La Calavera Catrina was then adopted as one of the most recognizable Day of the Dead icons.ĭuring contemporary Day of the Dead festivities, people commonly wear skull masks and eat sugar candy molded into the shape of skulls. The 1910 etching was intended as a statement about Mexicans adopting European fashions over their own heritage and traditions. His most well-known work, La Calavera Catrina, or Elegant Skull, features a female skeleton adorned with makeup and dressed in fancy clothes. In the early 20th century, the printer and cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada incorporated skeletal figures in his art mocking politicians and commenting on revolutionary politics. The most prominent symbols related to the Day of the Dead are calacas (skeletons) and calaveras (skulls). Ofrendas can be decorated with candles, bright marigolds called cempasuchil and red cock’s combs alongside food like stacks of tortillas and fruit. In turn, the living family members treat the deceased as honored guests in their celebrations, and leave the deceased’s favorite foods and other offerings at gravesites or on the ofrendas built in their homes. During this brief period, the souls of the dead awaken and return to the living world to feast, drink, dance and play music with their loved ones. On the Day of the Dead, it’s believed that the border between the spirit world and the real world dissolve. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadores brought such traditions with them to the New World, along with a darker view of death influenced by the devastation of the bubonic plague.Įl Día de los Muertos is not, as is commonly thought, a Mexican version of Halloween, though the two holidays do share some traditions, including costumes and parades. In medieval Spain, people would bring bring wine and pan de ánimas (spirit bread) to the graves of their loved ones on All Souls Day they would also cover graves with flowers and light candles to illuminate the dead souls’ way back to their homes on Earth. Some of these customs survived even after the rise of the Roman Catholic Church, which (unofficially) adopted them into their celebrations of two Catholic holidays, All Saints Day and All Souls Day, celebrated on the first two days of November. In ancient Europe, pagan celebrations of the dead also took place in the fall, and consisted of bonfires, dancing and feasting. This inspired the contemporary Day of the Dead practice in which people leave food or other offerings on their loved ones’ graves, or set them out on makeshift altars called ofrendas in their homes. In Nahua rituals honoring the dead, traditionally held in August, family members provided food, water and tools to aid the deceased in this difficult journey. Only after getting through nine challenging levels, a journey of several years, could the person’s soul finally reach Mictlán, the final resting place. Upon dying, a person was believed to travel to Chicunamictlán, the Land of the Dead. The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe, and saw death as an integral, ever-present part of life. The Cultural Expressions series will help highlight their stories and their art, while making our Gallery available to our comunidad virtually.The roots of the Day of the Dead, celebrated in contemporary Mexico and among those of Mexican heritage in the United States and around the world, go back some 3,000 years, to the rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Since the closure of our gallery, many artists do not have the means-or place-to exhibit and sell their works. We are taking steps to continue to bring valuable programming to the community via digital platforms through Facebook, YouTube and our website. Through this series of visual art exhibitions, community discussions, literary events, and performances, Centro Cultural Aztlan empowers artists to create and exhibit their work and reach new audiences.ĬOVID-19 has greatly impacted the work we do here at Centro Cultural Aztlan, and we have had to adapt quickly! The Cultural Expressions series will allow us to continue engaging the artistas de Aztlan who were scheduled to participate in exhibitions that were canceled due to Covid-19. Centro Cultural Aztlan is proud to present Cultural Expressions a series of community-based events that promote the work of artists.
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