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Tuesdays at Noon – La Ofrenda: Days of the Dead

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Image: Skeleton with human figures

A Mexican engraving shows people arm-in-arm with Death.

Image courtesy Lourdes Portillo

In Mexico, the first days of November are the times when the souls of the dead come to visit the living and are welcomed in celebrations that combine ancient Indian traditions and Catholic ritual. During these feast days, families clean and decorate the gravestones of loved ones and erect festive altars to the dead at home, complete with photographs of the deceased, candles, dolls, and abundant offerings of flowers and special foods. In this film by Lourdes Portillo and Susana Muñoz, cameras visit the ruins of Mitla, considered by Indians to be the gateway to the underworld, and follow the tradition of the Days of the Dead to the Latino community in California where the holiday reinforces spiritual and cultural life in exile. (Mexico/USA, 1989, 50 min)

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