Day of the Dead and Halloween are becoming one in the same in Mexico
October 31, 2011
Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is a day of remembrance where families visit the grave sites of their loved ones and celebrate their lives with picnics and marigold decorations. It is also growing similar to Halloween, and The Washington Post reports that every year since 2006 the Museum of Popular Art in Mexico City hosts a parade and a contest for people to build traditional alebrijes. Alebrijes are mythical creatures that have claws, wings and tails, and much like parade floats they are constructed with lots of paper mache, chicken wire and patience.
"Each person has an animal counterpart and everyday our moods, our natures are changing, so we are not just one animal but a mix of animals, and that everything is always shifting - cultures, people, societies and that all of the shapes and colors, the extreme and terrible and beautiful can coexist and make us more beautiful.
The holiday has been Americanized over the years - many children can be found in the streets 'trick-or-treating' and dressing up in costumes is growing more and more common.
People can use international phone cards to make calls to Mexico to talk to their loved ones on this holiday.