Skip to content
News

Day of the Dead


A display for Day of the Dead with candles, skulls, flowers, and images of artists.“The Day of the Dead has long been one of Mexico’s richest, most varied, and famous annual holidays. Foreign visitors flock to Mexico during the last days of October and first days of November to witness a fantastic, original, and creative cultural display. Candies, breads, paper cutouts, and toys fashioned of plastic and clay, all playing humorously on the theme of death, are evident everywhere. Miniature sweets in the form of skulls, skeletons, and caskets give evidence of an almost irreverent confrontation with mortality.”

Brandes, Stanley. “DAY OF THE DEAD.” Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture, edited by Michael S. Werner, 1st ed., Routledge, 1998.

 

Recommended library resources

Coco (video)

Haley, Shawn D., and Curt. Fukuda. The Day of the Dead : When Two Worlds Meet in Oaxaca. Berghahn Books, 2004.

Hybridity and Authenticity in US Day of the Dead Celebrations

Jose Guadalupe Posada (video)

Posada, José Guadalupe. Posada’s Popular Mexican Prints : 273 Cuts. Edited by Roberto Berdecio and Stanley Appelbaum, Dover Publications, 1972.

Art

Art that focuses on Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) as a contemporary and important cultural celebration.

Calavera Catrina by José Guadalupe Posada

Dreams of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park by Diego Rivera

El Gran Panteon Amoroso by José Guadalupe Posada