Dia De Los Muertos - The Day of the dead
Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey
Read more on Wikipedia here In the film below we see a young girl decorating the grave of her mother. It is quite a sad scene in contrast to the party scene in the nearby village.
After a few moments a delicate blue flower grows from the grave. As the girl tries to pluck it from the ground it wraps around her wrist and pulls her down into an underground world. Here the girl meets a band of Mariachi Skeletons and a skeleton lady who takes her on a fun adventure, dancing and partying across the underworld. |
Use this short film to show children what the 'Day of the Dead' celebrations might look like.
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Soon the festivities come to an end and the girl realises the skeleton is her mother. The film shifts back to the 'real' world cemetery and we see the girl imagining she is hugging her mother once more. At this point the girl seems to be much happier, maybe because she has had an experience with her mother, she skips off down the path to join in the party.
Writing Opportunities
- Narrative - showing distinct mood changes between the party atmosphere and the cemetery.
- Narrative - Using show not tell to describe the little girl's sadness at the grave.
- Narrative - Write a story using setting shifts.
- Narrative - Write a narrative in the style of the film in 1st person where child visits ghost of someone famous, ghost of loved one, adventure with ghosts etc.
- Non - Fiction - Create information texts about day of the dead.
- Non - Fiction - Create diary entries about experiences at Day of the Dead carnival etc.