04Experiences

A popular tradition

Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday held on 1 and 2 November, with extra days before or after in some places. Families and friends gather to remember loved ones who have died, building colourful home altars called ofrendas with photos and the departed's favourite food and drink, decorated with orange marigolds. People give one another painted sugar skulls, share a special bread made for the occasion, and write playful verses in the form of mock epitaphs for friends who are very much alive. One of its emblems is La Catrina, the elegant skeleton drawn by the engraver José Guadalupe Posada. In recent decades the festival has become a national symbol taught in schools, and in 2008 it was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Visit at this time and you will find altars in squares and markets hung with cut-paper flags; book early in towns known for the celebrations.

2008

Intangible heritage