Title:
Day of the Dead in the USA : the migration and transformation of a cultural phenomenon / Regina M. Marchi.
ISBN:
9781978821644
9781978821637
Personal Author:
Edition:
Second edition.
Publication Information:
New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, [2022]
Physical Description:
xx, 211 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm.
Contents:
Introduction: A multimedia communication phenomenon -- An ancient and modern festival -- Honoring the dead -- Background on Day of the Dead in Europe and Latin America -- Day of the Dead customs in Latin American countries -- Central America -- South America -- Mexico's distinctive relationship with Day of the Dead -- Folk and pop culture manifestations -- Calavera imagery as social satire -- Origins of Mexico's skull imagery -- Mexican Calaveras in print and the birth of La Catrina -- Day of the Dead and Mexican nationalism -- Government campaigns and tourism -- Day of the Dead in the United States -- Mexican American All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day rituals -- A Chicano tradition is born -- Spiritual and political -- Inventive traditions as Decolonial practice -- Early Chicano Day of the Dead Celebrations -- Chicano innovations -- Impact and legacy -- Negotiations over ownership -- Ritual communication and community building -- Imagined community -- Communitas -- Claims for public recognition -- U.S. Day of the Dead as political communication : a moral economy -- Remembering migrants -- Remembering labor abuses : UFW and the Braceros -- Remembering victims of gendered and homophobic violence -- Remembering journalists and human rights -- Remembering victims of war -- Day of the Dead in the U.S. media : the celebration goes mainstream -- Media attention for an underrepresented population -- Media as publicity -- Media coverage attracts financial support -- Public validation for Latinx neighborhoods -- Digital media -- Movies as educational medium -- Appeal, influence, and ownership -- U.S. attitudes about death -- From denial to acceptance of death -- Widespread appeal and impact: adoption by Non-Latinx populations -- Hybridity and debates around authenticity -- Commodification of Day of the Dead -- Marketplace offerings -- Made in China -- Day of the Dead as marketing device -- Day of the Dead as tourism and urban redevelopment -- Nostalgia for the noncommercial days (of the dead) -- McMuertos -- Coco -- Día de los Muertos Barbie -- Commerce and culture: a long history together -- Communicating through commodities -- Agency, creativity, and intention -- Conclusion: What we can learn from U.S. Day of the Dead celebrations.
Summary:
"This updated edition of Day of the Dead in the USA is published in tandem with the 50th anniversary of the first Día de los Muertos celebrations in the US, when Chicano/a artists expanded the tradition north of the Border as a secular multi-media phenomenon. Comprised of public altar installations, street processions, car caravans, poetry, dance, theater, face painting, crafts, culinary arts and other community rituals done to remember the deceased, a celebration that began as a decolonial act within the Chicano community gained mainstream popularity via public art, news media, Hollywood films, the Internet and commercial venues. This edition provides new in-depth coverage of: the increase in Day of the Dead events across the US, incorporating media coverage and economic facets; new discussion of recent political movements commemorated during Day of the Dead celebrations, including Black Lives Matter, climate activism and the #MeToo movement; the greater media coverage and online presence of the celebration over the past 10 years, including blogs, websites, YouTube videos and other social media related to Day of the Dead face painting, costumes, altar making, and calavera crafts; the incorporation of Día de los Muertos aesthetics and iconography in fashion, graphic design, video games, and movies such as the blockbuster 2017 Disney/Pixar film and the 2015 James Bond film Spectre; the proliferation of and commercialization of the Day of the Dead through merchandise in commercial venues, including items such as foods and alcohol, home goods, clothing, holiday decorations and Halloween costumes at mainstream US stores such as Walmart, Costco, and Target; testimonials from people discussing how Day of the Dead celebrations play an important role in their lives and the influence of the celebration on new and evolving attitudes in mainstream US society around openly discussing and preparing for death. Examining the influence of the mass media, commercialization and globalization on the growth and transformation of Day of the Dead in the US, Regina Marchi combines ethnography, oral history and critical cultural analysis to provide insights into the power of cultural hybridity and invented traditions to communicate about identity, history and politics"-- Provided by publisher.
Subject Term:
Series Title:
Series Sequence:
OCLC Number:
on1276805305
Availability:
Burnsville - Burnhaven~1
Eagan - Wescott~1
