THE DAY OF THE DEAD

A celebration of memory and a ritual that privileges remembrance over oblivion.

The celebration of the Day of the Dead takes place on November 1st and 2nd, as it is divided into categories: according to the Catholic calendar, November 1 corresponds to All Saints, a day dedicated to the "little dead" or children, and November 2 to the Faithful Departed, that is, to adults.

- In pre-Hispanic times, the cult of death was one of the basic elements of the culture, when someone died they were buried and their relatives organized a party to guide them on their journey to another existential plane. In the same way, they placed the food they liked in life, with the belief that they could become hungry.

- Death was the beginning of a journey to a place called Mictlan, considered the kingdom of the dead or underworld. To reach Mictlan it was necessary to cross a river called Chiconahuapan; on this journey the souls were assisted by a dog.

-When the Spaniards arrived in America, they celebrated the dead with the Catholic festivity called All Saints' Day, and with time both celebrations were mixed until giving way to the Day of the Dead as we know it today.

- Every year many families place offerings and altars decorated with the characteristic cempasúchil flowers, the so-called "papel picado", sugar skulls, "pan de muerto" and some dish to the liking of the relatives to whom the offering is dedicated, and as in pre-Hispanic times, incense is placed to aromatize the place.

- The cempasúchil flowers, which have very bright colors such as yellow and orange, are placed on the altars and on the ground drawing a path, as they are intended to symbolize the sunlight that illuminates the path of the deceased to Earth.

- The Catrina was created by Mexican cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada between 1910 and 1913.

- In 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared this festivity Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

 The Day of the Dead is considered a celebration of memory and a ritual that favors remembering over forgetting. That is why it is so joyful and colorful.