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120-500: The Day of the Dead ( Spanish : Día de (los) Muertos ) is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and remember friends and family members who have died. These celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember amusing events and anecdotes about
240-802: A calaverita , a small gift of candies or money; they also ask passersby for it. This custom is similar to that of Halloween 's trick-or-treating in the United States, but without the component of mischief to homeowners if no treat is given. A distinctive literary form exists within this holiday where people write short poems in traditional rhyming verse , called calaveras literarias (lit. "literary skulls"), which are mocking, light-hearted epitaphs mostly dedicated to friends, classmates, co-workers, or family members (living or dead) but also to public or historical figures, describing interesting habits and attitudes, as well as comedic or absurd anecdotes that use death-related imagery which includes but
360-478: A Christian cross , statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary , pictures of deceased relatives and other people, scores of candles, and an ofrenda . Traditionally, families spend some time around the altar, praying and telling anecdotes about the deceased. In some locations, celebrants wear shells on their clothing, so when they dance, the noise will wake up the dead; some will also dress up as
480-640: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Arqueolog%C3%ADa Mexicana Arqueología Mexicana ( Mexican Archaeology )
600-471: A bun, topped with sugar, and often decorated with bone-shaped pieces of the same pastry. Calaveras , or sugar skulls, display colorful designs to represent the vitality and individual personality of the departed. In addition to food, drinks are also important to the tradition of Day of the Dead. Historically, the main alcoholic drink was pulque ; today families will commonly drink the favorite beverage of their deceased ancestors. Other drinks associated with
720-512: A community altar, an Altar contest, a catrin/catrina contest, as well as lots of music, food, and vendors. Overall, San Diego is booming with colorful celebrations honoring ancestors across the county. In Italy , November 2 is All Souls' Day and is colloquially known as Day of the Dead or "Giorno dei Morti". While many regional nuances exist, celebrations generally consist of placing flowers at cemeteries and family burial sites and speaking to deceased relatives. Some traditions also include lighting
840-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
960-434: A criticism of Mexican upper-class women who imitated European fashions. It was first published posthumously in a broadside with a text (not by Posada) that mocked working-class vendors of chickpeas . Posada's image of a skeletal figure with a big hat decorated with two ostrich feathers and flowers was elaborated into a full scale figure by Mexican Muralist Diego Rivera in a fresco painted in 1946–47. Rivera's Catrina has
1080-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
1200-617: A family. Some Italians take it upon themselves to adopt centuries-old unclaimed bodies and give them offerings like money or jewelry as a way to ease their pain and ask for favors. Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it
1320-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
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#17327971811481440-494: A holy water font, or under a cross in a cemetery, whereby it would be transformed into a memento mori. Regardless of its origin, the festivity has become a national symbol in Mexico and as such is taught in the nation's school system, typically asserting a native origin. It is also a school holiday nationwide. A number of Mexico City's museums and public spaces have played an important part in developing and promoting urban Day of
1560-415: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
1680-587: A manifestation of syncretism . The beginning of the Christian observance of Allhallowtide , including All Saints' Day and its vigil, as well as All Souls' Day, is observed on the same days in places like Spain and Southern Europe, and elsewhere in Christendom. Critics of the Native American origin claim that even though pre-Columbian Mexico had traditions that honored the dead, current depictions of
1800-566: A national symbol in recent decades and it is taught in the nation's school system asserting a native origin. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO . Views differ on whether the festivity has indigenous pre-Hispanic roots, whether it is a more modern adaptation of an existing European tradition, or a combination of both as
1920-579: A person dressed up as the deity offering gifts to poor children. In this context, the Day of the Dead began to be officially isolated from the Catholic Church by the leftist government of Lázaro Cárdenas motivated both by "indigenismo" and left-leaning anti-clericalism . Malvido herself goes as far as calling the festivity a "Cardenist invention" whereby the Catholic elements are removed and emphasis
2040-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
2160-605: A prominent role in modern Day of the Dead observances in Mexico and elsewhere. The Catrina phenomenon has in fact gone beyond Day of the Dead, resulting in non-seasonal and even permanent "Catrinas", including COVID-19 masks, tattoos, permanently decorated cars, and Catrina-themed artworks. Some artists have even developed a sub-specialization in Catrina imagery. Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day. The traditions and activities that take place in celebration of
2280-404: A red candle or "lumino" on the window sills at sunset and laying out a table of food for deceased relatives who will come to visit. Like other Day of the Dead traditions around the world, Giorno dei Morti is a day dedicated to honoring the lives of those who have died. Additionally, it is a tradition that teaches children not to be afraid of death. In Sicily , families celebrate a long-held Day of
2400-617: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
2520-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
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#17327971811482640-422: A simple Tehuana dress and a feather boa, as well as other features that make allusions to the indigenous peoples of Mexico. Through the addition of these indigenous features, Rivera rehabilitated Catrina into a nationalist emblem. The Catrina character has become deeply associated with the Day of the Dead. Catrina figures made of a wide range of materials, as well as people with Catrina costumes, have come to play
2760-408: A special wicker basket of the dead called "cannistru dei morti" or "u cannistru", which typically consist of various sweets, small toys, boned-shaped almond flavored cookies called "ossa dei morti", sugar dolls called "pupi di zucchero", and fruit, vegetable, and ghoul shaped marzipan treats called " Frutta martorana ". The pupi di zucchero, thought to be an Arabic cultural import, are often found in
2880-668: A traditional two-day celebration culminating in a candlelight procession to the historic El Campo Santo Cemetery. The festival also was held annually at historic Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston 's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Sponsored by Forest Hills Educational Trust and the folkloric performance group La Piñata, the Day of the Dead festivities celebrated the cycle of life and death. People brought offerings of flowers, photos, mementos, and food for their departed loved ones, which they placed at an elaborately and colorfully decorated altar. A program of traditional music and dance also accompanied
3000-572: A wicker basket under the bed (the size varied according to the money there was in the family) that at night the dear dead would fill with sweets and gifts that we would find on the 2nd morning upon awakening. After a restless sleep we woke up at dawn to go hunting… Because the dead wanted to play with us, to give us fun, and therefore they didn't put the basket back where they had found it, but went to hide it carefully, we had to look for it… The toys were tin trains, wooden toy cars, rag dolls, wooden cubes that formed landscapes… On November 2nd we returned
3120-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
3240-436: Is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish
3360-674: Is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and
3480-552: Is a bimonthly journal published by Editorial Raíces and the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History). The first issue, devoted to Teotihuacán , was published in April–May in 1993. Arqueología Mexicana contains articles by scholars, a wide selection of photographs on the diverse Mesoamerican cultures, as well as maps and timelines that provide
3600-507: Is dedicated to adults." He also notes that the same object, such as a stone skull carved by the Aztecs, would have different meanings in different religious contexts. For the Aztecs, bones—and skulls in particular—were reservoirs of enormous sacred power. A stone skull could evoke sacrifice, and the skull racks where the skulls of sacrificed captives were displayed. The Spanish could take an Aztec skull and repurpose it by placing it on
3720-399: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
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3840-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
3960-475: Is laid on indigenous iconography, the focus on death and what Malvido considers to be the cultural invention according to which Mexicans venerate death. Gonzalez explains that Mexican nationalism developed diverse cultural expressions with a seal of tradition but which are essentially social constructs which eventually developed ancestral tones. One of these would be the Catholic Día de Muertos which, during
4080-478: Is not limited to cemeteries, skulls, or the grim reaper , all of this in situations where the dedicatee has an encounter with death itself. This custom originated in the 18th or 19th century after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future which included the words "and all of us were dead", and then proceeding to read the tombstones. Current newspapers dedicate calaveras literarias to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in
4200-505: Is represented on this date both in Spain and in Mexico since the early 19th century due to its ghostly apparitions and cemetery scenes. Opposing views assert that despite the obvious European influence, there exists proof of pre-Columbian festivities that were very similar in spirit, with the Aztec people having at least six celebrations during the year that were very similar to Day of the Dead,
4320-844: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
4440-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
4560-488: Is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on the other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by
4680-401: Is then covered in banana leaves and steamed in an underground oven over the course of several hours. Once cooked, it is dug up and opened to eat. A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (in Spanish calavera ), which celebrants represent in masks , called calacas (colloquial term for skeleton), and foods such as chocolate or sugar skulls, which are inscribed with the name of
4800-542: Is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian),
4920-578: Is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
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5040-727: The Galería de la Raza , SomArts Cultural Center, Mission Cultural Center, de Young Museum and altars at Garfield Square by the Marigold Project. Oakland is home to Corazon Del Pueblo in the Fruitvale district. Corazon Del Pueblo has a shop offering handcrafted Mexican gifts and a museum devoted to Day of the Dead artifacts. Also, the Fruitvale district in Oakland serves as the hub of the Día de Muertos annual festival which occurs
5160-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
5280-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
5400-509: The Yucatán Peninsula , mukbil pollo ( píib chicken) is traditionally prepared on October 31 or November 1, and eaten by the family throughout the following days. It is similar to a big tamale, composed of masa and pork lard, and stuffed with pork, chicken, tomato, garlic, peppers, onions, epazote , achiote , and spices. Once stuffed, the mukbil pollo is bathed in kool sauce , made with meat broth, habanero chili, and corn masa. It
5520-399: The "indigenous" narrative became hegemonic, the spirit of the festivity has far more in common with European traditions of Danse macabre and their allegories of life and death personified in the human skeleton to remind us the ephemeral nature of life. He also highlights that in the 19th-century press there was little mention of the Day of the Dead in the sense that we know it today. All there
5640-557: The 2015 James Bond film Spectre , the opening sequence features a Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City. At the time, no such parade took place in Mexico City; one year later, due to the interest in the film and the government desire to promote the Mexican culture, the federal and local authorities decided to organize an actual Día de Muertos parade through Paseo de la Reforma and Centro Historico on October 29, 2016, which
5760-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
5880-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
6000-416: The 20th century, appropriated the elements of an ancient pagan rite. One key element of the re-developed festivity which appears during this time is La Calavera Catrina by Mexican lithographer José Guadalupe Posada . According to Gonzalez, while Posada is portrayed in current times as the "restorer" of Mexico's pre-Hispanic tradition, he was never interested in Native American culture or history. Posada
6120-564: The 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary
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#17327971811486240-512: The Day of the Dead are not universal, often varying from town to town. For example, in the town of Pátzcuaro on the Lago de Pátzcuaro in Michoacán , the tradition is very different if the deceased is a child rather than an adult. On November 1 of the year after a child's death, the godparents set a table in the parents' home with sweets, fruits, pan de muerto , a cross, a rosary (used to ask
6360-833: The Dead celebration that includes both traditional and political elements, such as altars to honor the victims of the Iraq War , highlighting the high casualty rate among Latino soldiers. An updated, intercultural version of the Day of the Dead is also evolving at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. There, in a mixture of Native Californian art, Mexican traditions and Hollywood hip, conventional altars are set up side by side with altars to Jayne Mansfield and Johnny Ramone . Colorful native dancers and music intermix with performance artists , while sly pranksters play on traditional themes. Similar traditional and intercultural updating of Mexican celebrations are held in San Francisco . For example,
6480-411: The Dead tradition called The Festival of the Dead or "Festa dei Morti". On the eve of November 1, La Festa di Ognissanti, or All Saints' Day , older family members act as the "defunti", or spirits of deceased family members, who sneak into the home and hide sweets and gifts for their young descendants to awake to. On the morning of November 2, children begin the day by hunting to find the gifts in shoes or
6600-657: The Dead traditions through altars and installations. These notable organizations include: Anahuacalli, The Frida Kahlo Museum, The Museum of Popular Cultures, The Dolores Olmedo Museum, The Museum of the First Printing Press, and The Cloister of Sor Juana. From turn of the millennium until the imposition of the James Bond-inspired parade, remarkable large-scale installations were created on the Zocalo, Mexico City's central square. During Día de Muertos,
6720-553: The Día de Muertos tradition being a continuity of ancient Aztec festivals celebrating death, as is most evident in the chapter "All Saints, Day of the Dead" of his 1950 book-length essay The Labyrinth of Solitude . Ruben C. Cordova emphasizes the zeal with which the Spanish attempted to extinguish indigenous religious beliefs and practices, such that it is often difficult to reconstruct their main features. Over time, indigenous converts became extremely devout Catholics. As Mexico modernized,
6840-654: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
6960-705: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
7080-500: The Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia ( INAH , or National Institute of Anthropology and History ) and founder of the institute's Taller de Estudios sobre la Muerte (Workshop of Studies on Death), was the first to do so in the context of her wider research into Mexican attitudes to death and disease across the centuries. Malvido completely discards a native or even syncretic origin arguing that
7200-769: The Oceanside Civic Center and Pier View Way, as well as events at the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia . In the more central area of San Diego, City Heights celebrates through a public festival in Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park that includes at least 35 altars, lowriders, and entertainment, all for free. Down in Chula Vista , they celebrate the tradition through a movie night at Third and Davidson streets where they will be screening "Coco." This movie night also consists of
7320-540: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
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#17327971811487440-589: The Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn,
7560-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
7680-461: The Virgin Mary to pray for them), and candles. This is meant to celebrate the child's life, in respect and appreciation for the parents. There is also dancing with colorful costumes, often with skull-shaped masks and devil masks in the plaza or garden of the town. At midnight on November 2, the people light candles and ride winged boats called mariposas (butterflies) to Janitzio, an island in
7800-457: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
7920-490: The celebrations tend to be mostly traditional. The All Souls Procession has been an annual event since 1990 in Tucson, Arizona . The event combines elements of traditional Day of the Dead celebrations with those of pagan harvest festivals. People wearing masks carry signs honoring the dead and an urn in which people can place slips of paper with prayers on them to be burned. Likewise, Old Town San Diego, California, annually hosts
8040-477: The celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it lacks nutritional value. Pillows and blankets are left out so the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic , Pátzcuaro and Janitzio , people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives. In many places, people have picnics at the grave site, as well. Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes; these sometimes feature
8160-684: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
8280-418: The closest one being Quecholli , a celebration that honored Mixcóatl (the god of war) and was celebrated between October 20 and November 8. This celebration included elements such as the placement of altars with food (tamales) near the burying grounds of warriors to help them in their journey to the afterlife. Influential Mexican poet and Nobel prize laureate Octavio Paz strongly supported the syncretic view of
8400-465: The community event. The Jamaica Plain celebration was discontinued in 2011. The Smithsonian Institution , in collaboration with the University of Texas at El Paso and Second Life , have created a Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum and accompanying multimedia e-book: Día de los Muertos: Day of the Dead . The project's website contains some of the text and images which explain the origins of some of
8520-446: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
8640-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
8760-695: The creation of an event held at the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center for the first time on November 1, 2015. In other communities, interactions between Mexican traditions and American culture are resulting in celebrations in which Mexican traditions are being extended to make artistic or sometimes political statements. For example, in Los Angeles, California , the Self Help Graphics & Art Mexican-American cultural center presents an annual Day of
8880-572: The customary core practices related to the Day of the Dead, such as the background beliefs and the offrenda (the special altar commemorating one's deceased loved one). The Made For iTunes multimedia e-book version provides additional content, such as further details; additional photo galleries; pop-up profiles of influential Latino artists and cultural figures over the decades; and video clips of interviews with artists who make Día de Muertos -themed artwork, explanations and performances of Aztec and other traditional dances, an animation short that explains
9000-655: The customs to children, virtual poetry readings in English and Spanish. In 2021, the Biden-Harris administration celebrated the Día de Muertos . Santa Ana, California , is said to hold the "largest event in Southern California" honoring Día de Muertos , called the annual Noche de Altares , which began in 2002. The celebration of the Day of the Dead in Santa Ana has grown to two large events with
9120-635: The day found widespread through Italy. Ossa dei morti, suitably elongated and frosted "bones of the dead" are sweets found in Apulia and Sicily. In Sicily, families enjoy special day of the dead cakes and cookies that are made into symbolic shapes such as skulls and finger bones. The "sweets of the dead" are a marzipan treats called frutta martorana. On the night of November 1, Sicilian parents and grandparents traditionally buy Frutta di Martorana to gift to children on November 2. In addition to visiting their own family members, some people pay respects to those without
9240-412: The dead tradition, with various regional treats being used as offerings to the dead on their journey to the afterlife. In Tuscany and Milan the "pane dei morti" or "bread of the dead" is said to be the characteristic offering. In northern Apulia , a wheat growing region, a sweet dish for the Day of the Dead is Colva or "Grains of the Dead". Fave dei morti or "fava beans of the dead" are another dish for
9360-405: The dead: the ninth and tenth months, which were for children and adults, respectively. Cordova argues that some recollection of these festivals "was compressed down to two days and cryptically celebrated within the Catholic liturgical calendar", which is why, in Mexico, "unlike other Latin American countries with Day of the Dead traditions — All Saints' Day is dedicated to children, and All Souls' Day
9480-421: The deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Some families have ofrendas in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto ('bread of dead'), and sugar skulls ; and beverages such as atole . The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrendas ' food, so though
9600-411: The deceased. During Day of the Dead festivities, food is both eaten by living people and given to the spirits of their departed ancestors as ofrendas ('offerings'). Tamales are one of the most common dishes prepared for this day for both purposes. Pan de muerto and calaveras are associated specifically with Day of the Dead. Pan de muerto is a type of sweet roll shaped like
9720-462: The departed, and visiting graves with these items as gifts for the deceased. The celebration is not solely focused on the dead, as it is also common to give gifts to friends such as candy sugar skulls, to share traditional pan de muerto with family and friends, and to write light-hearted and often irreverent verses in the form of mock epitaphs dedicated to living friends and acquaintances, a literary form known as calaveras literarias . In 2008,
9840-522: The departed. It is widely observed in Mexico , where it largely developed, and is also observed in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage. The observance falls during the Christian period of Allhallowtide . Some argue that there are Indigenous Mexican or ancient Aztec influences that account for the custom, though others see it as a local expression of the Allhallowtide season that
9960-411: The festivity have more in common with European traditions of Danse macabre and their allegories of life and death personified in the human skeleton to remind of the ephemeral nature of life. Over the past decades, however, Mexican academia has increasingly questioned the validity of this assumption, even going as far as calling it a politically motivated fabrication. Historian Elsa Malvido, researcher for
10080-683: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
10200-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
10320-604: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
10440-439: The graves to thank the deceased for the gifts, before enjoying a hearty feast. The tradition holds that the spirits of the deceased will remain with the family to enjoy a day of feasting and merriment. Acclaimed Sicilian author Andrea Camilleri recounts his Giorno dei Morti experience as boy, as well as the negative cultural impact that WWII era American influence had on the long-held tradition. "Every Sicilian house where there
10560-559: The holiday are atole and champurrado , warm, thick, non-alcoholic masa drinks. Agua de Jamaica (water of hibiscus ) is a popular herbal tea made of the flowers and leaves of the Jamaican hibiscus plant ( Hibiscus sabdariffa ), known as flor de Jamaica in Mexico. It is served cold and quite sweet with a lot of ice. The ruby-red beverage is also known as hibiscus tea in English-speaking countries. In
10680-512: The house where someone in the household has died in the previous year. Many people of the surrounding areas arrive early to eat for free and enjoy the elaborate altars set up to receive the visitors. Another peculiar tradition involving children is La Danza de los Viejitos (the Dance of the Old Men) where boys and young men dressed like grandfathers crouch and jump in an energetic dance. In
10800-502: The ideology known as indigenismo became more and more closely linked to post-revolutionary official projects whereas Hispanismo was identified with conservative political stances. This exclusive nationalism began to displace all other cultural perspectives, to the point that in the 1930s the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl was officially promoted by the government as a substitute for the Spanish Three Kings tradition, with
10920-632: The language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian
11040-549: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
11160-452: The last weekend of October. Here, a mix of several Mexican traditions come together with traditional Aztec dancers, regional Mexican music, and other Mexican artisans to celebrate the day. In San Diego, California , the city that borders Mexico, the celebrations range across the entire county. All the way up at the most northern part of the county, Oceanside celebrates their annual event which includes community and family altars built around
11280-694: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
11400-621: The marigold is sometimes called Flor de Muerto ('Flower of Dead'). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings. It is also believed the bright petals with a strong scent can guide the souls from cemeteries to their family homes. The common name in English, marigold, is derived from Mary's gold , a name first applied to a similar plant native to Europe, Calendula officinalis . Toys are brought for dead children ( los angelitos , or 'the little angels'), and bottles of tequila , mezcal or pulque or jars of atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or
11520-403: The middle of the lake where there is a cemetery, to honor and celebrate the lives of the dead there. In contrast, the town of Ocotepec , north of Cuernavaca in the State of Morelos , opens its doors to visitors in exchange for veladoras (small wax candles) to show respect for the recently deceased. In return the visitors receive tamales and atole . This is done only by the owners of
11640-734: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
11760-533: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
11880-414: The recipient on the forehead. Sugar skulls can be given as gifts to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto , a sweet egg bread made in various shapes from plain rounds to skulls, often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones. In some parts of the country, especially the larger cities, children in costumes roam the streets, knocking on people's doors for
12000-422: The shapes of folkloric characters who represent humanized versions of the souls of the dead. Eating the sugar dolls reflects the idea of the individual absorbing the dead and, in doing so, bringing the dead back to life within themselves on November 2. After gifts are shared and breakfast is enjoyed, the whole family will often visit the cemetery or burial site bearing flowers. They will light candles and play amongst
12120-419: The style of the famous calaveras of José Guadalupe Posada , a Mexican illustrator. In modern Mexico, calaveras literarias are a staple of the holiday in many institutions and organizations, for example, in public schools, students are encouraged or required to write them as part of the language class. Posada's most famous print, La Calavera Catrina ("The Elegant Skull"), was likely intended as
12240-537: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
12360-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
12480-640: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
12600-503: The tombs of the departed. Plans for the day are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the three-day period families usually clean and decorate graves; most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas (altars), which often include orange Mexican marigolds ( Tagetes erecta ) called cempasúchil (originally named cempōhualxōchitl , Nāhuatl for 'twenty flowers'). In modern Mexico
12720-631: The tradition can be fully traced to Medieval Europe. She highlights the existence of similar traditions on the same day, not just in Spain, but in the rest of Catholic Southern Europe and Latin America such as altars for the dead, sweets in the shape of skulls and bread in the shape of bones. Agustin Sanchez Gonzalez has a similar view in his article published in the INAH's bi-monthly journal Arqueología Mexicana . Gonzalez states that, even though
12840-451: The tradition is to build private altars ("ofrendas") containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the words of the living directed to them. These altars are often placed at home or in public spaces such as schools and libraries, but it is also common for people to go to cemeteries to place these altars next to
12960-429: The tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO . Mexican academics are divided on whether the festivity has genuine indigenous pre-Hispanic roots or whether it is a 20th-century rebranded version of a Spanish tradition developed during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas to encourage Mexican nationalism through an "Aztec" identity. The festivity has become
13080-437: The traditional practices that the Spanish had brought to the Americas survived most robustly in rural and less affluent communities, which had high concentrations of indigenous and mestizo populations. Thus archaic Spanish religious practices in marginal areas came to be mistakenly regarded as the "pure" core of primarily "indigenous" Day of the Dead festivities. The Aztecs devoted two twenty-day months in their ritual calendar to
13200-600: The visit that the dead had paid us the day before: it was not a ritual, but an affectionate custom. Then, in 1943, with the American soldiers the Christmas tree arrived and slowly, year after year, the dead lost their way to the houses where they were waiting for them, happy and awake until the end, the children or the children of the children… Pity. We had lost the possibility of touching, materially, that thread that binds our personal history to that of those who had preceded us…" Food plays an important part of Italy's day of
13320-596: The world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in
13440-432: Was a little boy was populated with dead familiar to him. Not ghosts with white linzòlo and with the scrunch of chains, mind you, not those that are frightening, but such and as they were seen in the photographs exhibited in the living room, worn, the occasional half smile printed on the face, the good ironed dress in a workmanlike manner, they made no difference with the living. We Nicareddri, before going to bed, put
13560-463: Was attended by 250,000 people. This could be seen as an example of the pizza effect . The idea of a massive celebration was also popularized in the Disney Pixar movie Coco . In many communities in the United States with Mexican residents, Day of the Dead celebrations are very similar to those held in Mexico. In some of these communities, in states such as Texas , New Mexico , and Arizona ,
13680-425: Was brought to the region by the Spanish; the Day of the Dead has become a way to remember those forebears of Mexican culture. The Day of the Dead is largely seen as having a festive characteristic. Traditions connected with the holiday include honoring the deceased using calaveras and marigold flowers known as cempazúchitl , building home altars called ofrendas with the favorite foods and beverages of
13800-634: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
13920-622: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
14040-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
14160-618: Was predominantly interested in drawing scary images which are far closer to those of the European renaissance or the horrors painted by Francisco de Goya in the Spanish War of Independence against Napoleon than to the Mexica tzompantli . The recent trans-Atlantic connection can also be observed in the pervasive use of couplet in allegories of death and the play Don Juan Tenorio by 19th-century Spanish writer José Zorrilla which
14280-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
14400-550: Was were long processions to cemeteries, sometimes ending with drunkenness. Elsa Malvido also points to the recent origin of the tradition of "velar" or staying up all night with the dead. It resulted from the Reform Laws under the presidency of Benito Juarez which forced family pantheons out of Churches and into civil cemeteries, requiring rich families to have servants guard family possessions displayed at altars. The historian Ricardo Pérez Montfort has further demonstrated how
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