Why Day of the Dead is Actually Fake

Bright marigolds, intricate sugar skulls, and a proud tradition of remembrance dating back to the Aztecs - people are familiar with Mexico's annual Día de Muertos celebration the world over. Or at least, they think they are. The rowdy Day of the Dead holiday you think you know has a complex, commercialized, and heavily choreographed history.

Huge thanks to Professor Pablo Escalante Gonzalbo for giving me so much of his time. Also to mi amigo Carlito at CS Drones (https://www.instagram.com/csdrones/?hl=en) for letting me use some of his footage.

Shot in Mexico City, Patzcuaro, Janitzio, Tsintzuntzan, Morelia, Mixquic, and Angangueuo, Mexico, 2021.

References:

BBC. (2016, October 29). Mexico City Stages First Day of the dead parade. BBC News. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37813562

Brandes, S. 1988. Power and persuasion: Fiestas and social control in rural Mexico. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press

Brandes, S. 1997. Sugar, colonialism, and death: On the origins of Mexico’s Day of the Dead. Comparative Studies in Society and History.

Carmichael, E., & Sayer Chloë. (2006). The skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico. University of Texas Press.

Dawson,A. 2004. Indian and nation in revolutionary Mexico.Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

Friedlander, J. 2006. Being Indian in Hueyapan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. (Orig. pub. 1975).

Maestri, N. (2018, September 8). Aztecs or Mexica. ThoughtCo. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/aztecs-or-mexica-proper-name-171573

Marchi, R. M. (2009). Day of the dead in the Usa: The migration and transformation of a cultural phenomenon. Rutgers University Press.

Office Holidays Ltd. (n.d.). November 2022 Calendar of public holidays. Office Holidays. Retrieved from https://www.officeholidays.com/calendars/2022/11

Time and Date, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. All saints' day. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/all-saints-day

Видео Why Day of the Dead is Actually Fake канала Justin Olsvik