Tag Archives: dia de los muertos

Dahlias for Tía

Nationality: American/Mexican
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: West Covina, CA
Language: English/Spanish

TEXT: “My tia (aunt) had a thing for dahlia flowers. Whenever we would walk around together and see Dahlia flowers, she would stop, pick one, smell it, and put it in her hat. Her house in Puebla, Mexico, always smelled of flowers, and she would never hesitate to have a bouquet of dahlias and roses in her entrance way. If she were sitting on the couch watching the news or reading her favorite books, she would be tending to her garden in the backyard. She passed away 2 years ago, but last year for Día de los Muertos, we planted Dahlias in her honor. The thing with Dahlia’s is that they take a long time to bloom. They don’t bloom for at least 90 days after planting. It was still a little cold in Puebla when we planted them, but one morning, about a month after we planted them, my dad opened up the kitchen window, and the air was thick with their scent even though they shouldn’t have bloomed yet. The smell was so strong it felt like she was with us again.”


CONTEXT: This memorate of the dahlia flowers and his aunt was told to by B, in the context of a bigger conversation about family traditions and cultural practices related to memorializing the deceased. B connected it with their tía from Puebla, Mexico, who had a love for dahlia flowers, and that association became part of the family observance of Día de los Muertos. By planting dahlias in the tía’s honor, the family was creating a cultural tradition that added meaning to a person they lost, while performing a cultural practice and making it personal with the memory of that deceased person.

ANALYSIS: This is a good example of how Día de los Muertos provides families comfort and connection to their loved ones who have passed. The informant’s tía had a strong relationship with dahlias, so planting dahlias was associated with honoring her. The dahlias weren’t supposed to bloom yet, but the random nature of their blooming and the smell felt like a sign, a reminder of her presence. The story does not attempt to explain the moment so much as describe how it felt. In addition, it shows how cultural rituals, like Día de los Muertos, can keep the memory of others alive through symbols, emotions, and shared experiences.

Dia de los Muertos

“I think you know about the Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, which is a big deal in Mexico. Usually it happens in late October or early November, and the whole day is a celebration of those who aren’t with us–when I was back in Mexico, there were a lot of rituals, like how we’d build altars for the deceased and offer flowers, drinks, and food. Otherwise, it was a nice moment of celebrating rather than mourning the dead, which I don’t see an equivalent for in American culture.”

Context:

This conversation was conducted in person with my roommate in our shared room, and I transcribed the text from an audio recording of our conversation.

Interpretation:

This conversation reveals a bit more about the origins and function of the festival—the origin stems from the Catholic church, and then due to other political and social factors in Mexico, became separated from that and eventually became its own separate thing, as a way to honor ancestors. The idea that there isn’t really an equivalent celebration in American culture further contextualizes in Mexican culture and tradition.

Pan de Muerto

Context: the informant, A.F., is a 21 year old USC student. Her family is Mexican, when asked about rituals or festivals, she brought up Dia de Los Muertos. Before she explained her family customs, she did give me a small disclaimer, saying that a lot of this feels normal to her, and so she wasn’t sure what would/wouldn’t matter.

Text: The informant explained that when her family celebrates Dia de Los Muertos, they always buys a specific bread, known as “pan de muerto”. She described pan de muerto as a round sweet bread with a cross on top; along with this, she explained that her family also makes the favorite foods of their loved ones who have passed. When asked if she leaves some out for ancestors, she told me that they do that alongside eating it. Her family puts up an altar in their house with photos of loved ones who have passed, decorating it with their favorite foods, candles, and a vibrant flower that her family calls “cempasuchil.” She told me she wasn’t sure what flower it was exactly, but she thought it was a marigold. To offer the bread and food to them, her family places it on the altar.

Analysis: Pan de muerto, or bread of the dead, is a typical part of Dia de los Muertos festivities, as is creating an altar for the living to offer things to their dead loved ones. The act of placing food on the altar for them seems like an idea based in homeopathic sympathetic magic, in that items given to photos of loved ones will also be given to their spirits in the afterlife. As the photo looks like the person, affecting it in some way will also affect the person, even once they’ve passed. The bread itself, to the informant, is essentially just a normal sweet bread, but the intent behind offering it is what matters, rather than anything special about the bread.

El Día de los Muertos

Text:

S: “[T]here’s Día de los Muertos which is Day of the Dead. So for that we like have an alter in our house, which is basically just like pictures of all our dead relatives and we light candles and then we… pray to God that there like in a better place. A lot of the times we go to like the cemetery and we bring like food, their favorite food and we place it at like their grave and like tombstones and that’s you offering up the dead person’s favorite food. I forget what the reasoning is, you might want to research into that, but it’s like so they have something to remind them of their old life, comfort food? I’m not sure but you take their favorite food to their grave site.”

He later told me he celebrates it on November 2nd, but November 1st is celebrated too however that’s only for saints/angels.

Context: 

S is a Mexican American born in Long Beach, California. His parents are from Mexico. S celebrated this holiday since he was little as his parents taught it to him with one of his earliest memories of Día de los Muertos was celebrating it with and for his grandmother. S’s take on Día de los Muertos is it’s about preserving history and keeping traditions alive. 

S: “I like to think about it in terms of like when someone passes there’s a chance they’re not going to be remembered by like history you know? Like so few people get remembered by like the things they contributed to the world. Even historical figures, no one really likes… they just learn about them because you have to, no one really remembers as much. And when it comes to your family, you’re the only person who’s going to remember them. In terms of history, you know, they’re just going to be washed away like they didn’t really exist, so I guess it’s up to you to keep their memory alive and just make sure like the things they did while they were alive matters to you and it means something as a way to keep them like they’re still here, you know? Cause when you die, you’re gone, but your memory lives on and I guess that’s a way to make sure their memory doesn’t also die and they still live on through that which I guess is a big part of Day of the Dead and stuff like that.”

Interpretation:

Día de los Muertos is very much about honoring and remembering loved ones. They can be for family members, friends, idols, etc. however important ones are mostly for family members. As S explained, people celebrate this holiday to keep their loved ones alive in spirit as despite being physically gone. The concept of offering foods at graves and alters with pictures of the passed away is similar to the idea Valk explained with ghosts haunting family members and being territorial. Though the spirits of those who passed away here are tied to their graves and alter photos and are not hostile but almost guardian-like. 

Ritual: el Día de los Muertos

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Parkside, USC

When I asked my informant if they had any special holiday traditions or rituals, they thought of el Día de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. S told me that this was one of their favourite holidays, they love the vibrant colours, the joyful celebrations, the delicious food, and the beautiful altars set up in honour of loved ones. S told me that when the sun set, they would stroll down the streets of their neighbourhood every year, watching families setting up their altars for their loved ones who had passed and they would see candles flickering in the night, incense burning, and pictures of happy faces. They would also see lots of marigold blooms set around the altars, known as ‘ofrendas’, and the flower’s bright orange colour and strong fragrance are to help guide the souls of the dead home. S said that their mom would always bring out a tray of fresh pan de muerto which is a sweet bread that is eaten on this holiday, and they all took a piece. They love this holiday because they always felt a strong connection to their ancestors and their culture during el Día de los Muertos, and they said that it will always be a special time for their family and them.

I have always loved hearing stories about el Día de los Muertos and I think that it is such an amazing way of celebrating the life of a loved one who is no longer with us. Growing up, every time the thought of dying and the afterlife came to mind, it would quickly spiral out of control and I would get very anxious and stressed out because I just couldn’t wrap my head around the concept of it. Not knowing what happens when we die is a scary thought and I didn’t really have a comfort to hold onto. This is why I think el Día de los Muertos is such a great holiday because it helps you feel so bonded to your loved ones, even if they were no longer with you. The belief that the spirits of the dead come back from the afterlife to visit and spend time with their families on Earth would have been a very comforting and reassuring thought for me growing up.