SPANISH AND INDIAN ORIGINS OF "DAYS OF THE DEAD" submitted by Dr. Joe Barrera

The Spanish and Indian Origins

of the Days of the Dead

Joe Barrera, Ph.D.

Cottonwood Art Studios

427 East Colorado (just east of Wahsatch, entrance on Corona)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

12-130PM

Free--All Welcome


Los Días de los Muertos are often treated as a kind of Mexican Halloween. However, the origins of los Días de los Muertos/the Days of the Dead, which do not end on Nov. 2 but extend into the month of November, are buried in both ancient Aztec indigenous religion and Iberian Catholic traditions.
In this interactive powerpoint slide presentation, we will get an insight into how these two main currents in Mexican culture have merged in dynamic tension over the centuries to produce the Days of the Dead. This mixture of Spanish and Indian elements has created a celebration of death, but one which is not macabre or morbid. On the contrary, life is seen as very much present in death. This viewpoint is uniquely Mexican, and has resulted in an explosion of artistic energy which is infinitely creative and life-giving.