Traditional Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Altar

The tradition of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated in Mexico, the southwestern U.S. and parts of Latin America. During this celebration, families come together to pay respect to relatives who have died and celebrate their life and rebirth to another world. Anthropologists and historians say that the holiday is a blend of the Catholic All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days and pre-Columbian traditions that honored ancestors in a celebration of the dead. The tradition is generally celebrated with the creation of ofrenda (altars) to the dead, featuring food, paper decorations and representations of skeletons.

Though celebrated all over Latin America, Día de los Muertos is celebrated most extravagantly in Mexico. This occasion is a time to remember loved ones and prepare special foods in honor of those who have departed. On November 1, El Día de los Angelitos, the souls of children are believed to come back to earth, while the souls of adults return on November 2.

While most are unaccustomed to seeing death and festivities intertwined, in this tradition the two are intricately linked. The ancient indigenous peoples of Mexico believed that the souls of the dead return each year to visit with their living relatives to eat, drink and be merry. Therefore, Mexicans react to death with mourning along with happiness and joy. They view death with the same fear as any other culture, but confront their fear by mocking and living alongside death – death is laughed at in its face. El Día de los Muertos is not a carefree or fearless confrontation of death, but a moment to reflect upon one’s life and the cycle of life and death.

During this celebration, families make altars where ofrendas (offerings) are placed. Items found on an altar include foods or pan de muertos (bread of the dead) baked in the shape of skulls and figures, as well as candles, incense, cempazuchitl (yellow marigolds) and most importantly a photo of the departed soul.

Cynthia Ramirez is an Associate Professor of Fine Arts at Southern University of New Orleans and an internationally acclaimed folk artist, particularly known for her pieces which relate to the Day of the Dead. Her art has been exhibited throughout New Orleans and around the world. In New Orleans, her work has been shown at Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Stella Jones Gallery, The Louisiana State Museum and at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

This El Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Altar is presented in partnership with the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University.

Altar Tradicional de Día de los Muertos

La tradición de Día de los Muertos se celebra en México, el suroeste de Estados Unidos y partes de América Latina. Durante esta celebración, las familias se reúnen para honrar a sus seres queridos que han fallecido y para celebrar su vida y renacimiento en otro mundo. Antropólogos e historiadores señalan que esta festividad es una fusión entre las celebraciones católicas del Día de Todos los Santos y el Día de los Difuntos con tradiciones precolombinas que honraban a los ancestros. La tradición generalmente se celebra con la creación de ofrendas a los difuntos, que incluyen alimentos, papel picado y representaciones de calaveras y esqueletos.

Aunque se celebra en toda América Latina, el Día de los Muertos se festeja de manera más elaborada en México. Esta ocasión es un momento para recordar a los seres queridos y preparar alimentos especiales en su honor. El Día de los Angelitos, que se celebra el 1 de noviembre, es una parte fundamental del Día de Muertos en México y honra la memoria de los niños fallecidos, a quienes se considera “angelitos”. En este día, las familias preparan altares y ofrendas con juguetes, dulces, pan, leche y flores para recibir a las almas de los pequeños que regresan al mundo de los vivos para estar con sus seres queridos. En contraste, el 2 de noviembre se celebra el Día de Muertos o Día de los Difuntos, una fecha dedicada a conmemorar a los adultos que han fallecido, recibiendo sus propias ofrendas y celebraciones.

Los antiguos pueblos indígenas de México creían que las almas de los difuntos regresan cada año para visitar a sus familiares vivos, comer, beber y celebrar con ellos. Por eso, los mexicanos responden a la muerte con luto pero también con alegría y júbilo. Aunque sienten el mismo temor ante la muerte que cualquier otra cultura, confrontan ese miedo conviviendo con ella – la muerte se enfrenta con humor. El Día de los Muertos no es una confrontación despreocupada o sin miedo ante la muerte, sino un momento para reflexionar sobre la propia vida y el ciclo de la vida y la muerte.

Durante esta celebración, las familias crean altares donde se colocan ofrendas. Entre los elementos que se encuentran en un altar están los alimentos o pan de muerto horneado en forma de calaveras y figuras, además de velas, papel picado, incienso, cempasúchil (caléndulas amarillas) y, lo más importante, una fotografía del ser querido fallecido.

Cynthia Ramírez es profesora asociada de Bellas Artes en Southern University de Nueva Orleans y una artista folclórica de renombre internacional, especialmente conocida por sus obras relacionadas con el Día de los Muertos. Su arte se ha exhibido en Nueva Orleans y alrededor del mundo. En Nueva Orleans, su trabajo se ha presentado en Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Stella Jones Gallery, The Louisiana State Museum y en el New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Este altar de Día de los Muertos se presenta en colaboración con el Stone Center for Latin American Studies de Tulane University.

/// Image courtesy of Forrest Farjadian

About Cynthia Ramirez

Cynthia Ramirez is a multi-media artist who has exhibited her work in numerous local, national and international exhibitions. She received a B.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University (1986) and an M.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from the University of New Orleans (1990). She is a Professor of Fine Art at Southern University at New Orleans and the Gallery Director of the Southern University at New Orleans Museum of Art (2021). She taught visual art at the New Orleans Recreation Department Commission (2015-19). She taught for eight years in the Talented in the Visual Arts Program for the Orleans Parish Public Schools. She was Program Coordinator for the Arts Council of New Orleans’ Urban Arts Training Program, a summer job program for youths creating public art in the New Orleans community. She was awarded an Adolph Gottlieb Emergency Assistance Grant and a Joan Mitchell Assistance Grant in 2006. She has created a Day of the Dead Altar at the Louisiana State Museum: Cabildo, the U.S. Mint, The Ogden Museum of Art (2012-15) and the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, LA from 2007-present. She has served as a panelist for the Visual Artist Fellowship for the Louisiana Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts Visual Art Grant panel for art education. She is a founding member and artist curator of the Second Story Gallery Artist’s Co-op at the New Orleans Healing Center. In 2024 Ramirez was inducted in the Louisiana Folklife Center’s Hall of Master Folklife Artists.