Many people know of the Mexican holiday Día de Los Muertos, which is filled with vibrant colors and intricately painted faces. What many people don’t know is that this holiday originated over 3000 years ago with the Aztec empire. The Spanish Conquistadors first recorded a Día de Los Muertos celebration during the 16th century. When the Aztecs had begun this tradition, they weren’t remembering loved ones who passed, but they were worshiping the queen of the underworld and protector of the dead.1
This Aztec queen was Mictecacihuatl, “Lady of the Dead,” Queen of Mictlan.2 According to Aztec legend, Mictecacihuatl was sacrificed as an infant and placed in the underworld to become the wife of Miclantecuhtl, the king of the underworld. In the underworld, her role was to watch over the bones of past lives, which would be used to create new life in the living world. However, in order for the bones to be able to create new life, they needed to be stolen from Mictecacihuatl to be brought to the living world. As their protector, part of her own life would be carried with the stolen bones. Even after the bones were stolen, she would continue her duty to protect them by returning to the living world every year to make sure the bones were being properly taken care of. When the time came for her to return to the living world, the Aztecs celebrated Mictecacihuatl’s return with death festivals and traditional dances, to honor her for her protection of the bones that created life and to seek protection for those who died.3
The Aztecs celebrated Día de Los Muertos much differently than it is celebrated today due to the Spanish conquistadors and Catholicism. The Spanish changed the lives of the indigenous peoples wherever they went, from taking land for the Spanish throne to converting people to Catholicism. Many traditions changed, including those of Día de Los Muertos.4 The Aztecs laid out offerings for the King and Queen of the Underworld for the whole month of August, and the Spanish were the first outsiders to witness this honoring of Mictecacihuatl by the Aztecs. Not long after the Spanish exposure to this festival, the Spanish combined the Aztec tradition with Catholicism. Syncretism, the blending of Spanish and indigenous beliefs and practices, combined the Aztec traditions of Día de Los Muertos with the Spanish traditions of All Saint’s Day and All Souls Day.5 Some examples of syncretism between Catholicism and Día de Los Muertos are the symbols that are most recognizable with Día de Muertos, such as decorated skulls and skeletons, and the Spanish character “La Catrina,” who represents Mictecacihuatl.6 The merging of Catholicism with the Aztec religious beliefs began the evolution of how Día de Los Muertos, transforming how it is celebrated today.
Despite that the name Día de Los Muertos translates to Day of the Dead in English, the holiday is actually the celebration of life. Día de Los Muertos doesn’t focus on death and mourning of a loved one. It’s seen as a happy celebration where family members of all generations, deceased and alive, can be together as one. The traditions of this holiday have changed from honoring the queen of the underworld Mictecacihuatl to honoring those who have passed.7 It’s a time of colorful festivals and parades, beautifully painted colorful skulls, marigold flowers, decorated ofrendas, grave site visits and the smells of traditional Mexican foods and incense in the air. Although it is primarily celebrated in Mexico, some parts of the United States, especially cities and towns on the Mexican border, have adopted the tradition and celebrate the remembrance of their deceased loved ones.
- MasterFILE Complete, 2008, s.v. “Día de los Muertos, by Benjamin Perea. ↵
- Sin Jones, Mictecacihuatl, Santa Muerte, 2010, 1-16. ↵
- Sin Jones, Mictecacihuatl, Santa Muerte, 2010, 1-16. ↵
- Mark Lacy, Origins of El Día de Los Muertos: The Prehispanic Festival of the Dead Defies Cultural Invasions of Mexico, (History Institute for Culture), 1. ↵
- Mark Lacy, Origins of El Día de Los Muertos: The Prehispanic Festival of the Dead Defies Cultural Invasions of Mexico, (History Institute for Culture), 1. ↵
- Mark Lacy, Origins of El Día de Los Muertos: The Prehispanic Festival of the Dead Defies Cultural Invasions of Mexico, (History Institute for Culture), 1. ↵
- Christina Zarate, Día de Los Muertos, (Smithsonian National Museum of American History), 2-7. ↵
114 comments
Bruno Lezama
I found this article very interesting because I think that is important to understand the real purpose of Día de Los Muertos, this Mexican Holiday originated over 3000 years ago with the Aztec empire. As the translation to English says, The Day of the Dead is not only a celebration for loved one who passed away. It is a happy day to celebrate the life that we have with our loved ones. I hope one day I go to a celebration of Dia de Los Muertos.
Mariana Beltran
wow! I have learned so much from this article. Growing up in Mexico I celebrated El Dia de los Muertos by making an altar for my loved ones. We would cook their favorite meals and decorate the altar with pictures of our loved ones and the things they liked or did during their time here on earth. Although I celebrated this holiday, I did not know that the origin of this holiday begun with the Aztecs worshiping the queen of the underworld and protector of the dead.
Eloy Cruz
This article is so interesting, very accurate on most things. I love the way that you compare the difference from the original traditions to the current, more modern traditions. The accuracy, once again, is very compelling. I am from Laredo, a border city, and my previous statement about being “very accurate on most things” comes into play when I refer to Laredo. Like Fatima Navarro said in her comment on this article, Mexicans don’t really celebrate it the way the it is portrayed in movies like Coco. It is very similar in Laredo, this border city doesn’t celebrate it very exotically like you would imagine. I lived in Laredo for 12 years before moving to San Antonio and not once did I ever see a massive celebration like Mexicans typically do it.
Kasandra Ramirez Ferrer
Growing up in Mexico you see Dia de Los Muertos the same way you see Halloween on the U.S. I grew up spending Dia de Los Muertos on costumes and going through our neighborhood for trick or treat but I only knew that Dia de Los Muertos was to remember and cherish for the people we have lost. Reading this article surprises me how the tradition itself it’s a mix tradition that came from the Aztecs and Catholics. Even though the celebration is still a way to celebrate life, remember those who once were with us and that is one of the many colorful and bright traditions Latinos have.
Judy Reyes
The movie Coco was my first real encounter with Dia de los Muertos. Although being hispanic, my family never really brought up this event. I enjoyed that this article was able to go into depth about explaining the narrative of this event. Throughout reading this article I now feel more educated in knowing the actual history of this unique day.
Amanda Quiroz
I never knew about Dia De Los Muertos until my freshman year of high school where everyone was predominately Hispanic and would paint their faces to look like a skeleton. Although I learned about it, I have never looked that far into it. It’s amazing how it began from the Aztec and then mixed in with Catholicism when the Spanish arrived. I really enjoyed reading this article.
Sharriah Martinez
I have always heard of Dia De Los Muertos but i never truly understood the concept. I had never celebrated the event but I did learn alot in middle school while i was taking spanish classes. This article did a great job in explaining the origin of the holiday. Learning about the Aztecs just had a simple idea, then this idea spread into a entire day. It is true death that created life. This was a great article, thank you so much.
Amariz Puerta
Growing up in a mexican and colombian household has two different views. From my moms side of the family they always believed in and celebrated dia de los muertos. I really enjoyed the movie Coco which I almost felt had a very symbolic. I really enjoyed reading this article because it is part of my culture, very well written article.
Averie Mendez
Growing up, my family never celebrated Dia de los Muertos. It wasn’t until I took Spanish in high school that my teacher felt it was appropriate to have us participate in a small celebration. We ate pan dulce and watched The Book of Life during class. However, that didn’t teach me much about the holiday, traditions, or its origin so I’m this article cleared that up for me.
Thomas Fraire
This article was a really interesting article I am Hispanic and have always wanted to learn more about this aspect of my culture. Recently American culture has been showing this in the mainstream media sources like COCO the Pixar movie. It is really cool to see the roots of this very beautiful holiday, from the lense of how the Aztecs celebrated it.