To comment on every single “Die de Muertos” pub party that’s its cultural appropriation?

[Stayinganontoday]

I’ve seen so many parties popping up around my county that are using AI slop to advertise their “Day of the Death” parties when a) nobody who’s Mexican has been consulted b) the food has nothing to do with Mexican food c) it’s a solemn family occasion - not a fiesta! And no, we don’t do face painting.

Every single time I see one, my eye twitches! I’m sure if a random persons (that had nothing to do with Hinduism) decided to throw a “Diwali party” people wouldn’t stay quiet.

Sorry it’s been one of those days and needed a rant!

It is a thing! But appropriation is where you take something that belongs to another culture and pretend you invented it. So saying the Day of the Dead is British not Mexican and it’s our culture - that would be cultural appropriation.

Our local school celebrates this but it has it's roots embedded as it's culture. And kids learn about the orgins but it's very niche. I know most British schools celebrate Halloween.

Tell me you don’t know the history of Halloween without telling me you don’t know the history of Halloween. Us Scots aren’t having a hissy fit because the rest of the world ‘stole’ halloween.

Although the whole trick or treat thing is annoying tbf. It’s guising. But guess what, I don’t lose any sleep over it!

You sound about 12.

Mexico's not a fragile as OP, it would seem!

Are we talking about Halloween? Or what?

There's no point to worrying about this stuff.

It's the inevitable outcome of cultural exchange. Celebrations change and are expanded and even start to mean new things.

They become something new.

For a religious Christian, a lot of the secular Christmas and Easter stuff is only similar in a surface level. Some seems totally opposed to a Christian belief system. Easter divided from Lent and the crucifixion narrative is losing the point of Easter from the pov.

But it's just how culture works. It can't be contained, it spreads. It never belongs just to us.

I get really pissed off with non Christians celebrating Christmas. All the foreign restaurants putting on Christmas meals and making a profit out of it. They should be banned. But not until I've sampled some and shown my dissatisfaction at their appropriation.

But places like Oaxaca have Muerteades which includes parades and dressing up, having fun? They date to way before Spectre.
Incidentally my sister and I have a lot of Mexican friends as she lived there for several years. They took me to DotD celebrations where everyone dressed up and there was a flash mob dancing to Thriller. I know you say the parades are due to Spectre and tourism, but this was a little village away from all the tourists so clearly it has now become part of the traditional celebrations, at least in some areas. We also joined in the prayers at altars and I was so grateful to be given various decorations for an altar I have at home. Actually that reminds me I need to get the ingredients for my Pan de Muerto.

I kind of agree with you OP. I'm a Northern Irish Protestant (well, atheist now and married to an atheist). Would not dream of whatsapping "wow yeah all back to mine for an afterparty, let's get shitfaced" to any of my Catholic friends when they were at the blessing of the graves.

It certainly was for the older generation though...my aunt (born in Kilkenny in 1930) used to talk about it going to church several times for prayers, and how lots of people despaired when the government allowed pubs to open on St Patrick's Day (which only happened in 1961 according to Google)!

I agree. So over cultural appropriation. Honestly no one owns culture we should be able to celebrate and enjoy things.

I'm also from a tiny minority but living in the UK - in two decades here I've given up, it's just a waste of energy to educate strangers. I share only with people I know and care about. Could be worse, at least you don't get my stereotypes of drugs, prostitution and tulips...

But also make some space for nuance. Your regional version of Día de Muertos is not the same as the entire country, right? I have a friend from Michoacán and I think his version is similar to yours - more serious and traditional. I understand the north doesn't celebrate it the same way?

Hope you have a beautiful ofrenda - and that it doesn't accidentally catch fire!

Celebrate everything!

DW and I went to San Francisco for 3 weeks to celebrate our marriage.
We were thrilled to attend Spiral Dance led by Starhawk and to take part in Day of the Dead Día de los Muertos celebrations.
it was obvious that people had poured their hearts and souls into the preparations for the parade. It was so beautiful and such a celebration of life. Many houses along the route and throughout the neighbourhood had created little attars on their stoops to remember their loved ones. A picture, and some things that represented the person, a guitar and sheet music, plants and gardening tools, pots and pans and cooking ingredients, so many different things.
In a park there were altars set up along the paths by groups of so many faiths and religions.
There was an abundance of food being shared, greetings and blessings to stranger. Honestly it was of the bet times of my life.
We never felt unwelcome , far from it, it was a celebration of humanity, a shared experience that we all go through at some point.
Cultures have always had death rites, here we lost sight of celebrations as religion had us looking in fest at being punished in the next world.

Yes, you are being unreasonable. The Day of the Dead Parade etc. is actively pushed by the Mexican tourism board "a celebration visitors should not miss. Giant floats, colorfully costumed entertainers, and beautifully painted skeletons, also known as catrinas, dance through the streets. The parade stretches from the Estela de Luz (Pillar of Light) monument to the city’s main square, and each block of the parade is lined by joyful spectators joining in on the fun." Ditto St. Patrick's Day etc. If the event is put out internationally as a party event for the purpose of making money, you can't complain when it comes to be considered as a party event internationally and people try to make money out of it.

And Chinese new year.

When we hold events for all of these things we are creating a safe and inclusive place for those who want to celebrate. And educating people on other cultures.

Imagine being upset about it…

I guarantee the decorations and celebrations are not just held in Hispanic businesses.

There are even events at local zoos and nature preserves, and the major Mexican neighborhood holds La Carrera de Los Muertos, a 5k race that has been going strong for 19 years. Participation is not limited to runners of Mexican descent, and there are commercial sponsors who have nothing to do with Hispanic culture. Obviously, a 5k race has nothing to do with honouring the dead either. Maybe becoming the dead though...

But that’s a very different situation isn’t it though…you know fine well it is

What a fantastic experience, and a great post.

I was in a rural school in China in March when an important visitor was due to come. So the school put up a Christmas Tree and tinsel and fairy lights and a Santa picture. I was quite surprised, as the visitor and the people hanging the decorations were Buddist and because it was... well.. March.

I asked them about the decorations and their understanding of Christmas and they said it was a celebration of joy and spending time together in special times and that's what all the things represented. And honestly it was so sweet. They didn't seem to know it had a religious tone for us as well. Maybe you could argue it is cultural appropriation but I think it's nice when we try and embrace each others celebrations with joy, even when we do get them slightly muddled.

That may be the Mexican usage for gringa but that's not consistent with how it is used elsewhere in Latin America.

When I was a child in Dublin in the 60s and 70s, St. Patrick's Day was a religious event. We pinned fresh shamrocks to our best clothes and went to Mass - standing room only at all Masses. Shops were closed. The pub was closed. Our main meal that say was basically Christmas dinner all over again, complete with plum pudding and Christmas cake.

We went to the parade once (weather was miraculously nice). It was very much a solemn observance of Irish national.pride. From where we stood, I had a good view of the reviewing stand at the GPO (look up the Easter Rebellion for the significance of this building), where leading politicians of ths day saluted American high school bands and floats of Irish dancers and civic organisations, looking for all the world like a mini and much less militarised version of May Day in Red Square - the overcoats and hats were very much of the era everywhere. The parade has changed a lot and I doubt the churches are packed any more on that day.

Someone once told me that buying food from Indian or Chinese takeaways was a form of cultural appropriation. I wasn't trying to pass the food off as my own cooking!

Oh do get stuffed, there's a good girl.

"There is more time than life." As we like to say when celebrating Day of the Dead.