Madrid honours Mexico’s Day of the Dead with city-wide altars

“The Day of the Dead is much more Spanish than Halloween**”**, explains Susana Pliego, director of culture at Casa de México, explaining the importance of this tradition which is gaining more and more followers in Spain. Unlike Halloween, which is a darker holiday based on the sale of candy and objects that move at night, the Day of the Dead unites pre-Hispanic Mexican traditions with Spanish traditions to celebrate life and what lies beyond death.

In order to highlight Mexican customs, the Casa de México in Madrid has installed for the eighth consecutive year an altar of the dead, designed for this edition by the architect and photographer Guillermo González.

‘Souvenir cabaret‘the largest altar of the dead in Europe, is inspired by the Mexican cabaret of the first decades of the 20th century, strongly influenced by French and German cabaret. Guillermo González wanted to base his altar on this celebration of music and dance, whose elements evoke the presence of happy souls who continue to shine in the afterlife.

This altar not only pays homage to the departed, but also reminds us that life, like the best of cabarets, must be lived singing, dancing and loving until the end.

The striking and colorful altar features several spectacular pieces such as 12 life-size “star performers,” 62 glass spheres, a candelabra of skeletons, or bones, and small cardboard devils**,**, as well as a rack of more than 60 skulls (a Mesoamerican ritual structure where the skulls of those sacrificed in honor of the gods were displayed).

The route proposed by the institution takes us back to the most lively Mexico of the 30s and 40s, a friendly place with the traditional altar on the top floor where visitors can leave a message in memory of their loved ones; notes that once the Day of the Dead has passed, they are burned in a ceremony.

What started as a tradition among the employees of the institution to have a piece of Mexican folklore on the other side of the ocean has become a key date in the cultural agenda of the year in Spain. The altar is becoming more and more popular as people seek to learn more about Mexican culture and its cult of death as another phase of our existence. Since 2003, this celebration has been recognized by UNESCO as an intangible heritage of humanity.

Mexican marigold and the seven levels of the altar

The seven levels of a Day of the Dead altar represent the path the deceased’s soul must travel to reach eternal rest, symbolizing purification and protection during its journey.

Although the composition can vary, as a general rule they are placed in levels: the saint of devotion, the souls of purgatory, the salt for purification, the traditional pan de muerto, the favorite food of the deceased, a photograph of the deceased and finally a cross made of seeds or lime.

Another must-have item is the marigold flower, with strong orange undertones and a distinctive smell that guides the dead on their journey.

The altar of the Casa de México can be visited throughout Madrid until November 9 and guided tours lasting 25 minutes can be booked on its website.