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Melissa Harris-Perry: Hi, y'all I'm Melissa Harris-Perry and this is The Takeaway. Today is Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead, an ancient Mexican cultural event celebrated across Latin America and in the diaspora. It's meant to honor and remember loved ones who have passed on from this life. The painted decorations and other traditions of the day have become more trendy and popular over the last few years. Stores across the country sell Day of the Dead costumes and crafts. Nike even makes a Day of the Dead shoes and Disney even tried to trademark the name of the holiday ahead of the 2017 release of Coco, an animated film which brought in $800 million at the Box Office. The popularity and commercial success raises concerns about preserving the core meaning and value of the festival. Juan Aguirre is the executive director of the Mexican Arts and Cultural Organization, Mano a Mano. Juan, thank you for being here.

Juan Aguirre: Hi. Thank you for having me.

Melissa Harris-Perry: I introduced this segment using the term Día de Muertos. I know a lot of us grew up with the language Día de Los Muertos. What is accurate or are they both accurate? Just a little bit on the name itself?

Juan Aguirre: Sure. The name of the holiday is Día de Muertos, but in the United States, when people translate the name into English becomes Day of The Dead. Then people here translate it back into Spanish and de becomes Los, and that's why Dia de Los Muertos is really an American or something that is used in the English language countries.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Yesterday on Halloween, I'm handing out candy and there were a fair bit of Día de Muertos-inspired costuming. Now some of it was coming from members of our Latino community here, which is largely a Mexican American community here in the part of North Carolina where I live. There were also a lot of folks where I don't think that that was part of their particular ethnic or racial tradition. I can't be certain, but I don't think so. I'm wondering a little bit here, how we're meant to feel about this. Is it good that more people have an awareness of the holiday or troubling that there seems to be what could be, I guess, considered appropriation of the holiday?

Juan Aguirre: I think it's both. Some people not necessarily don't understand or know the history of the Day of Dead. A lot of people are blending the holidays Halloween and the Day of the Dead, not really understanding the meaning. I think it could be troubling. We see it for example, when we go to schools, talk to children, sometimes they ask a lot of questions and a lot of times we have to correct the things that they think about the holiday, but we have to do it in a way that it's very subtle. In that sense, it could be a little bit troubling but the other is also interesting that this holiday is really becoming known worldwide and it's becoming very popular. The trouble inside on that is that there's a lot of companies and a lot of people interested in making money out of it.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Let's take the money out for a moment. Just tell us a little bit about the history. What of Día de Muertos? What should folks really know?

Juan Aguirre: It's a day to remember the people who have died, especially your family members, your ancestors, and it's just a day where you think about them. You can talk to them or you can remember the beautiful things, the times that you spend with them, it's really a holiday of reflection and remembrance. I think that's what people should take from it. Every culture around the world honors those who have passed away in one way or another. Mexicans may do it a little bit different because we laugh at death by having skulls all over, by doing some of the creations we use, having skeletons, dancing, and things like that. I think the most important thing that people should know is that it's a holiday to honor and remember those who have passed away.

Melissa Harris-Perry: What are some of the misconceptions about the festival?

Juan Aguirre: There's a lot. Some that it's a Mexican Halloween, not knowing obviously that the holiday dates back to probably 3000 years, even more. Some of the others-- There's something very interesting that I see when we celebrate Day of The Dead and that's how Americans or English speakers and Mexicans relate to the ofrenda that is created. When we do our festival we have a big offering where people bring pictures, letters, messages, candles, and when I see people of Mexican origin or Mexicans doing it, a lot of them smile or they're happy, they look at the ofrenda and they feel warmth, but when Americans do it, sometimes they cry because for them it's more emotional. That's a very interesting cultural difference that I see.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Do you think this is about how Americans typically think about and understand death?

Juan Aguirre: Yes. There's two things. That's one. The other is that a lot of the Americans are discovering the holiday. They're trying to understand the meaning as opposed to Mexicans where they grew up with it, and so for them, it's different. For us, Day of the Dead is about happiness and warmth and thinking great things about our ancestors and family members, but for people who encounter the holiday, sometimes it's like they think of death in a different way, and so for them, sometimes it's sad.

Melissa Harris-Perry: With connections to New Orleans, there is, I suspect in part, because of the creolization of the culture that includes the Mexican influences, some Mexican indigenous influences, Spanish colonial influences, French colonial influences, as well as the more, I don't know, think of it as mainstream American. I also think of New Orleans as thinking about and approaching death in some ways that are quite different and distinct from how we do death rituals in other parts of the country.

Juan Aguirre: Yes. I think everywhere in different places, people would probably relate different to the holiday. It now has to do with their background and how they grew up.

Melissa Harris-Perry: I'm wondering in this year with so much loss of life in the context not only of direct loss to COVID-19 but also these additional deaths if you expect that maybe Día de Muertos is also taking on meaning beyond the commercialization, that kind of Coco Disnification simply because people are looking for a way to connect maybe often with those who they lost, who they didn't have an opportunity to do the rituals of goodbye that you might normally have in a non-pandemic time.

Juan Aguirre: I think it does. I have seen many, many people and many people talk to me when we do our celebration. For many people, this time bringing a picture, lighting a candle, and thinking about their family members is something that helps them for closure. A lot of people mention the word closure, a lot of people mention the word reconnecting. I think the holiday opens up the space for people to feel and to say things that normally they would not have that opportunity.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Can you say a few more words simply about the actual practices of the festival on that day? If one wanted to observe Día de Muertos, what would be some culturally appropriate ways connected to this 3000-year history to do so?

Juan Aguirre: The holiday is very old and there has been many influences throughout its history. I think the core essence of the holiday is still alive, which is really to remember those who have passed away. One of the best ways to do that is just to set a space where you would actually make the connection with that person that had passed away. In Mexico, the most important place in the house, or the most important space in the house becomes the ofrenda. I think for many people who are interested in exploring the holiday or learning about it, you don't really need a gigantic ofrenda or alter to remember your loved ones. It could just be something very small, very simple. The idea is really just to have them in your heart and in your mind.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Juan Aguirre is the executive director of the Mexican Arts and Cultural Organization, Mano a Mano. Juan, thank you so much for joining us.

Juan Aguirre: Thank you for having me.

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