Day of the Dead in Mexico: Myths, Mainstream and Monarch Butterflies

Today, the celebration of the Day of the Dead in Mexico has become a global phenomenon, known for example through the Pixar film “Coco”. The holiday overlaps with Halloween and the two holidays increasingly influence each other.

This lecture takes us on the trail of the origins of the Days of the Dead in the early colonial period, when Spanish missionaries introduced Christianity to Mexico in the 16th century. At the same time, Native American performances and rituals fused with the Catholic Church's annual memorial ceremonies of All Saints' Eve and All Souls' Day. In other words -- how did the Mexican version of the Catholic ritual come about?

At the same time, the lecture highlights how — and why — butterflies, and monarch butterflies in particular, have come to play a role in the Day of the Dead in recent decades, and how the holiday is constantly changing and spreading through social media, among other things.

The lecture will be given by Jesper Nielsen, PhD and Associate Professor of Mesoamerican Studies at the University of Copenhagen.