On Friday, I wrote about the conventions and history of Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations (see “When the Saints Come Marching In,” which ran in this space on Oct. 28), which begin tomorrow.
I pointed out that there are many parts of the country — including in sections of Mexico City — where traditional altars are still presented and families still camp out on gravesites to pay homage to their dearly departed.
But, sadly, to a large extent, this unique Mexican holiday is becoming blurred or overshadowed by the U.S. import of Halloween.
Many children around the country — particularly in the highly urbanized metropolises of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey — have forsaken their orange cempasúchil (marigold) flowers and pan de muerto in favor of Superman costumes and trick-or-treating with plastic jack o’ lanterns.
There is also the distorted perception of the Day of the Dead celebrations as portrayed in the 2015 James Bond film, “Spectre,” which turned the holiday into a cross between Mardi Gras and Skeletons on Parade.
And while demanding Milky Ways and Hershey bars from your neighbors in exchange for not toilet-papering their driveways and slick pageants of glamorous stars decked out in skeleton tuxedos may be appealing, it is important to remember that these traditions are foreign imports, not native Mexican.
Though Mexico’s Day of the Dead does involve some large scale public altars and a lot of skeletons — including chocolate ones — it is primarily an intimate celebration dominated by gatherings of families beside the graves of lost loved ones.
The festival, which is closely linked to religious faith, revolves around the belief that, once a year, the spirits of dead relatives return to visit those they left behind.
Granted, the celebration of the Day of the Dead has evolved over the centuries, having started out as pre-Hispanic tradition dating back to around 1500.
Under the Spanish, it was merged with European Catholic celebrations and the dates were tweaked to accommodate the Christian calendar.
But since that time, Día de los Muertos remained pretty much intact.
Clearly, there is nothing wrong with incorporating and assimilating the U.S. tradition of Halloween in Mexico, but that holiday must remain separated and differentiated from the Day of the Dead.
Otherwise, Mexico runs the risk of killing off one of its most cherished and singular traditions of intangible heritage.
Thérèse Margolis can be reached at [email protected].
