hot Xocolatl is a drink that originated in Mayan culture. Originally, it was a bitter drink that was mixed with cornmeal, but over time sweet ingredients like sugar, cinnamon, and even whipped cream have been added. Pan de muerto is the bread of the dead, a sweet bread that is prepared specifically for the occasion and placed upon ofrendas as an offering to the deceased. There are plenty of delicious variations on this recipe—we encourage you to experiment and find the version you like best.
Connect with those you love
2020 has been an extremely difficult year for all of us. Take the opportunity to celebrate the occasion by reaching out to someone you love and miss. Call a friend you haven’t talked to you in a while, schedule a Zoom hang with your faraway family, or write a letter to someone who might need it. Whatever you choose to do, find a way to connect with those you love, if even for a few minutes. 💜
Whether you grew up celebrating Día de los Muertos or you’re just learning about the tradition, we hope you honor the spirit of this holiday by connecting with those you care about. And if you’re interested, be sure to register for JKM’s virtual event series.
