uh.. Mexican here. We celebrate both, so can you. We don costumes and go trick or treating. And yes, *you* can celebrate Día de muertos as well! even if you’re not Mexican. And no one but the most staunch old school conservatives here will consider it disrespectful or a form of cultural appropriation. It’s a fucking public holiday, not a competition to see who can remain the most pure to ancient traditions while pushing out foreign curiosity.
El día de muertos is actually our very own mishmash of All Saints’ Eve (from western European Catholicism) with some pre-Columbian traditions and aesthetics. So, yeah, the original concept is not even truly “ours”.
Latinamerican representation is awesome, and I know that I, as a Mexican, love seeing any type of content that acknowledges us. This should not turn into one of those cultural appropriation outrages: we love Speedy Gonzalez, and are not offended by Mario wearing a folkloric hat & poncho combo… unless its mean spirited or clearly meant to be insulting, even those exaggerated and overtly theatrical speech patterns of telenovelas can be a form of representation, some of which we usually find really funny. The very fact that our culture, language, cuisine or customs are held in awe or consideration should be something to enjoy and cherish, but above all share with the world.
Want to respect and honor Mexican culture? Come along with us and learn to laugh at tragedy, laugh at death, learn to balance the grief of their absence with the memory of good times with those who left, and decorate their graves with vivid colors.
But above all: Don’t try to turn Mexicans into a strange, alien and segregationist culture. Gatekeeping is bad
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