Marigolds, weaving and alebrijes!

What an amazing day! So much to see and learn! Our first stop today was to visit a Marigold field. These fields are full of marigolds specifically for Day of the Dead. These fields are all throughout Oaxaca! "The relationship between marigolds, or cempasúchil, and Día de Muertos runs deep. The celebration traces back to pre-Hispanic Aztec rituals tied to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, or the Lady of the Dead. The story goes that Mictecacihuatl allowed spirits to travel back to earth to reconnect with their family members. The fragrance, which is a musky smell, from marigolds is said to lead souls from their burial place to their family homes. Throughout the years, this tradition adopted Roman Catholic aspects from Spaniards who conquered Mexico," (How Marigolds Became a Symbol for Día de Muertos | Desert Botanical Garden, n.d.) I took a small video of the fields! See below

We also were able to visit a small market where the people weave all sorts of items! With her permission I took a video - look at how detailed it is! 

To give an opportunity for my students who are following me on this blog - to earn 50 bonus points on your current week's My Spanish Lab, I want to know what are alebrijes? Where do they come from? Why are they an important part of Oaxacan culture and history? Please post your answer (150 words with at least 1 work cited). I am bringing one home - 10 extra bonus points if you can guess which one I picked! (post is due by November 2, 11:59 pm)

Work Cited:

How Marigolds became a Symbol for Día de Muertos | Desert Botanical Garden. (n.d.). Dbg.org. https://dbg.org/how-marigolds-became-a-symbol-for-dia-de-muertos/#:~:text=The%20story%20goes%20that%20Mictecacihuatl,place%20to%20their%20family%20homes 

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I made it! And wow!

After a long day of travel (and what seemed to be like the longest way to get to Oaxaca), I made it! And as soon as I landed in Mexico City, Day of the Dead was alive and active. Here are just some of the pictures from the airport (so just imagine what the city looked like):

I also learned that Day of the Dead actually starts on October 27 and extends to November 2 (originally started Oct 31 through Nov 2). Each day encourages different souls to return. For example, on Oct 27 they focus on the animals and pets that have passed on. This can be represented by placing dog food and water on the ofrendas. On October 28, they welcome Los Accidentados, or those that were lost abruptly (think accidents, heart attack, those that were not expecting to die). Additionally, November 1, they welcome Los Angelitos, or the children that have passed on (these are those lost in utero, by abortion, at birth up to age five or so). These are welcomed by toys, candy and possibly juice at the altar. I was able to get a very good description of these days by a native of Oaxaca. She even discussed how her abuelo got drunk, forgot to build the altar and was approached by the soul of his father, scolding him and hit him with his belt, for not building an altar. Not having an altar is viewed very badly as it causes souls to become lost and not know where to go (as altars guide the souls to their homes and families here in the living). It was amazing! Here is a video I made of the altar learned about at our residence in Oaxaca!

Check out the video of our altar!

Altar description

Learning a little more each day!

The last 24 hours have been a rush of excitement and intrigue! My children will be coming with me to Oaxaca and I wanted to surprise them. I am so fortunate to have Nana coming so that she can watch the children and I can focus on learning and expanding my knowledge! We often do themed movie nights and so I wanted to let them learn a bit about Day of the Dead before we go to Mexico. In preparation of the movie, I went to my local Mexican store in town and purchased tamales, rice, beans, Mexican Hot Chocolate as well as actual sugar skulls. We ate the amazing food while watching the Disney move Coco! We all had a great time
 

 And then this morning I had the opportunity to build an ofrenda with my SPAN 101 HYB course. We had an amazing time! And the students did an excellent job!

It is important to take some time to learn a bit about the meaning behind this amazing holiday! The altar is located in our PSC library and will be up until November 6th. I encourage everyone to go and check it out!

Coming soon!

This upcoming week is going to be very busy! Students from my 101 HYB course will be decorating skulls and creating an altar in the PSC library. We will also be learning more about the Day of the Dead as well as Oaxaca. It is important to know that the beliefs that we are studying are not being forced onto anyone. However, it is important that we learn and appreciate the beliefs of the culture and language that we are studying. 

To help all of my students learn about this celebration, students will be reading, watching videos, responding to this blog, and creating an altar of his/her/their own. Here are some of the resources that they are viewing:

Video

Reading

What is Day of the Dead?

Provided by The Library of Congress

Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada drew satirical cartoons that are commonly shared in newspapers during the Days of the Dead, depicting skeletons doing various activities like riding bikes or representing political figures.(The History, Celebration of Día de Los Muertos - Pipe Dream, n.d.)

In an effort to help all of us learn about the importance of El Día de Los Muertos, I want to take a minute to discuss the meaning behind this holiday. Because it is celebrated near Halloween and has many similar aspects (skulls, decor), many people misunderstand its meaning and purpose. I did not know this but this holiday is a combination of two holidays - a celebration by the Ancient Aztecs and the Spaniards. ¨Day of the Dead combines the ancient Aztec custom of celebrating ancestors with All Souls' Day, a holiday that Spanish invaders brought to Mexico starting in the early 1500s¨, (Day of the Dead, 2016). Therefore, this holiday has a lot of history. But the most important aspect is that it is a celebration. It is a celebration of loved ones that have passed on. These days are to remember those loved ones annually and to never forget. 

As we set off on this journey to learn about this holiday, I want everyone to think about and possibly respond to the following questions:

1. What holidays, if any, in the US celebrate the dead? If there are some, what is the history behind them? If not, why do you think that we don´t?
2. Throughout the next two weeks, you will have the opportunity to learn a lot! What do you hope to learn? Be specific as I hope to answer all of these questions!

Work cited:

Day of the Dead. (2016, September 28). Celebrations. https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/celebrations/article/day-of-the-dead#:~:text=Day%20of%20the%20Dead%20combines 

The history, celebration of Día de Los Muertos - Pipe Dream. (n.d.). Www.bupipedream.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023, from https://www.bupipedream.com/ac/118850/auto-draft-575/

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Travels to Oaxaca - Day of the Dead

 

For Día de Los Muertos 2023, I will be travelling to Oaxaca, Mexico. This once in a lifetime opportunity will allow me to not only learn about culture, but see it and live it first hand. I also will be able to bring this back to my school and my students to expose them to this Mexican holiday. As the day approaches, I will learn more and teach the information to my students so that we are all a bit more prepared about this amazing holiday. Additionally, my students will be asked to engage with me while I am in Oaxaca on this blog. 

Prior to my trip, I want to document everything that I know about this amazing holiday. For me, Day of the Dead (Día de Los Muertos) is an opportunity for people to celebrate the lives of loved ones who have passed on. There is significance in every aspect of this holiday. People make ofrendas (altars) with elaborate pictures, decorations, and small tokens. For example, if the person who has passed loved smoking and drinking, it would not be out of the ordinary to include a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of their favorite alcohol. Additionally, there would be pictures, possibly their favorite foods, as well as other decorations. 

Here is an example of an ofrenda made for the famous author Gabriel Garcia Marquéz and his wife in Mexico City in 2021 (Archie, 2022). 

As you can see there are bright colors, calaveras (sugar skulls) and other memorabilia. As I continue with this blog, I will discuss in detail different aspects of the ofrendas. 

Work Cited:

Archie, Ayana. “How to Make an Ofrenda for Día de Los Muertos.” NPR, 1 Nov. 2022, www.npr.org/2022/11/01/1133041841/dia-de-los-muertos-ofrenda-altar.

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