I interviewed a really good friend of mine who is 19 years old and moved to the United States from Mexico City pretty recently to go to school. I thought he would be a perfect person to interview because I really don’t know much about Mexican culture especially that of Mexico City. Through some research and discovery, I did find that the city was the center for celebration and festivals across the nation and that people come here for the wonderful events. However, I wanted to find out which festivals my friend was a part of during his childhood.

Collector: “Are there any other festivals or holidays that you take part in which I might not know?”

Informant:”Another really important holiday is the Day of the Dead.”

Collector: “What happens during that holiday?”

Informant: “On this day which is on November 2nd is meant to just remember those who have died which I think is really important. My family and my friends’ families gather and we simply just pray for the close one’s who have died and help them during their spiritual journey. We call the day Dia de Muertos.”

It was very interesting to learn about another one of my friend’s traditions. I did a little more research to find out more about where this holiday came from. This ritual in particular has actually been present for about 3,000 years. In Aztec culture it fell on the ninth month of their calendar and was usually celebrated for that entire month. All of the festivals were dedicated to the goddess known as the Lady of the Dead. More recently on November 1st people celebrate the loss of children in whats known as Dia de los Angelitos and November 2nd was known as Dia de los Muertos. Families and friends during this time bring food and flowers to the grave to bring good spirits and tell stories for hours about those that have departed, usually in a humorous manner as they would tell funny stories about them.