Religious Festivals
This festival combines indigenous practices with Catholic All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.
What is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)?
She is the most venerated figure in Mexican Catholicism and is believed to have appeared to Juan Diego in 1531.
Who is the Virgin of Guadalupe?
This symbol, used in Day of the Dead celebrations, represents both life and death.
What is a sugar skull (calavera)?
This practice involves creating elaborate altars to honor deceased loved ones, blending Catholic and indigenous traditions.
What is building ofrendas (Day of the Dead altars)?
This Aztec goddess of fertility and earth is often associated with the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Who is Tonantzin?
This celebration on February 2 combines Catholic traditions with pre-Hispanic agricultural rituals.
What is the Feast of Our Lady of Candelaria (Fiesta de la Candelaria)?
This Aztec emperor witnessed the arrival of the Spanish and the subsequent blending of cultures.
Who is Moctezuma II (Montezuma)?
This image depicts the Virgin Mary surrounded by rays of light, blending Catholic and indigenous iconography.
What is the Virgin of Guadalupe?
This traditional Mexican dance integrates pre-Hispanic rituals with Christian themes and is performed during religious festivals.
What is the Concheros dance?
This legend tells of a ghostly woman who mourns her lost children, blending pre-Hispanic and Spanish influences.
Who is La Llorona?
This annual event includes a pilgrimage to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe, who is associated with the Aztec goddess Tonantzin.
What is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe?
This Nahua woman served as an interpreter for Hernán Cortés and played a crucial role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Who is La Malinche (Malintzin)?
These flowers, used in Day of the Dead altars, symbolize the fragility of life and death in both indigenous and Catholic traditions.
What are marigolds (cempasúchil)?
This type of pottery sculpture depicts biblical stories while incorporating indigenous symbols.
What is the Tree of Life (Árbol de la Vida)?
This serpent god was believed to have returned as Hernán Cortés, merging Aztec prophecy with historical events.
Who is Quetzalcoatl?
This festival celebrates the spring equinox with both Catholic mass and indigenous rituals at the pyramids of Teotihuacan.
What is the Spring Equinox Festival?
This Franciscan friar wrote extensively about indigenous cultures and helped preserve many pre-Hispanic traditions.
Who is Bernardino de Sahagún?
This traditional Mexican drink, often consumed during Day of the Dead celebrations, has roots in both indigenous and Spanish culinary practices.
What is atole?
This indigenous tradition of planting and harvesting using floating gardens often includes Christian blessings.
What are chinampas?
This mythical figure, often depicted as a skeleton, is celebrated during Day of the Dead and symbolizes the cycle of life and death.
What is La Catrina?
This week-long festival includes processions and reenactments of Christ’s passion, incorporating elements of indigenous culture.
What is Holy Week (Semana Santa)?
This Spanish missionary is known for defending the rights of indigenous people and documenting their cultures.
Who is Bartolomé de las Casas?
These traditional dance costumes often feature elements that blend Aztec and Christian symbols.
What are Concheros costumes?
This practice involves creating and eating a bread decorated with bones and skulls during Day of the Dead celebrations.
What is baking pan de muerto?
This legend tells of the creation of the first humans from corn, blending indigenous beliefs with Catholic creation stories.
What is the Popol Vuh?