86 Fun Facts About Dia De Los Muertos

On what dates is Dia de los Muertos traditionally celebrated in Mexico?

The holiday runs November 1 - November 2, the two days when the souls are believed to return; in some localities the festivities stretch from October 31 to as late as November 6.

What is an ofrenda?

An ofrenda is a decorated altar set up in homes or public spaces to honor and remember deceased loved ones. It typically includes photos, candles, flowers, food, and personal items the deceased enjoyed.

Which 2017 Pixar movie features Dia de los Muertos as a central theme?

Pixar's 'Coco' (2017) tells the story of a young boy named Miguel who accidentally enters the Land of the Dead during Dia de los Muertos. The film won two Academy Awards and brought global attention to the holiday.

What traditional bread is baked specifically for Dia de los Muertos?

Pan de muerto is a sweet, sugar-dusted bun baked in the weeks before the holiday and placed on ofrendas for the returning spirits; bakeries sell it from mid-October through early November.

Which Yucatán chicken dish is cooked in an underground pit for the holiday and eaten over following days?

Mukbil pollo (mucbipollo) is a large chicken-and-masa tamal wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a pib, an underground oven, for Yucatán's Hanal Pixán; 'mukbil' means buried in Maya.

In what year was Mexico's Day of the Dead festivity inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List?

Mexico's Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008, after being proclaimed a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage in 2003.

What resin incense is burned during Dia de los Muertos to purify the space and guide spirits?

Copal is a tree resin that has been burned in Mesoamerican rituals for thousands of years. During Dia de los Muertos, its fragrant smoke is believed to purify the ofrenda and help guide the spirits of the dead back to their families.

November 1 of the holiday is set aside for which group of the departed?

November 1, Día de los Angelitos, honors children who have died; toys and sweets are set out for them, while the adults honored on November 2 get tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole.

What is the Aztec name for the underworld or Land of the Dead?

Mictlan was the Aztec underworld ruled by Mictlantecuhtli and his consort; the dead faced a long journey of trials to reach it, with the psychopomp Xolotl aiding them along the way.

Which muralist gave the skeleton lady a full body and Tehuana dress in 'Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park'?

Diego Rivera painted 'Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park' in 1947 for the Hotel del Prado's restaurant, placing a full-bodied Catrina at the center of a crowd of figures from Mexican history.

What are calaveras literarias?

Calaveras literarias are satirical verses written as mock epitaphs for living people, often politicians, describing Death carrying them off; Mexican newspapers have printed them around the holiday since the 19th century.

The Alumbrada, when a cemetery glows with candles on November 2, climaxes festivities in which Mexico City community?

San Andrés Mixquic, a village in the borough of Tláhuac once ringed by chinampas, holds the Alumbrada on the night of November 2, when thousands of candles light its churchyard cemetery.

What do families typically do at cemeteries during Dia de los Muertos?

Families clean and decorate the graves with marigolds, candles and food, and in places such as Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio they keep vigil beside them through the night.

What is the purpose of placing the deceased's favorite foods and drinks on the ofrenda?

The foods and drinks are set out to feed the visiting spirits, who are believed to take in the aroma and essence of the offerings after their long journey home.

Which Catholic holidays coincide with Dia de los Muertos?

All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day fall on November 1 and 2, the same days as Día de los Muertos; the holiday blends pre-Columbian death rituals with Catholic traditions brought by Spanish colonisers.

Why is a glass of water traditionally left on the ofrenda?

To quench the thirst of returning souls after the long journey to the land of the living; some altars also carry a washbasin, soap, a mirror and a towel so the spirit can freshen up.

In Pixar's 2017 film set in the Land of the Dead, what causes a spirit to fade from existence for good?

Héctor's whole bargain with Miguel hinges on getting his photo onto an ofrenda before his daughter forgets him.

Which Aztec Queen of the Underworld is considered a precursor to Dia de los Muertos?

Her role was to watch over the bones of the dead and preside over the ancient festivals of the dead; legend says she was born, then sacrificed as an infant.

What do the strips of dough laid across the top of the sweet bread baked for the holiday represent?

The strips represent the bones of the deceased, often arranged in a circle to portray the circle of life, with the central ball of dough standing for a skull.

The Día de los Muertos period also marks the completion of the annual cultivation cycle of which Mexican crop?

Maize is Mexico's predominant food crop; families believe the dead can repay a well-executed ritual with an abundant harvest, or punish a careless one with illness or financial trouble.

Which Mexican region is famous for the Purepecha Dia de los Muertos celebrations on the island of Janitzio?

Lake Patzcuaro in Michoacan, and especially the island of Janitzio, is world-famous for its Dia de los Muertos celebrations. The Purepecha people hold dramatic candlelit cemetery vigils that draw visitors from around the globe.

How many levels did the Aztecs believe the dead passed through in the underworld before their final rest?

The journey was said to take four years, past obstacles such as clashing mountains and obsidian winds, with the god Xolotl aiding the dead.

Which sugar-paste craft, centred on Toluca, produces the holiday's moulded skulls, rabbits and coffins?

Alfeñique is a paste of powdered sugar, lemon and chautle, a plant-based adhesive, molded into skulls, rabbits and coffins; Toluca hosts a Feria del Alfeñique each autumn, and the word comes from Arabic via Spain.

On an ofrenda, lit candles stand for which of the four elements?

Candles stand for fire among the four elements; their flame is also read as the light that guides the dead back home, and some families light one extra candle for a soul with no one to remember it.

Salt placed on the ofrenda chiefly symbolizes what?

Salt stands for purification: it is meant to keep the body of the departed from corrupting during its journey to and from the altar, and some families shape it into a small cross.

Which 2014 animated film, produced by Guillermo del Toro, also features Dia de los Muertos themes?

'The Book of Life' (2014), produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez, features a story set during Dia de los Muertos. It follows Manolo, who must travel through the Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten.

Historically, which drink was the main alcoholic offering on the holiday's altars?

Pulque, the milky fermented sap of the maguey, was the main alcoholic offering in earlier centuries; modern families pour whatever their departed relative preferred, from beer to mezcal.

In Oaxaca, elaborate ground-level pictures called tapetes are laid out for the holiday using what material?

Tapetes de arena are pictures laid out in colored sand, with seeds, sawdust and flower petals often worked in; they are swept away once the celebrations end.

What prompted Mexico City to stage its first large-scale Day of the Dead parade on October 29, 2016?

Spectre's 2015 opening was shot around the Zócalo; the real parade it inspired drew 250,000 people in its first year.

What are calacas?

Calacas are skeleton figures and masks, from clay figurines to costumed dancers; they are almost always shown joyous rather than mournful, dancing, drinking or playing music among marigolds.

In larger Mexican cities, costumed children knock on doors asking for what small gift of sweets or money?

Children ask '¿Me da mi calaverita?', a calaverita being a little skull, and receive sweets or coins; it resembles trick-or-treating but without the threat of mischief if nothing is given.

What is the male skeleton figure in skull make-up, top hat or mariachi suit called?

El Catrín is the male counterpart of La Catrina, dressed in a top hat or charro suit with skull make-up; a cane often completes the outfit.

The most elaborate traditional ofrenda has how many tiers, the steps a soul climbs?

The seven-tier altar is the most elaborate traditional form, its steps standing for the stages a soul passes to reach rest; two tiers stand for heaven and earth, three add the underworld.

Which warm, thick chocolate corn-masa drink is a staple of the holiday and of Las Posadas?

Champurrado is an atole thickened with corn masa, flavored with chocolate and sweetened with piloncillo, whipped frothy with a wooden molinillo; it is served at Day of the Dead and Las Posadas.

In which century did Spanish colonizers begin merging indigenous death festivals with Catholic ones?

Cortés's campaign against Tenochtitlan ended in 1521, and the missionaries who followed lined the indigenous festivals of the dead up with the Church's autumn feasts.

Which insect's autumn arrival in central Mexico is seen as the souls of the dead coming home?

The Purépecha and Mazahua peoples long held that butterflies were the spirit of the forest and the souls of the departed.

What role does a photograph of the deceased play on the ofrenda?

On a tiered altar the photo goes on the top level alongside saints' images and crucifixes, above the food laid out to make the guest feel at home.

Self Help Graphics helped make Day of the Dead a major event in which city?

Self Help Graphics & Art in East Los Angeles began its Day of the Dead celebrations in the early 1970s; Los Angeles's Hollywood Forever Cemetery later added a large festival with altars to buried celebrities beside traditional ones.

On an ofrenda, the fluttering cut-paper banners represent which of the four elements?

Food, being grown in the ground, stands for earth, and the whole set is meant to help the returning spirits on their way.

The arch of reeds or wire and flowers set above the top tier of an ofrenda symbolizes what?

The arch stands for the doorway between the world of the living and the world of the dead through which the souls pass; some traditions count it as an eighth level and hang it with fruit and sweets.

In Dia de los Muertos tradition, what happens to the food placed on the ofrenda after the celebration?

The family eats the food afterward; the belief is that the spirits have already taken its essence, so what is left looks the same but has lost its flavor and nourishment.

Which Oaxacan mole, made with chocolate and six kinds of chili, is the best known and most complex of the famous seven?

Mole negro gets its black color from chiles and seeds charred almost to ash before grinding, plus chocolate; the most complex of Oaxaca's seven moles, it is a fixture on holiday tables and altars.

What is traditionally written in icing across the forehead of a sugar skull?

The skulls are given to the living as well as the dead, so a friend may receive one bearing their own name as a playful reminder of mortality.

On ofrendas, which color of papel picado traditionally stands for mourning?

Purple papel picado stands for mourning, a Catholic inheritance; pink signals celebration, white purity and hope, and yellow or orange the sun and the marigold path that guides the souls.

Which wrapped corn-dough dish is among the most common foods prepared for the holiday?

Tamales are masa wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves and steamed; they do double duty, eaten by the living and set out on ofrendas as offerings for the returning dead.

Besides anise, which flavoring classically perfumes the holiday's sweet bread?

Its texture has been compared to challah or brioche, somewhere between a concha and a hamburger bun.

Which actor voiced Héctor, the ragged skeleton who guides Miguel, in Coco?

Gael García Bernal voiced Héctor, the forgotten musician who turns out to be Miguel's great-great-grandfather; Benjamin Bratt voiced the star Ernesto de la Cruz.

Agua de Jamaica, the ruby-red drink served at celebrations, is brewed from which flower?

It is served cold, very sweet and over plenty of ice, and is simply called hibiscus tea in English-speaking countries.

In Coco, what business did Mamá Imelda start after banning music from her family?

The Rivera family trade is why Miguel is expected to make shoes rather than play guitar.

On November 1, Guatemalans famously fly what to help spirits find their way back to Earth?

The giant kites (barriletes gigantes) of Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez are flown on All Saints' Day; some carry notes for the dead tied to their strings, treating the sky as a line to heaven.

Ecuador's guaguas de pan, eaten on November 2, are loaves shaped like what?

Guaguas de pan are sweet loaves shaped like swaddled babies, guagua being Quechua for baby; they are eaten with the spiced drink colada morada on November 2, Ecuador's Día de los Difuntos.

In Coco, the alebrije Pepita is, in the Land of the Living, what ordinary animal?

In the Land of the Living Pepita is an ordinary cat, the stray seen around Miguel's town; her alebrije form borrows a jaguar's head, a ram's horns, an eagle's wings and an iguana's tail.

The name La Calavera Catrina describes a skull of what kind of woman?

The zinc etching is usually dated to around 1910-12 and satirized upper-class women of the Porfiriato who aped European fashion.

In Coco, the Rivera family's hometown is named for which saint?

Miguel's hometown is Santa Cecilia, named for the patron saint of musicians, a wink at the family's music ban; Pixar kept the town muted so the Land of the Dead would explode with color by contrast.

Dia de Finados, a public holiday on November 2, is observed in which country?

Brazil observes Dia de Finados as a national public holiday on November 2; Portuguese speakers also call it Dia dos Fiéis Defuntos and mark it with flowers and candles at cemeteries.

The marigold's Nahuatl name, cempōhualxōchitl, literally means what?

Twenty flowers: twenty was the base of the Aztec counting system, so the name carries a sense of completeness.

Tagetes erecta, the holiday's Mexico-native flower, is also confusingly known as what?

Tagetes erecta is widely sold as the African marigold despite being native to Mexico; the Spanish carried it to Europe after the conquest, and it grows wild in states such as Puebla, Veracruz and Guerrero.

Which cartoonist's 'Muerto Mouse' poster mocked Disney's 2013 bid to trademark the holiday's name?

Lalo Alcaraz drew 'Muerto Mouse' after Disney filed to trademark 'Día de los Muertos' for merchandise; Disney withdrew within a week and later hired Alcaraz as a cultural consultant on Coco.

In the 1998 game Grim Fandango, what job does Manny Calavera hold in the Land of the Dead?

Good souls earn luxury travel packages such as the Number Nine express train, which reaches the Ninth Underworld in four minutes.

Which 1950 Octavio Paz essay includes the chapter 'All Saints, Day of the Dead'?

The Labyrinth of Solitude (1950) contains Paz's chapter 'Todos Santos, Día de Muertos', arguing the holiday continued ancient Aztec festivals of death, a view many Mexican historians have since disputed.

Around Lake Pátzcuaro, the holiday is usually referred to by what name?

Night of the Dead is the Pátzcuaro name because the main vigil begins at midnight on November 2, when women and children enter the cemeteries while the men wait outside.

Guatemala's fiambre, made only for this holiday, is what kind of dish?

Fiambre is a chilled salad of dozens of cold cuts, pickled vegetables and cheeses prepared once a year for All Saints' Day; legend says it began when families' separate cemetery picnics got mixed together.

In which Asian country is the All Saints–All Souls season known as Undás?

Undás in the Philippines sees families clean and repair tombs and often stay overnight at the cemetery, a custom shared with Mexico through the old Spanish Empire.

Xochimilco's best-known holiday event is a waterborne show about which legendary figure?

Xochimilco's La Llorona spectacle, staged on the lagoon at Cuemanco from late October into November, dramatizes the weeping woman who drowned her children and haunts the waterways.

What inspired Pedro Linares to create the first alebrijes in 1936?

He dreamed of a forest where rocks and clouds became winged, horned beasts all chanting the nonsense word 'alebrije'.

In Macario (1960), the woodcutter snubs God and the Devil but shares his turkey with whom?

Macario shares his turkey with Death, reasoning that God and the Devil could get food anywhere, while with Death there is never time for anything else; Death rewards him with healing water.

Which toymaker launched a Día de Muertos collector doll inspired by La Catrina in 2019?

Mattel released the Barbie Día de Muertos collector doll in 2019, its gown and skull make-up inspired by La Catrina; a second doll in the series followed in 2020.

Yucatec Maya in Belize call the holiday Hanal Pixán, meaning what?

Hanal Pixán means 'food for the souls' in Yucatec Maya; as in Mexico, altars are piled with food, drink, candies and candles for the visiting dead.

Ecuador's colada morada, drunk on November 2, is thickened with flour ground from what?

Colada morada is thickened with purple corn flour, with blackberries, naranjilla and mortiño berries deepening the purple and cinnamon, cloves and ishpingo for spice.

Bolivia's Día de las Ñatitas, held in La Paz in early November, centers on what?

The skulls are crowned with flowers and offered cigarettes, coca leaves and alcohol in thanks for a year of protection.

Which city, birthplace of José Guadalupe Posada, hosts an annual Festival de Calaveras?

Aguascalientes, where Posada was born in 1852, holds the Festival de Calaveras each year from late October into early November, with parades of skeleton floats honoring the printmaker.

In Aztec belief, how many years did a soul's journey through the underworld take?

The route crossed clashing mountains, a field of flesh-scraping wind-blown knives and a river of blood stalked by jaguars.

Macario (1960), set on the holiday's eve, was the first Mexican film up for which honor?

Macario was the first Mexican film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, for 1960; Roberto Gavaldón's adaptation of a B. Traven story also competed at Cannes that year.

Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano unfolds on the Day of the Dead in which year?

The novel is set on November 2, 1938; eleven of its twelve chapters cover that single day, from the Consul's wife returning at 7 a.m. to his death at 7 p.m., with chapter one set a year later.

The 1913 broadside that first printed La Catrina mocked working-class women who sold what?

The jab was that the 'garbanceras' sold a Spanish legume instead of native foods while powdering their faces to look European.

In the 1947 Alameda Park mural, La Catrina holds the hand of which small figure?

Kahlo stands just behind the pair with a hand on the boy's shoulder, holding a yin-yang device.

In Ocotepec, Morelos, bereaved households admit visitors who bring what token?

Visitors to Ocotepec's open-house ofrendas bring a small candle and get tamales and atole in return, so people from surrounding areas arrive early to eat free and admire the altars.

Huaquechula's towering white altars in Puebla are dedicated to whom?

Huaquechula's tiered altars, draped in white satin to suggest clouds, are built for those who died in the past year; the family's new ofrenda receives visitors from the whole town.

In Aztec belief, those who drowned or were killed by lightning went to which paradise?

Tlalocan, the rain god Tlaloc's paradise, received those who died by water or lightning; warriors and sacrifice victims instead went east with the rising sun, and women who died in childbirth went west.

Which Spanish play with ghostly cemetery scenes is traditionally staged on this date?

José Zorrilla's Don Juan Tenorio (1844), whose final act unfolds in a cemetery among statues and ghosts, has been staged around All Saints' Day in Spain and Mexico since the late 19th century.

The Aztec lord of the dead was depicted wearing a necklace made of what?

Mictlantecuhtli was drawn with a necklace of human eyeballs, earspools of human bone and a headdress of owl feathers, yet codex images give his own skull sockets eyeballs too.

Aztec myth says humans vary in height because the bones of the previous creation did what?

The feathered serpent god had tricked the lord of the underworld into handing over the bones, only to be startled by a quail and fall.

El Calavera, a satirical paper with skull-faced caricatures, was suppressed after launching in what year?

El Calavera appeared in 1847 and was quickly suppressed, but its skeleton-as-satire idea flourished later in the century in mock epitaphs for living politicians.

In Huaquechula's altars, how is the deceased's photo traditionally meant to be viewed?

Explanations vary: the mirror may stand for the entrance to the beyond, for eternity, or simply for a person who is no longer here.

The island town of Janitzio takes its name from a Purépecha phrase meaning what?

Janitzio is usually glossed as 'maize flower' in Purépecha; its butterfly-net fishermen once appeared on the reverse of the 50-peso banknote, and a 40-meter statue of Morelos crowns the hill.

Historian Elsa Malvido called the modern holiday an invention of which president's era?

Elsa Malvido traced the festivity to medieval Europe and argued that Lázaro Cárdenas's 1930s government stripped out its Catholic elements to stress Aztec imagery and forge a national identity.