Today, the Day of the Dead in Aztlan has become one of the most celebrated Mexican cultural traditions in the southwestern United States. It strengthens the cultural cohesion of the Chicano community and is an unparalleled example of how the politics of the Chicano movement and neo-Indigenous philosophy have merged to create a new and vital Chicano art form. By the mid-20th century, celebrations held to commemorate El Día de los Muertos suffered a decline and even disappearance of its celebration among the Mexican-American population living in urban communities here in the United States. This was the product of greater cultural assimilation. In 1972, Chicana/o artists living in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas took a stand against this whitewashing trend and reclaimed the Day of the Dead as an ethnic ritual by reviving, renewing, and reinventing it. This cultural phenomenon was adopted by many communities in the Southwest, sparked by social and political struggles, known today as the Chicano Movement, giving it its decidedly political nature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Chicano artists have since incorporated Day of the Dead practices, and their artistic production displays cultural reclamation efforts of self-preservation and emancipation. It is important to remember that most efforts were ephemeral and not intended to be observed by the community or critics as artistic practices. According to Carlos Francisco Jackson, the Day of the Dead is the result of hybrid Mexican and Mexican-American religious practices, resulting from the fusion of pre-Columbian spirituality with Spanish Catholicism. El Día de los Muertos or El Día de los Fieles Difuntos, connects rituals that pay homage to the pre-Columbian memory of the sacred afterlife, with two Roman Catholic holidays. In an effort to broaden and improve their visual vocabulary and evolving symbolic system, Chicano artists discovered this hidden pictorial language in Mexican sources and carefully appropriated it, much as a visual archaeologist would. In this cultural excavation for new, meaningful, and self-defining iconography, Chicano artists adopted Mexico's indigenous past. Día de los Muertos has its origins in ancient Mesoamerica, which included Mexico and the northern part of Central America. These cultures practiced similar ceremonies and shared similar values ​​regarding death and the afterlife. Humans were believed to descend into the underworld upon death where they would reach Xibalba (Place of Fear), coined by the Mayan belief system, where there was not much chance of escape unless an individual died a violent death, avoiding all Xibalba. The underworld was strongly associated with water, with its vast and varied landscape. It was ruled by a group of around 9 or 14 gods who possessed fearsome names, collectively known as the lords of the underworld, and bloodthirsty predators lived there as inhabitants. The Mayans believed that the underworld had nine different levels and two great rivers running through it. To reach the ninth level, the deceased had to face many trials and tribulations, which included crossing dangerous waters and rivers of blood, high mountains, defending himself from spinning obsidian knives and arrows, including sacrificing his own heart. To help the souls survive this ordeal, they were buried or cremated with weapons, tools, weaving kits, jade and other precious goods, foods such as hot chocolate, and even real or ceramic dog figurines to guide the souls and serve as companions. For iNahua, the soul was a divine creation which made it indestructible and henceforth allowed it to enter the afterlife. Special destinations were assigned to those killed in battle, water-related illnesses, childbirth and children who died prematurely. Nonetheless, most of the deceased entered Chicunamictlán, the Land of the Dead, ruled by Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl. Chicunamictlán, just like Xibalba, was composed of nine levels. The journey to reach Mictlán, their final resting place, would have lasted approximately four years, during which the souls would have faced many dangers. Rituals to honor the dead held by the Nahua people in August required family members to provide supplies such as food, water, and tools to aid the deceased on this arduous journey. Coincidentally, ancient Europe also held pagan celebrations for the dead in the fall. These celebrations included bonfires, dancing and feasting. The Roman Catholic Church, unofficially adopted some of these customs and incorporated them into two of their minor holidays, All Saints' Day celebrated on the 1st day of November and later All Souls' Day, celebrated on the 2nd day of November. On All Souls' Day, people living in medieval Spain brought wine and pan de ánimas (spiritual bread) to the graves of their deceased. Then, they covered the graves with flowers and lit candles with the aim of illuminating the path of the deceased soul to find its way home to Earth. Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century introduced these traditions to the New World, with a darker view of death, a product of the devastation caused by the bubonic plague. The Aztecs, Maya, Toltecs, and other indigenous groups who commemorated their deceased at different times depending on whether the loved one was an adult or a child at the time of passing, blended these two Spanish holidays with their pre-Hispanic traditions to designate November 1 as the day in which to remember the dead children, while November 2nd was used to honor adults. Jackson informs us that traditionally, practices for celebrating the Day of the Dead include a special mass, prayers, visits to the graves of deceased loved ones, candlelight vigils, the preparation and consumption of particular dishes, and provisions for the dead which include food, water, flowers, candles and personal symbolic trinkets placed and arranged on home altars, called ofrendas (offerings) during Día de los Muertos celebrations. Influences on the development of a Chicano iconography include the lithographs and etchings of the Mexican printmaker, Jose Guadalupe Posada. The folk art inspired by the Day of the Dead was satirical and political in nature, where its animated skeletons (Calaveras) became famous. Posada's calaveras provided a powerful means of moralization and social equality. In the United States, Chicano artists in the 1970s produced Día de los Muertos art referencing Posada's work, taking the image of the calavera to new frontiers. Chicano artists have also captured the use of altars and nichos, which are used to display images of saints, to remember and pay homage to the lives and inputs that deceased family members, friends, and community figures have left through the contributions, to document the collective memory of the Mexican-American community. In 1970, painter Carlos Bueno, photographer Antonio Ibanez, and graphic artist Sister Karen Boccalero began an artistic collaboration in an East Los Angeles garage. This artistic collaboration led to the creation of Self Help Graphics, which became a primary driving force for other Chicano/Latino variations of the Día de los Muertos celebration. In 1972, these artists acquired studio space in Boyle Heights, where othersLocal Chicano artists joined them, including Michael Amescua, Manuel Cruz, Frank Hernandez, Leo Limon, Sarah Pineda, and Pete Tovar. On All Saints' Day, a pilgrimage tradition was held at Evergreen Cemetery. This happened spontaneously and without publicity, municipal permits and little activity at the cemetery. In doing so, the goal of these artists was to generate cultural awareness, ethnic pride, and collective self-realization for the East Los Angeles community. Calavera's images, altar creations, and posters became primary elements for the iconography of Day of the Dead. In 1974, the celebration attracted other artistic collaborations from a cross-cultural Los Angeles Chicano art community. Artistic collectives such as ASCO (Harry Gamboa, Gronk, Willie Herron and Patssi Valdez) and the artists Los Four (Carlos Almaraz and Frank Romero) participated in this event. In 1976, Día de los Muertos gained the admiration of community members who also participated in this annual, community-based, locally organized celebration. To fund these activities, a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities was established and city permits were approved. Music, dance, Catholic and Native American rituals attracted a thousand people to the cemetery. From 1974 to 1982, the event followed a set format. Starting at Evergreen Cemetery, community participants, students, artists, and student-artist collaborations would bring popular art objects such as Calavera masks, puppets, papel picado banners, papier-mâché crosses, costumes, and sculptures of Mexican pre-Hispanic images. Activities at the cemetery included Native American rituals and a Catholic mass, followed by the parade back to the Self Help Graphics studio, which normally attracted participants along the route. Different artists came each year, including El Teatro Campesino's "Calavera Band" (1977) and "El Fin del Mundo" (1979) and the cast of "Zoot Suit" (1978). After arriving at the studio, participants placed art objects, photographs, cempasuchil flowers, and offerings on altars built before the event, concluding the march. Followed by musical and theatrical performances, sale of art objects and traditional foods such as atole and pan de muerto. In the evening, a candlelit procession to a nearby Catholic church marked the end of the celebration. In 1978, the artists at Self Help Graphics produced a three-page flyer for the community describing their Día de los Muertos ceremony. He writes: "In our ceremonies we use copal incense from the pines, feathers, fire, music and dance, the turtle drum, and, most importantly, a sincere heart... Our ancient elders teach us the way to develop Cara y Corazon, a sincere heart". . Face and Heart, to become an entire people.' Having attracted national recognition and scholarly interest and investigation, Self Help Graphics has recognized its contribution to North American culture. Self Help Graphics also organized an annual art exhibit featuring the work of local Chicano artists, themed around El Día de los Muertos. In 1977, Otra Vez Gallery was created by a group of artists that included Carlos Almaraz, Michael Amescua, Richard Duardo, Ricardo Reyes, Linda Vallejo, Ben and Sybil Venegas who were involved with Self Help Graphics at the time. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the studio's artistic output consisted primarily of elaborate altars and ofrendas with the collaboration of students and artists, as the parade festivities consumed a large amount of time and energy. By 1980, Day of the Dead artistic productions had become an integral part of Chicano iconography, influencing artists of,.