Día de Muertos

During the first days of November, Mexico welcomes Día de Muertos - the Day of the Dead. Even though it is mainly celebrated in Mexico, it is also observed in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage, as well as in Central America and the Andean region of South America.

 

This is no day of sorrow, but of remembrance wrapped in color and laughter. This holiday involves gathering to pay respects and remember friends and family members who have passed. These celebrations can also take a humorous and festive tone. On the one hand, celebrants remember amusing events and anecdotes about the departed, and on the other, death is sometimes even mocked in a way to make it lighter, trivial, and more acceptable.

 

The tradition involves building private altars (ofrendas) containing tokens of love, as well as the favorite foods and beverages, photos and souvernirs of the departed. It also involves vibrant and colourful celebrations, dancing, and parades. 

 

For some, music isn’t only entertainment, it’s a spiritual invitation. The vibration of drums and marimbas is believed to reopen the bridge between worlds, allowing passed loved one to come visit.

 

These celebrations blur the line between private mourning and public festivity, brings the community together, and reinforces intergenerational connection and oral history as people recount stories about their loved ones.

 

In some cultures and nowadays, death can often be medicalized, privatised, silenced, and feared. Día de Muertos beautifully reclaims death as social and natural, emphasizing relationship over loss.