Many may recognize the colorful celebration of Dia de Los Muertos, and on Thursday the Mayborn Museum Complex invited the community to learn about the traditions behind this holiday.
At the museum’s Mexican Heritage exhibit, Mexican culture was on display through art and a Dia de los Muertos offerings table, or ofrenda. An audio recording being played at the exhibit said the holiday was a “celebration not of death, but of life.” The museum recording also highlighted the holiday’s rich tradition.
“It was this mixture of pre-Hispanic traditions and Roman Catholicism that paved the way for the celebration we know today,” the recording said.
Linda Weiss, a visitor at the exhibit, said the museum’s representation of Mexican Heritage drew her in to learn more about the culture behind it.
“I was drawn by the painted guitars and paintings,” she said.
Weiss also didn’t know the flowers in the art tied into the history of the holiday. Formally called a cempasúchil, this flower is one of the key characteristics in the celebration. The Mexican Marigold’s scent is believed to attract souls to the altar. The Smithsonian Magazine said other symbols included: skulls, perforated paper, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), salt and photographs.
The skulls, often made of colored sugar, represent the people who have passed and the sweetness of life. The perforated paper has holes in it to allow the souls to pass through, and its delicacy is a reminder of life’s fragile state. The salt is for purification. The final piece, photographs, are to draw the souls to the altar.
The bread is included with other foods. These food and drink offerings are subjective to the deceased being honored, as they are for the soul to eat when they visit. However, without a picture on the oferenda, the soul is unable to cross the bridge from the afterlife during the celebration.
The ofrenda at the museum combined all of the traditional pieces. It also included an invitation for museum visitors to place offerings of their own on the altar for loved ones who have passed. This holiday is welcoming of all cultures, as noted in the museum’s recording.
“This new holiday mirrored the identity of Mexico as one of mixed people, with mixed cultures,” it said.
The exhibit in the museum not only shared information about this Mexican cultural holiday, but invited the guests to join in the celebration of life.