Day of the Dead in San Antonio
How is Day of the Dead celebrated in some parts of the United States?
October 27th, 2022
If you are ever in the San Antonio area around the end of October, consider attending the Spiritlandia parade. This is the kick-off event for San Antonio’s Day of the Dead festival, the largest in the U.S. This will be the first nationally televised Day of the Dead event in the United States. On November 1st, it will be broadcast as a one-hour television special streaming on Peacock.
This river parade gives the true meaning of ‘floats’ to a parade. The traditional barges used for scenic tours on the San Antonio Riverwalk are converted into beautiful, colorful floats, complete with music and dancing.
How would you use this celebration in Spanish class?
Here is a quick way to present one event from the biggest US Day of the Dead celebration.
Project the flipbook of photos from the parade in San Antonio, Texas. After showing those photos, display photos from other parades or the like from Mexico.
To go more in-depth with the comparisons, use the information provided on the official event website to make comparisons between Mexico and some regions of the United States.
See the full website here:
Students would make a Venn diagram to capture their thinking.
What are the cultural items present in the celebration?
What cultural items are only in one of the countries?
What do people do during these celebrations?
What do some people wear?
Follow up questions:
Do you think most people believe in the ideas behind the celebration?
What makes you say that?
Why do you think the celebration has become popular in the last few years?
What evidence do you have?
What is one element of the celebration that is intriguing to you?