In the Day of the Dead 2017, The Zocalo will pretend to be a small town that is celebrating. The offering will be filled with shredded paper latticework, full of colors, with an offering full of pre-Hispanic symbology, and cosmogony of death. If you see it from the heights of a nearby terrace, you will see that it simulates a duffel bag.
The beauty of this celebration is that it does not consist in a date of mourning, but in a great celebration that remembers with pleasure the deceased, and at the same time, exalts millenary customs that speak of how important and significant death is in this nation.
2017 Zócalo monumental offering and other altars of the dead in Mexico CityThe monumental offering of the Zócalo 2017 will simulate being a town that is celebrating, in addition we tell you about other offerings such as those of the Dolores Olmedo Museum and the Casa del Indio Fernández.
This was done by the artist Luis Rodríguez, in collaboration with Joel Rendón. Some of the elements that will integrate this fantastic and monumental scenario will be: a tree of life, sawdust rugs and cardboard sculptures. There will also be a memorial dedicated to the victims of the earthquake.
Let us remember with much love all those who came forward on the road and were victims of the earthquake of the 19s with this tribute to those who continue to fight to raise the country in the monumental offering of the Zocalo. At this altar of the dead, tribute will also be paid to the artists and celebrities who have left and whose absence still hurts. We also recommend other offerings that are worth visiting in Mexico City.
As part of the elements that will form the offering, you will find a tribute to rescuers, volunteers and all those who were affected after the earthquake. At the same time, you will find activities such as concerts. Enjoy the monumental offering of the Zócalo 2017!
They have not been physically with us for a long time, but their essence and legacy will remain in this world for many more years. This offering will pay tribute to the stars of Mexican cinema. As you walk around, go around the house and see how it is adorned with flowers, fruit and confetti.
The Day of the Dead celebrations in the Zocalo this 2017, it will be a party full of colors, altars, floats, puppets, catrines, balloons, sweets and music.
The Monumental Offering installed in the Zocalo will allude to a party town with shredded paper latticework that, from the heights, will form a colorful duffel bag.
Although it will be dedicated to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, the offering will have elements from behind the scenes of Mexican films to honor actors, directors, makeup artists and publishers. So you will see some calacas or movie scenes.
For those who loved and love pulque, in the Moctezuma Forum you will find cured tomatoes, celery, oatmeal, guava, strawberry, pineapple, pine nut and peanut, even exotic cempasúchil flower. In addition to an offering with pulque and cured.
In order to see it you must enter the Day of the Dead Festival, because in addition to seeing the offering you can enjoy a tour of the pantheon of the souls in pain, giant skulls, and traditional ball game.
On the other hand, the Artistic Forum will offer free concerts of jazz, blues, rock and cumbia, among other acts of traditional Mexican music.
Day of the Dead
The Day of the Dead is a traditional Mexican and generally Mesoamerican celebration that honors the dead. It takes place on November 1 and 2 and is linked to the Catholic celebrations of Day of the Faithful and All Saints.
It is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and to a lesser extent in Central American countries, as well as in many communities in the United States, where there is a large Mexican population. In 2008, Unesco declared the festival as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of Mexico.
The passage from life to death is an emblematic moment that has caused admiration, fear and uncertainty to the human being throughout history. For many years, beliefs about death have been generated in various cultures that have succeeded in developing a whole series of rites and traditions to venerate, honor, scare and even make fun of her. Mexico is a country rich in culture and traditions; One of the main aspects that make up its identity as a nation is the conception of life, death and all the traditions and beliefs that revolve around them.
Festivities that are considered precursors of the Day of the Dead in Mexico are prior to the arrival of the Spanish. I no record of celebrations in the ethnic Mexica, Maya, Purépecha and totonaca. The rituals that celebrate the life of the ancestors are performed in these civilizations since pre-Columbian times. The practice of preserving skulls as trophies and displaying them during rituals that symbolized death was common among pre-Hispanic peoples. However, the anthropologist Elsa Malvido has questioned the explanation of the pre-Hispanic origin of the Day of the Dead, highlighting the continuity of traditions that emerged in medieval Europe.
It should be noted that this celebration is not typical of all Mexicans since, despite being a party that has become a national symbol and that as such is taught (for educational purposes) in the country’s schools, there are many families that they are more attached to celebrating “All Saints’ Day” as they do in other Catholic countries. In addition, it is worth mentioning the strong influence of the United States that, at least in border areas, is evidenced by the presence of the party known as Halloween, which is celebrated every year with more frequency and in a greater number of homes. Hence, there is a concern among Mexicans themselves of wanting to preserve the Day of the Dead as part of Mexican culture over other similar celebrations.
Constitution Square in Mexico City
The Plaza de la Constitución, informally known as El Zócalo, is the main square in Mexico City. Together with the surrounding streets, it occupies an almost rectangular surface area of approximately 46,800 m² (195 mx 240 m). It was named in honor of the Constitution of Cádiz promulgated in 1812. This is the second largest square in the world and the first among Spanish-speaking countries. 1
The Zocalo is located in the heart of the area known as the Historic Center of Mexico City, in the Cuauhtémoc Demarcation. Its location was chosen by the Spanish conquerors to be established just to the side of what was previously the political and religious center of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, capital of the Mexica.
It is surrounded by the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City to the north, the National Palace (seat of the Federal Executive Power) to the east, the Old City Hall Palace and the Government Building (replica of the previous one, both of the Government of Mexico City headquarters of the local Executive Power) to the south, and to the west by commercial buildings (such as the Merchants Portal ), administrative and hotels. In the northeast corner of the square, is the Museo del Templo Mayor, Manuel Gamio Square, as well as the Zócalo station of Line 2 of the Metro.
Since the Mesoamerican era, it has hosted important events in the various stages of Mexico’s history, as well as a site of concentration and social and cultural manifestations. For five centuries of history it has undergone changes in the elements and buildings that surround and constitute it; They were installed and removed in numerous times gardens, monuments, circuses, markets, tram routes, fountains and other ornaments. The current physiognomy dates from 1958.
The Zocalo beyond being the seat of the political, economic and religious power of Mexico, as well as being a space where the indigenous and vice-colonial past are mixed, with almost five centuries of history, is also the place where the people of Mexico meet gathers to celebrate parties and important historical events have occurred.