Day of the Dead’s sweet side
Make treats for Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican celebration of family.
Anyone who has ever seen Disney Pixar’s-animated film “Coco” knows the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, known in English as Day of the Dead, that inspired the film is about far more than sugar skulls and painted faces.
The Academy Award-winning 2017 release did more than just delight audiences. It went a long way to introduce what this holiday means to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.
And though the ancient Aztec rituals in the film centered on music, the holiday also celebrates the traditions of the table with sweet breads, cookies, sugar skulls and more.
According to most folklore, the roots of the holiday can be traced to celebrations surrounding the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl. When the Spanish integrated Catholicism into the conquest of what is now Mexico, many of these pagan rituals were adopted into the celebration of All Saints Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2, when most Mexicans celebrate this beloved day.
“This 3,000-year-old Aztec ritual fell on the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar, which is the beginning of August; it was celebrated for a whole month,” explained Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack, author of the award-winning blog, MuyBuenoCookbook.com, as well as “Muy Bueno: Three Generations of Authentic Mexican Flavor” (Hippocrene Books, 2012, $22.50). “The ‘Lady of the Dead,’ or goddess Mictecacihuatl, died at birth, but it is believed to be her spirit who presides over the celebration.”
And while the skulls and skeletons that typically surround the holiday may evoke a comparison to the ghosts, witches and gob-
lins of Halloween, Dia de los Muertos is actually a cele- bration of family.
“As a Mexican-American I am proud to learn about a Mexican tradition and share it with my children,” said Marquez-Sharpnack, who didn’t celebrate the holiday growing up in Texas.
“My grandma, Jesusita, emigrated from Chihuahua, Mexico, at a young age,” explained Marquez-Sharp- nack. “She tried to assimi- late to her new country and
did not always celebrate the old customs.”
But just as an ancestor
inspires the young protag- onist in “Coco,” so did Marquez-Sharpnack’s grand- mother inspire her to write her cookbook, and to pass the traditions of Dia de los Muertos on to her children.
The day needn’t be limited to one culture: The tradition of Dia de Los Muer- tos involves building a small
altar, or offering, with pho- tos and favorite dishes and sweets of the departed, to honor them and draw their spirit forward as part of the celebration. The bright color and pungent aroma of marigolds and white chrysanthemums are used to guide the dead as they travel from and
back to the Land of the Dead. Many families bake traditional sweets, paint sugar skulls and make colorful
paper flowers, as well as wear traditional Mexican garments to honor the dead. Skull-painted faces are also a common way to celebrate a departed loved one. And as long as these loved ones are honored and remembered, they never die.