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Guest Post: The Day of the Dead By LindaAnn LoSchiavo

The Day of the Dead


By LindaAnn LoSchiavo for Behind the Pages
 
Procession of people with calavera make up and holding candles and flowers.

All Hallows' Eve, a three-day holiday spanning Hallowe’en, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day (a.k.a. the Day of the Dead), contrasts Samhain's playful spookiness with a more reverent celebration in Latinx cultures. El Día de los Muertos honors deceased loved ones with food, special beverages, and joyful recollections.


But leave it to a poet’s pen to conjure up and feed the hungriest ghosts. Here are a few lines from two poems written in the 1990s and bearing the same title, "El Día de los Muertos."


In Rafael Campo’s poem [published in The Threepenny Review], he recounts a vivid out-of-body experience on November 2nd and, ultimately, his death:

As water filled my eyes,

I sang a song in honor of the dead.

They came for me…

The sun, awakened from its dream,

Rose suddenly I watched it as I died,

And felt the heaviness of all its gold…


In Robert Vasquez’s fanciful poem [published in New England Review] about the holiday, he imagines himself as one of the returning dead:

… And I’m the neighbor

gone loveless for years

and walled off by eucalyptus

and brick. I’m the silent one

drawn the bonfires, those in alleyways and sky…


In my Allhallowtide haibun from "Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems," one line from "Santissima Muerte" spotlights the calaveras or calaveritas (mini skulls), often brightly colored and decorated, a key part of the Day of the Dead festivities:

Devotees nibble tiny chocolate skulls on her feast day, hoping mortality can

be as sweet.


Dating back over 3,000 years to the Aztecs and other indigenous peoples, the Day of the Dead blended with Catholic traditions after Spanish colonization. From October 31 to November 2, families gather to remember their ancestors, keeping their memory alive.


Ofrenda
Ofrenda

Traditions vary, but key elements include decorating graves and creating ofrendas (altars) with offerings like marigolds, favorite foods, and drinks. It’s a lively celebration, where the living share meals, stories, and gifts in honor of the deceased. A typical dessert, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), is a round sweet bread often flavored with anise or citrus. It’s molded with strips of dough to resemble human bones and served with hot chocolate. By honoring their dead relatives, Hispanic people believe happy spirits will provide protection, good luck, and wisdom to the entire family.


Not all the spirits are ghosts, however. Mezcal and other inebriants play a central role in the festivities, with toasts made in remembrance and bottles placed at graves as offerings. Drinking, far from somber, is a joyful way to celebrate life and honor ancestors.


So, raise a glass to loved ones with these four Day of the Dead cocktails!

 
Death's Kiss drink in various glasses with skulls and orange flowers as decoration
Death's Kiss

Death's Kiss:

  • Ingredients:

    • 1 1/2 oz mezcal

    • 1/2 oz elderflower liqueur

    • 1/2 oz lime juice

    • 1/4 oz agave syrup

    • Jalapeño slice for garnish


  • Instructions:

    • Fill a shaker with ice.

    • Add mezcal, elderflower liqueur, lime juice, and agave syrup to the shaker.

    • Shake well and strain into a glass filled with ice.

    • Garnish with a slice of jalapeño for a spicy kick.

 
Sangria adorned by mint and a lit candle nearby.
Sangria Santa

Sangre Santa:

  • Ingredients:

    • 2 oz red wine

    • 1 oz rum

    • 1/2 oz simple syrup

    • Splash of club soda

    • Orange slice for garnish


  • Instructions:

    • Fill a glass with ice.

    • Add red wine, rum, and simple syrup to the glass.

    • Stir well.

    • Top with a splash of club soda.

    • Garnish with an orange slice.

 
Divine Devotion drink image that is a blue liquid
Divine Devotion

Divine Devotion:

  • Ingredients:

    • 1 1/2 oz vodka

    • 1/2 oz blue curaçao

    • 1/2 oz lemon juice

    • 1/4 oz simple syrup

    • Lemon twist for garnish


  • Instructions:

    • Fill a shaker with ice.

    • Add vodka, blue curaçao, lemon juice, and simple syrup to the shaker.

    • Shake well and strain into a glass filled with ice.

    • Garnish with a lemon twist.

 
Altar Offering drink in a glass held my a skeleton hand. Surrounded by lit candles and standing on a book.
Altar Offering

Altar Offering:


  • Ingredients:

    • 1 1/2 oz spiced rum

    • 1/2 oz amaretto

    • 1/2 oz pineapple juice

    • 1/4 oz lime juice

    • Pineapple wedge for garnish


  • Instructions:

    • Fill a shaker with ice.

    • Add spiced rum, amaretto, pineapple juice, and lime juice to the shaker.

    • Shake well and strain into a glass filled with ice.

    • Garnish with a pineapple wedge.


These four cocktails can be served at themed events or gatherings honoring Santa Muerte, incorporating elements of Mexican culture and spirituality. Adjust the ingredients and proportions according to your taste preferences. Cheers!


Example of calavera makeup

 

BIO


Native New Yorker and Elgin Award winner, LindaAnn LoSchiavo is a member of the British Fantasy Society, HWA, SFPA, and The Dramatists Guild — and a spooky Scorpio who loves Hallowe'en.


Current books: "Messengers of the Macabre: Hallowe'en Poems," "Vampire Ventures," "Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems" [Wild Ink, October 1, 2024], "Apprenticed to the Night" [UniVerse Press, 2024], and "Felones de Se: Poems about Suicide" [Ukiyoto Publishing, 2024].* "Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems" won The Chrysalis BREW Project’s Award for Exellence on July 23, 2024. * Book Review + Award LINK:   https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/2024/07/23/book-review-always-haunted-halloween-poems-by-lindaann-loschiavo/

Book cover for Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems by LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Always Haunted: Hallowe’en Poems by LindaAnn LoSchiavo


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