by Shiona Herbert
Vibrant parades
Joyful music
Dancing & singing
Offerings & candles
Brightly colored bunting
Eating sweet bread and sugary treats
Dressing up like a stylish skeleton
Marigold covered pathways
Enjoying a feast with loved ones
Aren’t these wonderful ways to cherish the memory of those who have passed on?
This is exactly what Dia De Los Muertos – Day of the Dead, is all about.
“This celebration is a demonstration of generosity with richness of color…”
Dia de los Muertos is a celebration that honors the deceased. The tradition holds that the spirits of the dead visit their loved ones on October 31st and leave on November 2nd resulting in a three-day festival that includes parades, family gatherings, feasts, rituals, lots of singing and dancing, art exhibitions and decorating the gravestones of loved ones. This practice originated in Mexico but occurs throughout Latin America and combines indigenous rituals with Catholic traditions.
During Dia de los Muertos, footpaths are lined with bright orange marigolds. Doors of houses are kept open to allow the deceased to visit their family. The color and scent of the marigolds guide the dead to their respective ofrendas - small, personal, altars created in the home that honor the dead. These contain a photo of the deceased, candles, flowers, pan de Muerto (bread of the dead), which are soft, sweetened buns. Servings of the deceased person’s favorite food (when they were alive) are also offered.
And the sweetest part of all… sugar skulls! These are small skulls made of sugar decorated with bright icing!
Sugar Skulls for Dia de los Muertos | Photo Credit: Michael Grocott
Brightly colored bunting, or papel picado, (perforated paper), is displayed during Dia de los Muertos. The decorative paper represents the ‘fragility of life.’ It is said that movement of the paper during Day of the Dead signifies the arrival and presence of deceased loved ones. Paper cutting is an important folk art practiced throughout Mexico and former colonies of Spain. It’s an artform seen at many Latin American festivals.
Papel Picado | Photo Credit: Michael Grocott
Mexican Visual Artist (poet and activist) Bestabeè Romero has made numerous works of art honoring Dia de los Muertos that also bring attention to modern day issues of her country. The 2016 installation Canto de Agua (Song of Water) in Mexico City, combined the Day of the Dead ofrenda (small altar) with a trajineras: a traditional type of flat-bottomed boat. 103 trajineras were made and decorated (in collaboration with numerous Mexican artists), as offerings to commemorate those who had died during the year and to connect their deaths to social conditions and problems of Mexico City.¹ This installation was also shown in France last year.
Another installation by Romero displayed at the Museo Dolores Olemedo: Los Huesos Tienen Memoria (Bones Have a Memory) 2016-2017, was dedicated to the almost 28 thousand missing persons registered by the Mexican federal government. ¹ These are just two of many examples of Romero’s work that reveals how art can be used as a powerful platform to connect traditions of the past with present day concerns.
Romero has long been inspired by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who is now a recognized icon of Dia de los Muertos. Many Day of the Dead parades and themed events pay host to countless Kahlo imitators. Even the Dia de los Muertos themed movie Coco pays homage to her! Themes of death and images of skulls and skeletons were numerous in Kahlo’s work because of a horrific accident she survived as a teenager from which she experienced health complications her entire life and several miscarriages. It was also influenced by her love of Mexican indigenous culture and custom. Did you know that Kahlo had a full-length paper mâché skeleton positioned on top of her four poster bed?
Now it’s Your Turn!
So many different approaches can be taken to bring the creativity (and festivity) of Dia de los Muertos to life in your own home. Here are just a few!
Make some papel picado out of tissue paper and a pair of scissors.
Cook up some Pan de Muerto – there are plenty of recipes online.
Create a sugar skull collage out of material or paper.
Follow Bestabeè Romer’s lead and think about how all those who have died from Covid-19 could be honored in a large Dia de los Muertos installation.
Do some sugar skull face painting!
Face Painting a Sugar Skull
Gather up some face paints: white + black and four different colors. Find yourself a sponge and collect a bunch of Q-tips/cotton balls. (If you don’t have any face paint, you can make your own using household ingredients.) Before you begin, apply moisturizer or sunscreen as a barrier to help protect the skin and make it easier to clean the paint off when it’s time. Be sure that the skin is clean and dry before using a sponge to dab white paint over the entire face to create a white background. Dip Q-tips into the face paint and use them to create the sugar skull features, press-on dots, and gently trace swirls across the face.
There is a loose criteria of the features of a sugar skull:
Plain white face for the background.
Colorful flower petals around each eye.
Flower, cross, or a heart placed in the center of the forehead.
Diamond or flower drawn in the center of the chin.
An upside-down heart painted on the nose.
Exaggerated teeth painted over the lips and halfway up each cheek.
Swirling lines emanating from each of these features.
Brightly colored dots filling in empty spaces on the face.
If you’d like a little more direction, download the PDF in the Learning Library for a skull template and plan a sugar skull design on it before painting it on a ‘live canvas.’ The PDF also features a brief curated collection of QR code links that aim to spark creative ideas and to learn more about this colorful Mexican tradition.
Jump on Facebook and search for Dia de los Muertos events occurring in your community or for more suggestions on how to celebrate this colorful celebration.
We would love to see your creations celebrating Dia de los Muertos so please share them in our Free Art History Kids Facebook Group…click on the button below
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citations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsabe%C3%A9_Romero
Dia de Los Muertos images by Michael Grocott