Abstract
Regina Marchi provides a lively account of the rise of the holiday El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) in the United States. She shows that although the holiday has become increasingly popular in the United States, it has gone through numerous shifts to become what it is today. It draws influences from both indigenous days of remembrance for the dead in Latin America and Catholic All Saints and All Souls traditions. While the holiday is typically associated with Mexican culture, it has in fact grown into a celebration of pan-Latino culture and heritage.
Marchi describes the holiday as catching on in the United States in the early 1970s through the efforts of Chicano artists in the Southwest. Chicano artists mobilized to promote Day of the Dead celebrations as a route to political protest, a method for building Latino identity, and a celebration of Latino pride. Marchi shows that those artists learned the customs of the holiday, including creating ofrendas (altars) by studying Mexican celebrations of the Day of the Dead. Those customs have changed and been adapted for American cultural needs and tastes since being brought to the United States.
Today, Day of the Dead festivities are used to commemorate everything from immigrants’ rights to citizenship, to the lives lost trying to cross the United States-Mexico border, and its classic meaning as a way of remembering dead loved ones. The holiday has evolved into both a culturally and commercially successful festivity, spawning an industry of Day of the Dead goods that have found a market with Latinos and non-Latinos alike. Many people outside of Latino communities have begun participating in Day of the Dead festivities because they provide outlets for remembering loved ones amidst a culture that ignores death. Marchi shows that increased media reporting on Day of the Dead festivities has helped increase its popularity. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in the marketing of ethnic traditions. It would also make a good addition to any race and ethnicity or Latino media course.