Mexican soul food: celebrate the memory of the departed with spirited feasting during Mexico's Day of the Dead - includes recipes

Vegetarian Times, Oct, 1996 by Jennifer L. Viegas

ONCE I TOOK a bus tour in Mexico that involved traveling over some steep, winding terrain. Along the roadside I noticed crosses surrounded by flowers and bits of smashed windshields to honor those who met their fate along the same journey. To alleviate my fears, I joked about the alarming sight with a fellow passenger who shared in my humor, but he also explained that, for our hosts, immortality is in remembrance.

E1 Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is reserved to strengthen this belief. Its origins go back to Roman times when one god, Osiris, represented death, food and life. Ancient pre-Hispanic cultures, such as the Mayas and the Aztecs, also made strong connections between death and life by enacting a form of ancestral worship.

The Day of the Dead actually is held over three days, October 31, All Hallows Eve; November 1, All Saints' Day; and November 2, All Souls' Day. All Hallows Eve is a time for fun and revelry. It sets a welcoming tone for the return of spirits of the dead. Like the Christian and pagan holiday Halloween, which evolved from a day of prayer for children who had died, Day of the Dead festivity includes children dressing in ghostly garb to collect candy treats.

The Mexicans mock death with gruesome costumes, paper cutouts with funny, yet macabre, themes and calacas, which are skeleton figurines shown at work and play. Instead of death being referred to as something fearful and unknown, it is associated with the pleasant and mundane. Calaveras de dulce, sugar skulls, are one popular example. Children write their names on the calaveras before placing them on homemade altars to welcome and honor deceased relatives.

In addition to calaveras, the altars consist of photos, candles, religious symbols and ofrendas, or offerings. An altar for a child may have a toy, soda, fruit or candy ofrendas, things that were enjoyed in life. Depending on the individual being honored, adult ofrendas may include favorite foods, a glass of tequila or even a pack of cigarettes.

The flowers of the dead-marigolds, purple cockscomb and baby's breath-mounds of fresh fruits and loaves of pan de muerto, special bread baked for Day of the Dead celebrations, are common offerings at most altars.

On All Hallows Eve, children's altar candles burn to welcome the angelitos, departed children who have become little angels. A breakfast, or merienda, featuring sweet dishes and drinks, is held the following morning, All Saints' Day. In the afternoon, bells toll to signal the arrival of adult spirits. Relatives visit each other bearing canastas, or baskets, full of pumpkin sweets, flowers and candles. Altar candles for adults are lit and a traditional evening meal of tamales and delicious moles-sauces of chocolate, chilies, spices and seeds-is served. A few tamales with mole often are placed on the altars.

November 2, All Souls' Day, is when families gather in cemeteries to tend grave sites. What would appear to be a somber task really is quite a festive event. Food vendors set up shop just outside the cemeteries to cater to the crowds. Families picnic, sing songs and play ganbes. Good memories about the deceased are shared throughout the celebration.

In the afternoon church bells stop ringing and firecrackers explode, heralding the departure of all spirits. Until next year, their physical presence symbolically is no longer in this world. It is time to get on with life as we know it, though in such remembrance, the spirits of the dead will live forever.

Pan de Muerto

Orange- and anise-scented "bread of the dead" will, literally, lift your spirits. Even more flavorful the second day, the treat is wonderful toasted, buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

1/4-oz. packet active dry yeast (about 1 Tbs.) 1/4 cup warm water 2 tsp. sugar, divided 1/4 cup milk or soymilk 2 tsp. anise seeds 1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut into small pieces 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp. orange flower water (see glossary, p. 134 ) 2 Tbs. orange zest 1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs, room temperature 2/3 cup whole wheat flour 1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tsp. milk or soymilk 1 Tbs. sugar

IN LARGE MIXING BOWL, dissolve yeast in warm water with I teaspoon sugar. Set aside until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, scald milk or soymilk and anise seeds in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in butter or margarine, 1/4 cup sugar, orange flower water, orange zest and salt. Cook until butter melts; set aside to cool until lukewarm.

Beat eggs into yeast mixture. Add milk mixture; whisk until blended.

Add flours; stir with wooden spoon until dough forms ball. Turn dough out onto well-floured surface; knead for 5 minutes. Put dough back into mixing bowl; cover. Set in warm place to rise until doubled in size, 1 X to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Turn dough out; punch down. Knead again for 2 minutes. Pinch off 1/2 cup dough; form remaining dough into round loaf. Divide reserved piece of dough in half and roll into 2 bone-shaped pieces. Cross "bones" over top of loaf. Allow dough to rise again for an hour.