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115 Chapter 8 The Commoditization of a Death Ritual In San Antonio, with its historic and current Hispanic influence, you’ll become acquainted with El Día de los Muertos—an extraordinary celebration which honors the past and celebrates the future. Explore the evolution of Indigenous and Hispanic traditions into a friendly family festival. You’ll construct a traditional altar . . . take a field trip to San Fernando Cemetery to take part in the day-long celebration, and taste foods prepared only for this special day. . . . Oct. 30–Nov. 3, 2004—$444.00 double, $564.00 single. (Elderhostel 2004, 14) As Day of the Dead has grown more popular in the United States, its material culture and rituals have become increasingly commoditized—a process in which everyday objects or resources that were traditionally not considered “commodities” are transformed into objects exchangeable in the market for monetary or other advantage. This has provoked consternation among those who feel that commoditization jeopardizes the celebration’s authenticity.A look at the marketing of Day of the Dead events and products provides us with an opportunity to consider differing perspectives regarding the commoditization of culture—a phenomenon that is alternately praised or lamented by observers. Although commoditization does not always involve monetary exchange, the related process of commercialization (the act of involving something in commerce) is done expressly for financial gain. As this chapter will reveal, these are distinct processes that occur in a variety of social and economic contexts, resulting in a variety of consequences that do not automatically correlate with cultural degeneration or exploitation. What follows is a closer look at some of the paradoxical ways that consumer culture in the United States and Mexico has intersected with Day of the Dead traditions, both capitalizing upon and revitalizing them. Marketplace Offerings In the United States, folk art vendors, museum gift shops, and Southwestern tourist areas sell Muertos merchandise such as sugar skulls, Day of the Dead coloring books, T-shirts, calendars, mouse pads, tequila glasses, coffeetable books, posters, paintings, sculptures, greeting cards, skeleton figurines, papier-mâché skeletons, skull-themed jewelry, educational videos, and do-ityourself altar kits in a box.1 All seven of the Latin American folk art shops I contacted reported that Day of the Dead season was their most lucrative time of the year, outpacing even Christmas sales.Amazon.com and other Internet sites sell many of these goods, as well as more unique collector’s items such as Day of the Dead handbags, night-lights, and calavera cuff links. From late September until early November in cities from Anchorage to Topeka and beyond, Mexican folk crafts that were traditionally learned from family relatives (i.e., how to make paper flowers, bread for the dead, and altars) are taught to U.S. audiences in advertised workshops. Nonprofit art galleries and community centers based in Latino neighborhoods offer such workshops to predominantly working-class, minority constituents, but for-profit galleries and folk art stores charge higher prices for the same workshops, catering to middle-class families and professionals (especially teachers), who are often non-Latino.As a point of comparison, community centers offer workshops for free (or for a nominal cost, such as a dollar per person) on how to make altars, sugar skulls, and pan de muerto. For-profit vendors charge an average of ten to fifteen dollars per person for sugar-skull workshops; as much as twenty dollars per person for “Dead Bread” workshops; and twenty-five to fifty dollars per person to make personal-sized mini-altars (nichos).2 Attending a Day of the Dead exhibit at a community center or Latino art gallery is free, while attending a similar exhibit at a museum typically costs from five to fifteen dollars per person.3 While many people who buy Day of the Dead merchandise create home altars and enthusiastically incorporate the holiday into their lives as an annual time to remember loved ones, others purchase these objects simply because they are considered “quirky” and “cool.” Day of the Dead motifs have come to signal ethnic chic, and are now found year-round in contexts that have no connection to the celebration. For example, Día de los Muertos embroidery packets (with designs of skulls, bride and groom skeletons, candles, marigolds, and the Virgin of Guadalupe) can be purchased on the self-described “Hip Embroidery”Web site, www.sublimestitching.com.Advertising that “Embroidery Rocks!” and “This Ain’t Your Gramma’s Embroidery,” the site aims to make an...

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