The Habitat hosted a movie night on Nov. 6, showcasing the Fox Animation production, “The Book of Life.” The million-dollar box office cartoon celebrates the beauty of life and the one day that death is famous for: Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead.
Earlier fall sunsets dimmed the lights at the Habitat to provide cozy benches for the perfect nook to enjoy the movie with friends. The showing started around 6 p.m., allowing attendees time to get food and enjoy the provided cider and treats.
“I just stumbled across it on my way out of the OC, and then I was like, it was halfway through the movie, and I sat down just to watch a little bit, and then I watched the whole thing because I love this movie,” Ula Tuskenyte, an attendee of the event, said. Although not from a Hispanic background, Tuskenyte explained she enjoyed the movie because it enabled her to enjoy the beauty of the culture and celebration.
The movie itself takes place in the Mexican town of San Angel and revolves around the protagonists Manolo Sánches, Maria Posada and Joaquín Mondragon. These three childhood friends have always had to live for their family’s expectations, but when a love triangle blossoms between them, they have to fight threats from both the world of the living and the dead.
“’The Book of Life’ is a really fun movie because it represents the Day of the Dead, which is the first two days of November, that’s when they celebrated Mexico,” Sara Baylon Chavez, an attendee of the event, said. “And personally, as a person who celebrates that holiday, and is Latina, I love that the school is putting on this movie to at least show a little bit about the holiday, and I think it’s a great way to celebrate with other people who don’t know about the holiday, and I had a great time at the movie and it was super fun.”
Traditionally, the holiday is celebrated by honoring the dead as guests for the night, their favorite foods are often made and left by their ofrendas, an altar or place to honor the dead often decorated with candles and cempasuchil (marigold flowers) and cock’s comb (bright red flowers).
Symbols of the holiday include skulls and skeletons, which are often seen in a sweet baked good called “pan de muerto” or bread of the dead. A similar treat is made in Spain, the “pan de ánimas,” or soul’s bread, which is a ritual that exists for All Saints Day. The two holidays, though only a day apart, are very different. All Saint’s Day is entirely dedicated to religious saints related to the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, the Day of the Dead is the result of Spanish religious customs and pre-Hispanic indigenous funeral rites.
There are many other movies that help encapsulate the beauty of Día de los Muertos — all there to show how Mexico’s culture and traditions have become a source of joy and retrospection for celebrating life.
For more information on Día de Muertos, you can visit the CMI’s Hispanic Heritage Month site, or the Hispanic Aspiring Leaders Organization (HALO) GrizzOrgs.
