Corones Para Los Muertos - ( A Streetcar Named Desire)

After researching this celebration that takes place in South America and that Aboriginal dancers reminded me of; I found that it was called El Dia De Los Muertos or Los Difuntos, and originated in pre-hispanic Mexico but also takes place in other South American countries such as Ecuador. The original celebration can be traced to the festivities held during the Aztec month of Miccailhuitontli , ritually lead by the goddess Mictecacihuatl (Lady of the Dead), and dedicated to children and the dead. The rituals during this month also featured a festivity dedicated to the major Aztec war god known as Huitzilopochtli, or the sinister hummingbird; tiny, swift and jewel-like.

The festival is usually or greater importance in rural areas of Mexico, in the South of the country which has a stronger Indian influence, and before it was moved to just after Halloween by Spanish Priests, it took place in late July to early August.
What interested me was that this festival is very cheerful and exuberant, as it is used to lovingly remember one’s ancestors instead of fearing them, and from what I already know, the Aborigines also had great respect for their ancestors. Another similarity that I found was the white paint (that looked skeleton-like in Aboriginal dance and skull-like in Mexican Dia De Los Muertos costumes), their use of stilts which instantly draws your attention to them
http://www.inside-mexico.com/featuredead.htm

Here are some passages from the site's analysis of history and traditions:

“From the beginning of time, man has felt the need to explain the mystery of life and death. Many civilizations and cultures have created rituals to try and give meaning to human existence....
...To the indigenous peoples of Mexico, death was considered the passage to a new life and so the deceased were buried with many of their personal objects, which they would need in the hereafter....
...Sometimes, when people of other cultures hear for the first time about the celebration of the Day of the Dead, they mistakenly think it must be: gruesome, terrifying, scary, ugly and sad. Nothing further from the truth, Day of the Dead is a beautiful ritual in which Mexicans happily and lovingly remember their loved relatives that have died. Much like when we go to a graveyard to leave some lovely flowers on a tomb of a relative.
...Markets are filled with the cempasúchil flower; this orange marigold was the flower that the Aztecs used to remember their dead by. Its color represents the tones of earth and is used to guide the souls to their homes and altars....
...Very early in October, all over the country, bakeries offer the delicious Pan de Muerto, Day of the Dead bread, made with flour, butter, sugar, eggs, orange peel, anise and yeast. The bread is adorned with strips of dough simulating bones and at the top a small round piece of dough that symbolizes teardrops. These breads are placed on the altars or ofrendas, and are also taken to the tombs in the graveyard...

The Danza de los Viejitos, Dance of the Old Men is representative dance of this region. In pre-Hispanic times this dance was performed as a ritual honoring the Sun.”