Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Vocabulary Ofrendas – Offerings, gifts Altares - altars Cempasúchitl – Indigenous work meaning literally 20 flowers. This is a flower also known as “flor de muerto” or flower of the dead Calacas/ Calaveras - skulls La Catrina – Well dressed, elegant lady

Day of the Dead? A Mexican holiday that takes place on November 1st and 2nd that focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.

Traditions/ Rituals… Building private altars to the deceased loved ones using sugar skulls, favorite foods, beverages and photographs Cleaning and decorating the graves and taking these “ofrendas” or gifts. Prayer Playing Music Parades Art

Traditional Day of the Dead altar.

Traditional “Pan de Muerto” (Bread of the Dead)

Sugar skulls

Marigolds Cempasúchitl An important symbol for this festivity Are used for their potent fragrance and bright color, which is believed to attract the visiting souls and lead them home

Origins Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to the indigenous cultures as long as 2,500–3,000 years ago. The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec Calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month.

Beliefs People believe the souls of the living come to visit them during this time of the year. Food and drink and sometimes even pillows are left out for the dead to eat, drink and sleep. This is considered a joyous holiday, not a sad one. Death is welcomed not feared

The Calaca, the skull Calaveras or skeletons are depicted in humorous settings. The idea is not to take life so seriously, and not to indulge in materialism, because we all have the same fate in the end. These skeletons are examples of this lighthearted way of viewing death…

Jose GuadalupePosada Jose Guadalupe Posada (1851 – 1913 ), a Mexican cartoonist illustrator and artist whose work has influenced many Latin American artists and cartoonists because of its satirical acuteness and political engagement. Posada was born in Aguascalientes, in 1851. As a young teenager he went to work in the workshop of Trinidad Pedroso, who taught him lithography and engraving. In 1871, his career began with a job as the political cartoonist for a local newspaper. He then moved to the nearby city of León, Guanajuato where a former associate of his from Aguascalientes assisted him in starting a successful printing and commercial illustration shop. In 1883 he was hired as a teacher of lithography at the local Preparatory School. The shop flourished until 1888 when a disastrous flood hit the city. He subsequently moved to Mexico City. His first regular employment in the capital was with La Patria Ilustrada. He later joined the staff of a publishing firm owned by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo and while at this firm he created a prolific number of book covers and illustrations.

Posada is best known for his calavera engravings and prints Most of his imagery was meant to make a religious or satirical point. Since his death, his images have become associated with the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos, the "Day of the Dead".

The festivities were dedicated to the god known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern ”Catrina”.

“Gran Fandango y Francachela”

“La Calavera Criminal”

“Valedores Calaveras”

“The Happy Street Sweepers”

“Calavera of Don Quixote”

“The News Carriers”

“El Gato Morongo”

“Francisco Madero”

Fín