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Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, comes from the Aztec celebration of loved ones who’ve walked on. It’s now a Mexican holiday with customs and traditions that are catching on in the United States. But the American version is often more about sugar skull imagery and less about the original intent. We’ll get some reminders about what the holiday is really about and some tips on avoiding cultural appropriation.
Guests:
Dr. Gabriela Spears-Rico (Purépecha) – assistant professor at the University of Minnesota in American Indian Studies
Jessica Lopez Lyman (Xicana) – artist and Chicana and Latinex studies scholar at the University of Minnesota
Break 1 Music: Mirror Song (song) Michael Heralda (artist) Miccailhuitl (album)
Break 2 Music: Evolution Revolution (song) Indigenous (artist) Circle (album)
Yes – we are seeing Dia de los Muertos ‘calavera’ images used to promote sales of alcohol and to get people into bars. This ceremony has it’s origins within the home and around the time when summer is ending and the chill of fall approaching. We honored lives (plants, animals, relatives) that had competed their cycle, When European invaders arrived, they demonized our ceremonies and forcibly moved the time of giving offerings to passed on relatives to the Nov. 1-2nd Catholic ‘all soul’s day. We are reclaiming our ceremonies by rejecting the ‘commodification, commercialization and trivialization of our beautiful way of giving thanks.
I agree wholeheartedly. I love the atmosphere and the color and the deep cultural meaning of the holiday in my community but I am sickened by white people making it about them. It’s a form of cultural appropriation and colonialism and it’s disrespectful to inject themselves into something that clearly has nothing to do with them just because it’s “cool”.
Thanks to those of you who participated in getting this truth out…people need to know to honor traditions