Dia de Los Muertos—the Day of the Dead—is a holiday celebrated on November 1. Although marked throughout Latin America, Dia de Los Muertos is most strongly associated with Mexico, where the tradition originated.

Dia de Los Muertos honors the dead with festivals and lively celebrations, a typically Latin American custom that combines indigenous Aztec ritual with Catholicism, brought to the region by Spanish conquistadores. (Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, minor holidays in the Catholic calendar.)

Assured that the dead would be insulted by mourning or sadness, Dia de Los Muertos celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties, and activities the dead enjoyed in life. Dia de Los Muertos recognizes death as a natural part of the human experience, a continuum with birth, childhood, and growing up to become a contributing member of the community. On Dia de Los Muertos, the dead are also a part of the community, awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones.

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The most familiar symbols of Dia de Los Muertos may be the Calacas and Calaveras (skeletons and skulls), which appear everywhere during the holiday: in candied sweets, as parade masks, as dolls. Calacas and Calaveras are almost always portrayed as enjoying life, often in fancy clothes and entertaining situations.

Use the questions in the following tab (Questions) to inspire discussion about Dia de Los Muertos, Latin America, colonialism, and culture.

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• Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated throughout Latin America, including South America (Brazilians call the festival Finados) and the Caribbean. In the United States and Canada, the tradition exists only in areas with a large Latin American population, such as Los Angeles, California, or Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Dia de los Muertos predates the independence of Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Why do you think this is not a widely celebrated American or Canadian holiday?

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• In some of these photos, masks and other decorations are only half-decorated with Calacas and Calaveras. Why?

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    Answers will vary! Consider the philosophy of the festival:
    •    Dia de Los Muertos celebrates death as a part of the human experience: Every living thing will eventually die. Every human being, no matter how beautiful or well-dressed will eventually be exposed as nothing more than a skeleton and skull. The half-decorated Calacas and Calaveras recognize this duality.
    •    The dead are a part of the community, participating in the same way they did in life. Although their flesh may have disappeared, their cultural associations have not. Skeletons representing firefighters may still ride in a fire truck, for instance,  or a Calaca of a vaquero (cowboy) may still ride a horse.

• In many parts of Mexico, participants in Dia de Los Muertos festivities wear shells or other noisemakers on their clothing and jewelry. Why?

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    Answers will vary! Consider the culture of the festival:
    •    The dead are a part of the community, but invisible to the living. Shells and noisemakers will wake the dead from their sleep, and keep them close during the festivities.
    •    Many of the dead were musicians or enjoyed music and dancing.
    •    Dia de Los Muertos is a celebration, and music is an important part of the joyous atmosphere.