Overview

Honoring relatives by tending graves, building altars, and cooking festive meals has been an honored tradition among Latin Americans for centuries. The tribute, """"el Dia de los Muertos,"""" has enjoyed renewed popularity since the 1970s when Latino activists and artists in the United States began expanding """"Day of the Dead"""" north of the border with celebrations of performance art, Aztec danza, art exhibits, and other public expressions. Focusing on the power of ritual to serve as a communication medium, Regina M. Marchi combines a mix of ethnography, historical research, oral history, and critical cultural analysis to explore the manifold and unexpected transformations that occur when the tradition is embraced by the mainstream. A testament to the complex nature of ethnic identity, """"Day of the Dead in the USA"""" provides insight into the power of ritual to create community, transmit oppositional messages, and advance educational, political, and economic goals.

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9780813545585

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Reviews

Marchi provides a unique and valuable account of the rise of Day of the Dead celebrations in the United States, demonstrating the complex dynamics of ethnic and cultural identity in the contemporary cultural economy, urban community, and media environment. - Eric W. Rothenbuhler, author of Ritual Communication and coeditor of Media Anthropology

"""Marchi provides a unique and valuable account of the rise of Day of the Dead celebrations in the United States, demonstrating the complex dynamics of ethnic and cultural identity in the contemporary cultural economy, urban community, and media environment."" - Eric W. Rothenbuhler, author of Ritual Communication and coeditor of Media Anthropology"""

Author Information

REGINA M. MARCHI is an assistant professor of media studies and an affiliated professor of Latino studies at Rutgers University. A former journalist, Marchi is the author of numerous articles and a contributor to Religion, Media, and the Marketplace (Rutgers University Press).

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