Photo by theatlantic.com
Have you ever watched Coco? Coco is an animated movie released by Walt Disney in 2017. The movie is about a boy named Miguel who dreams of becoming a musician. Even though his family forbids him to chase his dream, Miguel won’t stop chasing it when he finds out that his idol Ernesto is his great-great-grandfather. Long story short, Miguel got trapped in the realm of the dead and his journey begins.
Coco is based on a Mexican holiday called Dia de los Muertos which in English means The Day of the Dead. It is celebrated annually on the first two days of November. This holiday celebrated the deceased by giving them ofrenda or offerings on an altar to honor and remember loved ones in the family. It is a celebratory event rather than a sad event because Mexican believe that people are never really dead until we forget them.
At midnight on the first of November, the spirit of deceased children is believed to visit their family to reunite in the realm of the living for the whole day. Families will prepare an altar with offerings that contained the deceased kid’s favorite snacks, toys, and photos to encourage them to visit their family. At midnight on the next day is time for the deceased adults to visit their families. The offerings are still pretty much the same as before which are their favorite foods and drinks.
The grand final of the celebration is at noon on the second day. People gather around the cities and have parades while dressed up as a skeleton and painting their faces as a skull. They also come to the cemetery to visit the grave of their departed family. They clean and decorate the grave with Marigold Flowers, sugar skulls, and gifts. The Marigolds Flowers believed can guide the departed ones to their offerings by the bright colors and the scent. The sugar skulls are shaped from the Calavera or skulls that become the icon of the celebration.
If you are planning to go on a trip to Mexico, you may want to visit there during these days to see the unique celebration of the dead. It is an experience that you can’t find anywhere else.
References:
Dayofthedead.holiday. (2019). Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos). Dayofthedead.holiday. https://dayofthedead.holiday/
Ward, L. (2017, October 26). Top 10 things to know about the Day of the Dead. National Geographic. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/top-ten-day-of-dead-mexico
Commentaires