He Day of the Dead It is one of the most important celebrations in Mexico. Since pre-Hispanic times, every November 1 and 2, Mexicans gather to honor their deceased, and now we do it with iconic figures such as ‘The Catrina’.
Historical and anthropological studies have shown that celebrations dedicated to the dead not only share an ancient ceremonial practice in which the catholic tradition and pre-Columbian, but also manifestations that are based on the ethnic and cultural plurality of the country.
Despite how ancient the tradition may be, some curious facts are still unknown. Therefore, we took on the task of collecting some and sharing them with you below.
1. Who is La Catrina?
La Catrina, originally called La Calavera Garbancera, is a figure created by José Guadalupe Posada and named by the muralist Diego Rivera.
José Guadalupe Posada was the first to use this emblematic character, in his famous engraving “The Garbancera Skull”to criticize the so-called garbanceros, people of indigenous blood who pretended to be Europeans.
Years later, Diego Rivera created the image of La Catrina as we know it today.
With this peculiar character, the muralist also criticized the Mexican aristocracy. La Catrina’s first appearance was in the mural “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central.”
2. The offering for the faithful dead
According to the pre-Hispanic calendar, each deity sponsored a specific period of time. The offerings belonging to Mictlantecuchtli, lord of the dead, coincided with the month of November in the Gregorian calendar. The Spanish, in their mission to institutionalize Christianity in Mesoamerican lands, decided to combine both visions, generating a very complex syncretism that gave life to some festivals such as those of the Day of the Dead.
It is because of this cultural mix that today one cannot imagine a offering without a cross, the photo of the deceased and marigold flowers.
Tradition indicates that the altar begins to be set up on October 30 or 31 and remains until November 2 or 3 depending on the region of Mexico.
3. The story behind bread of the dead
Its origin dates back to pre-Hispanic times, since then it has been used for offerings only because it was prepared with ground, toasted amaranth seeds and it is said that it was bathed in the blood of people sacrificed in honor of the gods Izcoxauhqui or Huehuetéotl.
This type of bread of the dead stopped being made during the Spanish conquest in Mexico, since the Spanish rejected that ritual and began making wheat bread, in the shape of a heart, bathing it in sugar and turning it red, it was a picturesque shape. towards death in addition to eating bread.
4. Cempasúchil, the flower of the dead
Known above all for being one of the most popular decorations on Day of the Dead tombs and offerings, the “flower with twenty petals” (due to its roots in the Nahuatl language cempoal-xochitl, twenty-flower) only blooms after the rainy season.
Intense yellow in color, The stem of the cempasuchil can measure up to one meter in height, while its buttons can reach five centimeters in diameter. For this reason, the Mexica, during pre-Hispanic times, chose it to fill the altars, offerings and burials dedicated to their dead with hundreds of specimens.
5. Skulls, in danger of extinction
One of the Mexican traditions in danger of extinction are the “calaveras”formerly called “pantheons”.
Skulls are like a laconic epitaph-epigram, says the Zamorano Eduardo del Río “Rius”, and are written in the form of verse dedicated to friends, family or acquaintances only on the Day of the Dead. One of its characteristics is that it constitutes an opportunity to express what one thinks about the other, about spaces, functions or things, about a regime of the past and present. It is not easy to say what one thinks about others, which is why skulls constitute a form of brave literature.
This form of writing developed since the 19th century. As they gained strength in the last century, the skulls began to be censored by the governments in power because a large number served as criticism of the officials, since they manifested the discontent that prevailed among the governed. The police confiscated or destroyed many of these, which is why it is not easy to find them in newspaper archives.
One more… 6. World Heritage
In 2003, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared this festival as a “Masterpiece of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity” since it represents one of the most relevant examples of the living heritage of Mexico and the world, and it is also one of the oldest and most complete cultural expressions of the indigenous groups that currently live in our country.
With information from Mexico Unknown.
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