Día de los muertos

Many ancient cultures in Mexico, the Aztecs and Mayans celebrate "El Dia de los Muertos," the dead media day. Although the Spanish conquerors tried to eliminate this pagan celebration of the mockery of death, were unsuccessful. Since Christianity was not an option for Catholic missionaries who were sent from Spain, who closed the event with All Saints Day and All Saints, 1 and November 2 will be held.
During the "Day of the Dead", many believers remind Mexicans and their descendants in the United States of America on their ancestors by the flowers on the graves and special worship services. (Many Central Americans celebrate this holiday.) In some remote areas of Mexico, there are descendants of Indians, that the spirits of the dead is believed to visit earth on this day. A trail of lighting leading to the deaths in the cities are placed in the streets. Christian tombs are decorated with candles, the wonders of colors, favorite foods, and even offers a sound skeleton characters representing the deceased's favorite activities or colored sugar skulls. There is even a parade of dancers and musicians in masks and costumes, intricate cemeteries. Families gather to eat the tombs, drink and remember their ancestors. At home, many of these people are too complicated to build altars to honor the dead. They are the same types of decoration used, along with crosses and photographs of the deceased.
Since I grew up in an Episcopal home in Mexico, my family and I just took special services and flowers to the graves of our dead relatives. However, I noticed some of these unique traditions through the work of world famous illustrator José Guadalupe Posada and the muralist Diego Rivera. These two artists, artisans and many other Mexican descent have integrated the skull and skeleton of his works of art in memory of the old world traditions. In addition, seven years ago, I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the Mayan descendants celebrate the "Day of the Dead" during a mission trip he made to the state of Oaxaca. It was really fascinating! Since then I have integrated drop the skeleton and skull motif in some of my works of art. Below are some examples: