Exploring the Vitality of Dia de los Muerto, Day of the Dead

By Jeni Hill
Food Editor

I practically grew up White. Where grief was hidden behind stoic, Scandenavian exteriors, death was rarely mentioned, and Halloween was just an opportunity to hoard candy. As the Gomez-Schemp family and I learned how to bake the intricate bread of their ancestors, I felt the holiday at a personal level, challenging me to be comfortable sitting with death and connecting with my past.

Like Halloween, Los Dias de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, also originates from the Catholic tradition of observing All Saints Day. Day of the Dead is not only celebrated by Mexicans, but by families throughout Latin America. Mexicans observe the Day of the Dead in two parts, honoring adults November 1st as Dia del Muerto and children November 2nd, as Dia de las Almas. In Mexico and Latin America, death was and continues to be no stranger, as individuals are more often confronted with mortality. In American culture, referencing death can be taboo, where people speak of it in hushed tones and wear black when mourning.

During Halloween, we watch scary movies and run in fright from the dead. But in observance of Day of the Dead, families spend time with the dead, sometimes for weeks, where they remember and honor their loved ones. Families often build alters in their homes, personalized with a variety of offrendas (offerings) and photographs, evoking the presence and memory of their loved ones through all five senses. An offrenda must symbolically represent one of five elements including earth, air, wind, fire, and water. As examples, earth has been traditionally represented by flowers, and fire by candles or incense. Families may also offer servings of their loved ones’ favorite foods and beverages.

This familiarity and acceptance of death is also visible through art and food. Traditional bread called pan de muerto is decorated with bones and skulls shaped from the dough. Instead of trick or treating, children in Mexico paint their faces as skeletons and exchange small skulls for money. These candy skulls of all sizes are made from marzipan and sugar and decorated with bright colors. The names of living and deceased loved ones are written on the skulls, reminding families to remember their ancestry and be mindful of their mortality.

In Mexican and Latin American cultures, death is not restricted to dark mourning colors like black and gray. Day of the Dead is a colorful celebration where candy skulls are decorated with colors as beautiful and vibrant as the marigolds that adorn altars. Traditional Mexican art often features brightly colored skeletons engaging in any human activity imaginable, from eating, to playing musical instruments, to having sex. You may recognize images of Calavera de la Catrina, an oft-referenced figure created by artist Jose Guadalupe Posada, satirizing the upper class of his lifetime. Though death-themed art is meant to remind us of our own mortality and the duality of life and death,its jovial skeletons also mock death.

Local artist Nathan Mastrud, inspired by Day of the Dead artwork, has fused this Mexican style with pop art. Nathan mentioned he is continually inspired by various styles of artwork and images that remain within him until he expresses them through his work. An image of Elizabeth Taylor’s face decorated in Day of the Dead-inspired art is featured at the North Dakota Museum of Art’s Fall Art Action: http://www.ndmoa.com/AAA2010/large-33.html

You can find more of Nate’s art at Crux in the Hollow, an art show featured DK Custom Framing @ Gallery 14 that runs through October 31st.

IF YOU GO:

WHERE: DK Custom Framing @ Gallery 14

WHEN: Runs until Oct. 31st, Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday from 12-5 pm
COST: Free

Artists Carrie Lee Wendt, Amber Noel Parsons, and Tanna Lee Hill are displaying artwork, some of which is also influenced by Day of the Dead images. Wendt, who is part Hispanic, is intrigued by her culture. Her piece “Death Doesn’t Hide You,” is inspired by Day of the Dead Art and the “idea of honoring and remembering departed loved ones.” Wendt adds “Your legacy is carried on through your memory, turning death into an expression of vibrant life that refuses to die year after year.”

Parsons was attracted to the festivity attached to skeletons as portrayed in Day of the Dead art. Some of Parsons art features Day of the Dead imagery decorating women’s faces, creating ambiguity about their underlying emotions. Parsons adds her work “rides the fence between precious and cute, and creepy and gross.”

View their Rock, Paper, Scissors exhibit running at downtown Fargo’s Atomic Coffee location and join them for the closing reception Oct. 29th.

IF YOU GO:

WHERE: Atomic Coffee, Downtown Fargo

WHEN: Closing reception Oct. 29th, 7-9 pm
COST: Free

Day of the Dead is not exclusive to those of Mexican or Latin American heritage. Rather, it is an opportunity for all of us to acknowledge our mortality. Though it may be frightening to reflect on the inevitability of death and fleetingness of life, our mortality also serves to unify the human existence. With purpose, we can remember our loved ones, and learn more about our ancestors. And through remembering our ancestors, we gain understanding of our culture.

Learn how to make your own pan de muerto and Mexican hot chocolate in Cusine and check out the following Fargo-Moorhead community events celebrating the Day of the Dead:

El Dia De Los Muertos, Costume Ball Fundraiser for Trollwood Performing Arts School. This fundraiser will include dancing and live music by Boomtown, Mexican-inspired hors d’ouvres catered by Mosaic Foods, cash bar by the Speak Easy, Day of the Dead themed arts and crafts gallery. The evening will close in a flying lantern lighting ceremony, where lanterns will be available for purchase to light in memory of loved ones. Costumes are optional but encouraged and the event is open to those 21+.

IF YOU GO:

WHERE: Bluestem Center for the Arts

WHEN: Oct. 28th, 7:30 pm-Midnight
COST: $40/person, $75/coupe

The Green Market Kitchen
In honor of the Day of the Dead, the culinary team at the Green Market Kitchen will create a changing, nightly menu from soups to entrees, made with locally-sourced ingredients featuring foods such as pork and mole. Begins November 1st.

IF YOU GO:

WHERE: The Green Market

WHEN: Nov. 1st- Nov. 5th, 3-9 pm, Tuesday-Friday
12-9 pm, Saturday
COST: Varies

Concordia College, Day of the Dead Party
Celebrating Dia de los Muertos through music, food, and beverages.

IF YOU GO:

WHERE: Concordia College, King Intercultural Center, Park Region Hall, Lower Level

WHEN: October 31st, 4-6 pm
COST: Free

For more casual specials, stop by:
Juano’s: 2 for 1’s, and $1 street tacos
Acapulco’s: $5 margaritas

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