Posada dressed his personification of death in fancy French garb and called it Calavera Garbancera, intending it as social commentary on Mexican society’s emulation of European sophistication. In the early 20th century, Mexican political cartoonist and lithographer José Guadalupe Posada created an etching to accompany a literary calavera. You’ll find these clever, biting poems in print, read aloud, and broadcast on television and radio programs. These literary calaveras eventually became a popular part of Día de los Muertos celebrations. Literary calaverasĬalavera means “skull.” But during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, calavera was used to describe short, humorous poems, which were often sarcastic tombstone epitaphs published in newspapers that poked fun at the living. The smoke from copal incense, made from tree resin, transmits praise and prayers and purifies the area around the altar. Scattered from altar to gravesite, marigold petals guide wandering souls back to their place of rest. Marigolds are the main flowers used to decorate the altar. If one of the spirits is a child, you might find small toys on the altar.
As such, they’re loaded with offerings-water to quench thirst after the long journey, food, family photos, and a candle for each dead relative. These aren’t altars for worshipping rather, they’re meant to welcome spirits back to the realm of the living. The centerpiece of the celebration is an altar, or ofrenda, built in private homes and cemeteries. It takes place on November 1 and 2-All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on the Catholic calendar-around the time of the fall maize harvest.
Today’s Día de los Muertos celebration is a mash-up of pre-Hispanic religious rites and Christian feasts. The dead were still members of the community, kept alive in memory and spirit-and during Día de los Muertos, they temporarily returned to Earth. For these pre-Hispanic cultures, death was a natural phase in life’s long continuum.
Unauthorized use is prohibited.ĭay of the Dead originated several thousand years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and other Nahua people, who considered mourning the dead disrespectful. The following examples are not obligatory, but are commonly used in the construction of an ofrenda.Please be respectful of copyright. Water to satisfy the thirst of the dead who visit Fire burning in candles Earth in food and other items for the departed and Wind, which is represented by the papel picado, paper flowers and other paper elements that move with the wind.Īn altar for Day of the Dead may contain various items. The individual elements can be grouped into four categories that correspond with natural elements of water, fire, earth and wind. Dia de los Muertos – Elements of Day of the Dead Altars in Sonora, MexicoĮl Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican tradition that interweaves ancient aspects of pre-Hispanic culture with Christian beliefs to create a unique annual event of remembrance for the departed.ĭay of the Dead altars, also known as ofrendas (offerings), are constructed and adorned to remember, honor and please the dead, are a central symbol of the Dia de los Muertos.Īn altar may include a variety of symbols and items that are reminders of the deceased, or that were favorites of the honoree of the altar, but the following 12 items are considered to be fundamental requirements for an ofrenda.
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