Durham County

November 1-2 Heritage & Cultural Highlight: Día de los Muertos

About

The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), is a holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and parts of Central American. It is not related to Halloween, and it is actually a celebration of life. A blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, the holiday is celebrated each year from October 31 - November 2. Families honor dead loved ones in a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration. This holiday also helps make peace with the eventuality of death by treating it familiarly, without fear and dread.  

Learning

Locally, there are excellent ways to learn about Día de los Muertos. You can visit the Historic Oakwood Cemetary in Raleigh and see their Day of the Dead exhibits and celebrations. Also, visit the North Carolina Art Museum and their Day of the Dead activities.

If you want to use fabulous internet resources to keep exploring, Google Arts and Culture has a fabulous exhibit about Día de los Muertos, and the Smithsonian and History Channel also has an interactive sites and information.

Doing

You can participate in all sorts of local events and activities to celebrate Día de los Muertos. Check out some of them below:

• Triangle on the Cheap activities
• Wellcare Day of the Dead event
• Events at the Library for Día de los Muertos
• Also, have you watched the movie Coco yet? It provides a fabulous and fun example of how Día de los Muertos is celebrated throughout many parts of Mexico! You can watch it on your own, with the DCo Library, and at the Historic Oakwood Cemetary in Raleigh on 10.27.

Conversation Starters

Here are some questions to start conversations with others about Día de los Muertos. For leaders, try building in time in supervisions or team meetings to prompt staff conversations about Día de los Muertos. Options could include:

• Did you learn anything new about Día de los Muertos, or did you discover that you previously misunderstood something about Día de los Muertos?
• How did you participate in Día de los Muertos?