The Day of the Dead

by Laura Karp Lugo (LMU München/DFK Paris) The Day of the Dead has a pivotal and communal importance in Mexico. It derives from a millenary and syncretic tradition which merges local and Catholic rituals. The city becomes a party where the majority of Mexicans wear masks and other costumes to celebrate and remember their dead relatives. Altars are erected everywhere in homage to departed loved ones: in houses, in squares, in the halls of public buildings, in the offices of the u..