Today marks the first of two festive days collectively known as Días de los Muertos, a Hispanic folk holiday to remember the souls of those departed and to temporarily welcome them home with a vibrant celebration of color, food, and music. Leigh and Kim go beyond the veil to reveal the origins of two iconic food traditions: Pan de Muerto and Calaveres du Azucar.
The Macabre Yet Cheerful
During Días de los Muertos, millions of Hispanic families celebrate their ancestors and deceased loved ones with special traditions and foods that acknowledge the circle of life. The air fills with sweet scents of marigolds, orange blossom, and anise to guide the family spirits home, and everywhere you turn you find pillowy sweet breads decorated with skulls & bones or brightly decorated sugar skulls. Behind these paradoxical images - macabre yet cheerful - lie the stories of ancient Mesoamerica rites transformed by European colonialism into “more palatable” traditions.
Leigh provides an introduction to the sights and sounds of the Días de los Muertos holidays. From the pre-Hispanic rites performed by the Aztecs and indigenous people to Catholic intercession to the modern day cult of Santa Muerte, the people of Mexico have created soulful rituals to address the challenges of death.
One such example is Pan de Muerto. Kim reviews the history of the pan dulce famously adorned with skull and bones to represent a beloved or even molded in the shape of fish, horses, or dolls to appeal to child spirits. Each state in Mexico has its particular traditions of how Pan de Muerto is prepared, and there are thousands of recipes that speak to all the ways that this commemorative bread might be prepared and consumed over a brief period of time.
Another popular image is that of the Calaveras de Azucar, or famous sugar skulls. Leigh discusses this unique fusion between Aztec and Catholic traditions and how the calaveras tradition plays with the dichotomy of dark and light; a theme further popularized by the imagery of La Catrina.
Celebrations of life span cultures. Do you celebrate Dia de los Muertos or another remembrance festival?
Comfort Foods Transcript
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Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
Pan de Muerto by Mexican Food Kitchen
Oaxaca welcomes spirits home with ’bread of the dead’ | National Geographic
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead: The Day of the Dead in Mexico and Beyond by Stanley Brandes
Llewellyn's Little Book of the Day of the Dead by Jaime Gironés
This Guera's Guide to Dia de los Muertos: An Introduction to the Holiday and Assistance on Setting up the Altar by Lauren Alaniz
Recipes You Really Need to Try
Pan de Muerto by Good Housekeeping
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EP 52 Edible Bones and Sugar Skulls: The Festive Foods of Dias de los Muertos