Day of the Dead Presentation: A Cultural History of a Shared Heritage

Mexico's Day of the Dead tradition has been declared intangible cultural heritage of the humanity by UNESCO since 2003. How did this celebration became known worldwide? Day of the Dead is a cultural and historical construction that condenses European and Pre-Hispanic elements. Is an expression of the colorful, diverse, dramatic, and amazing mixture of symbolic features created in Mexico for centuries around the death. This lecture will explore the history and meaning of this cultural expression.

Presenter Luis E. Coronado Guel is Director of SBS Mexico Initiatives an Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Arizona. He holds a doctorate in Latin American History. He received bachelor’s degree in law from the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí and a master’s degree in history from El Colegio de San Luis. His research interests include the cultural and intellectual history of nineteenth and twentieth century Mexico, specifically, its nation-state building processes by analyzing patriotic celebrations, public rituals, mass media, cultural heritage, and expressions of popular culture. His first book, La Alameda Potosina ante la llegada del ferrocarril (2009, 2015) is an intellectual and cultural history on the impact the railway had in the region of San Luis Potosí. Coronado’s teaching experience includes a variety of survey, upper-level, and graduate courses in Mexico and the United States in the fields of history, law, popular culture, and cultural heritage, both in English and Spanish.