Day of the Dead, a sacred holiday, is more than a ‘Mexican Halloween’

Many Latinos regularly declare: “Día de los Muertos is not Mexican Halloween.” The declaration is increasingly repeated by non-Latinos too.

Drawing a clear line between the two holidays is a rhetorical strategy to protect Day of the Dead’s integrity as Mexican cultural heritage and separate it from American popular culture. However, as a Mexican-American who celebrates Día de los Muertos and as a scholar of culture and performance, I believe it’s time to fully acknowledge the cultural intermixing that’s happening between the two holidays.

Halloween’s influence is transforming Día de los Muertos into a hybrid cultural tradition that simultaneously honors the dead and celebrates the macabre.

The origins of the distinction

Día de los Muertos is a traditional fiesta in honor of the decease