Dia De Los Muertos Research Paper

Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a celebration of life rather then death throughout the Hispanic community. On November first and second, All Saints day and All Souls day, Hispanics gather to celebrate in their own customs and intrigues according to their specific cultural region. However different these regional cultures may be they all share in a similar celebration of life through remembrance. Many times these festivities are held at the grave site of their loved ones and also throughout the streets. Decorations range from skeletons, toys, elaborate costumes, paper cutouts, elaborate wreaths and crosses, flowers (commonly Marigolds), and candles. Many of these decorations are used to make altars in honor of the deceased. These
America being a powerful country, it pushes its ideas and extremely new traditions onto others. Being the dominant power, America sets the trends for other countries to follow. The theory of cultural imperialism seems to be strong in many ways when referring to the United States. It seems that through American media we are trying to catch the global market and turn everyone into American consumers. Not only consumers of our products, but also our ideas and ways of living. Referring back to the main subject at hand, which is the Dia de los Muertos, within many of the urban markets around the time of this cultural celebration, Mexicans are not finding the crosses, or wreaths, or anything like that. They are instead bombarded by the American paraphernalia dealing with Halloween. They see the sight of plastic pumpkins, witches, and rubber masks, the black and orange colors that the American market has designed for this day of monsters and
There are of course the urban sites of the larger cities and towns, which are now crowded with onlookers curious of what this celebration is all about and how it is celebrated. In many of these areas the crowds of onlookers has grown so big that many academics have criticized the celebration as just another way to make a profit. Charging the tourists admission into the cemeteries, and of course all of the trinkets and souvenirs being sold by the vendors on the outskirts of the grave sites. I however think that this tradition holds strong in many ways to its roots, it is the thought of celebrating death that has brought the masses. It is the way the streets and towns are decorated, with their beautiful colors, loud music, dancing and singing, large array of costumes and skeletons. It is almost like a city wide parade, it's like Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. I don't hold it against anyone native of the area to try and turn a buck off these tourists, that's how it's done all around the world. To criticize a ritual that happens to turn heads and to criticize the people who make a buck off of that is ridiculous. This celebration was going on long before the buzz of the