A sacred and joyful celebration deeply rooted in Mexican and Mexican American culture.
All Souls Day—El Día de los Muertos—is a sacred and joyful celebration deeply rooted in Mexican and Mexican American culture. Observed this coming Sunday on November 2nd, it is a time when families gather to honor and remember their departed loved ones, not with sorrow, but with vibrant altars, marigolds, candles, and offerings of food, music, and memories. It is a day when the veil between the living and the dead is believed to thin, allowing spirits to return and be welcomed home. In this spirit of remembrance and love, I share my story—woven with tradition, laughter, and the enduring presence of those who came before us.
During The Day of the Dead, one of the most distinctive and endearing elements of the celebration are the literary skulls – satirical poems that pay tribute to the living and the dead with humor, ingenuity and affection. These compositions, which play with the figure of death, allow us to reflect on life and memory in a light but meaningful way. In Mexican and Mexican-American communities, writing and sharing skulls has become a tradition that unites generations, preserves culture and transforms mourning into living poetry.
Durante El Día de los Muertos, uno de los elementos más distintivos y entrañables de la celebración son las calaveras literarias—poemas satíricos que rinden homenaje a los vivos y a los muertos con humor, ingenio y cariño. Estas composiciones, que juegan con la figura de la muerte, nos permiten reflexionar sobre la vida y la memoria de una manera ligera pero significativa. En las comunidades mexicanas y mexicoamericanas, escribir y compartir calaveras se ha convertido en una tradición que une generaciones, preserva la cultura y transforma el duelo en poesía viva.
Calavera poems could also be written for people who are still alive. In many cases, they could be penned for any festive or special occasion.
I had heard about the Calavera poems from Mamá, who told me that they were very popular in Mexico around El Día de Los Muertos (All Souls Day). In the barrio El Azteca in Laredo, Texas, I also remember hearing people talk about this particular poem when I was growing up in the 1940s and 1950s. And, when I was the director of the Bilingual/Bicultural Education Program at the South San Antonio ISD, one of my teachers, Marie Mayoral, wrote a Calavera poem in my honor. I then realized that Calavera poems could also be written for people who are still alive. In many cases, they could be penned for any festive or special occasion. But mostly they are common when a friend, an acquaintance, or a well-known person passes away and one wants to pay homage since Calaveras are eulogies written in satirical verse.
A dear friend and fellow alumnus from St. Augustine High School, Jesús “Jesse” Treviño, and retired educator, wrote this Calavera in my honor. I have forwarded it to Rosa María for her to read at the workshop. Jesse graduated with my sister Lupe from St. Augustine High School in 1963, and his sister Petrita graduated with me in 1965. He is on my mailing list and he always signs his emails, “El Chuy de siempre.”
Calavera al recuerdo del Azteca de J. Gilberto Quezada
Al historiador famoso
de Don Gilberto Quezada,
no pudo el diablo agarrarlo –
por no saber donde estaba.
Y es que aquel favorito de la diosa Clio,
que tantos cantos a ella le habia dedicado,
se encontraba en su honorable estudio,
removiendo los viejos huesos del Laredo del pasado.
El gran Satanas creia que aquel barrio del Azteca,
ya sus diablitos habian para siempre enterrado.
Y no te sorprenda, lector, que asi Lucifer pensaba,
pues pocos rastros terrenes los pingos habian dejado.
Al pasar a mejor mundo nuestros viejos compañeros,
al ir a podrirse por la avenida de Saunders,
se empezaron a perder no solo sus viejos huesos,
sino que tambien los sitios por donde antes se paseaban.
No nos asustan el crujir de los huesos de nuestro viejo esqueleto,
ni las ruinas que hoy llenan a nuestro barrio querido.
Siempre quedara el recuerdo, con la ayuda de Quezada,
y tendremos lo que nuestros viejos nos enseñaron –
a la Esperanza – y a la muerte avasallada
El Chuy de siempre
Not just a celebration of those who have passed
El Día de los Muertos—All Souls Day—no es solo una celebración de los que se han ido, sino un homenaje vivo a la memoria, el humor y la herencia. Desde el barrio El Azteca hasta las aulas del Distrito Escolar de South San Antonio, las calaveras resuenan con risa y respeto, recordándonos que el recuerdo puede ser alegre, poético y profundamente íntimo. Al honrar a nuestros antepasados y a quienes moldearon nuestras comunidades, llevamos su espíritu hacia adelante—no en silencio, sino en verso.
All Souls Day—El Día de los Muertos—is not just a celebration of those who have passed, but a living tribute to memory, humor, and heritage. From the barrio El Azteca to the classrooms of the South San Antonio Independent School District, the Calavera poems echo with laughter and reverence, reminding us that remembrance can be joyful, poetic, and deeply personal. As we honor our ancestors and those who shaped our communities, we carry forward their spirit—not in silence, but in verse.
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Copyright 2025 by Gilberto Quezada. All photos in this blog copyrighted by Barrio Dog Productions, Inc. and used with permission.