RIHLA #19

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Salutations my kitten bats!

This time I have no exciting updates on my life. The only thing that you can, by far, count as exciting was when I watched Black Veils Brides music videos while my friend was at their concert (they were at the House of Blues last Thursday). If you have not caught one yet, I'm a rocker. I listen to everything (form 80's Depeche Mode to Slipknow to Greenday to Metallica to Avenged Sevenfold and some many more).

Now onto exciting business: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the dead)! Started atleast 3,000 years ago by tha Aztecs, it still survives strong today. When the Spanish Conquistadors first landed in Mexico, they thought that Dia de los Muertos was mocking the dead instead of celebrating theit awakening and tried to squash the Aztec's culture. Although they lost their land, the Aztecs managed to preserve their culture. The ritual of Dia de los Muertos merged with Catholicism and perservered through the Conquistadors allegations and is now celebrated on November 1st and 2nd (All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day). People celebrate Dia de los Muertos by making alters in honor of their deceased loved ones, cleaning up family gravesites, and making sugar skulls with the deceased's name on it that is eaten by relatives.

I've known about Dia de los Muertos for some time now. I've never had the courage to ask my family if we could celebrate it (I am a european mutt of descendant); however, I do encourage my hispanic friends to celebrate it. This year I might piggy-back and ask if I could celebrate Dia de los Muertos with one of their families and make my own alter for my late Uncle Kent. I am happy to know that the Aztecs fought back and managed to save this aspect of their culture.

This relates to what I am currently learning in class because we have just covered the conquest of the Americas.

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