Day of the Dead Figures

Dia(s) de los Muertos

the Mexican Day(s) of the Dead

October 31 - November 2

Zanzibar sells a wide selection of dia de los Muertos Art Figures, Skeletons, Skulls, Altars, Catrinas and Catrins, Papel Picado (tissue paper banners), Sugar Skulls, Sugar Skull molds, Paper Mache breads, skull candies, Retablos & more! We have one of the largest selections of day of the dead items in Sacramento with shipments arriving daily in the month of October and throughout the year.

Visit our gallery at the corner of 18th & L Streets in Midtown Sacramento. We carry these figures year round, however our largest selection is always available in the month of October. If you're a collector and looking for sometime special or from a particular artist, let us know! Our inventory is ALWAYS changing and usually only a fraction of what we have in stock is on display in our gallery. Pictures shown here are a sampling of what we usually have. We do custom orders. Scroll down for more info on Dias de los Muertos...

The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos, Día de los Difuntos or Día de Muertos in Spanish) is a traditional holiday in Mexico and many South American countries. Based on ancient Aztec mingled with Christian beliefs, this celebration of the memory of deceased ancestors is celebrated beginning at dusk on October 31st through November 1 (All Saints Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day). While the dates overlap, it is not connected with Halloween, although it shares some historical origins. This holiday is quickly gaining popularity in America and could be considered "the new American Holiday".

These days and those leading up to them are marked by festive celebrations to honor the dead. Cemeteries are cleaned and decorated, special food and candies cooked, and home altars are designed in homage to one's ancestors. It is a day of joyous remembrance, not of sadness. The foods, toys, figures, decorations, poems, songs and other items created for El Dia de Los Muertos reflect this outlook.

Zanzibar Tribal Art Gallery carries dozens of figures, paper mache and clay skulls, skeleton figures, Fridas, Skeleton Dogs, Cats, and many other items for your day of the dead altar - from inexpensive figures to pieces by master well know artisans.

The holiday is especially popular in Mexico where it is a national holiday, however it also celebrated in the Philippines, in Mexican-American communities in the United States, and to a lesser extent, in other Latin American countries. It is a public holiday in Brazil, where many Brazilians celebrate it by visiting cemeteries and churches, bringing flowers, lighting candles and praying. Essentially, it is the fastest growing holiday (that isn't an official holiday) in the United States!

Though the subject matter may be considered morbid from the Anglo Saxon perspective, Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls Day, the traditional mood is much brighter with emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, rather than fearing evil or malevolent spirits.

The souls of children (called angelitos or "little angels") are believed to return first on the afternoon or evening of October 31 and stay through November 1st, with adult spirits following the afternoon/evening of November 1st and leaving on November 2nd.

Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the period of October 31 and November 2, families usually clean and decorate the graves. Wealthier families build altars in their homes, but most simply visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings, which often include orange marigold called Flor de Muerto, Spanish for "flower of the dead", or zempoalxochitl, Nahuatl for "twenty-flower", a term that has been carried into modern Mexican Spanish as cempazúchil) which are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings. Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels because often young children are dressed as angels when buried, as unmarried adults are often buried in wedding cloths), and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave.

Offerings are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto or sugar skulls and beverages such as atole. These ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrenda food, so even though the celebrators eat the food after the festivity, they believe it lacks nutritional value. The pillows and blankets are left out so that the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives.

Some wealthier families do build altars or small shrines in their homes. These altars usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, flowers such as marigolds, and scores of candles. Traditionally, families spend some time around the altar praying and telling anecdotes about the deceased.

Want to build your own altar? Find out here by clicking on our building a day of the dead (dia de los Muertos) altar

Public schools at all levels build altars with offerings, usually omitting the religious symbols. Government offices usually have at least a small altar, as this holiday is seen as important to the Mexican heritage.

Those with writing talent sometimes create "calaveras" – short poems mocking epitaphs of friends. This custom originated in the 18th-19th century, after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future, "and all of us were dead", proceeding to "read" the tombstones. Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of José Guadalupe Posada. Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day.

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (colloquially called calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for "skeleton"), and foods such as Candy Skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto (or "bread of the dead"), a sweet egg bread made in various shapes, from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.

The traditions and activities that take place in celebration of the Day of the Dead are not universal and often vary from town to town. For example, in the town of Pátzcuaro on the Lago de Pátzcuaro in Michoacán the tradition is very different if the deceased is a child rather than an adult. On November 1 of the year after a child's death, the godparents set a table in the parents' home with sweets, fruits, pan de muerto, a cross, a Rosary (used to pray to the Virgin Mary) and candles. This is meant to celebrate the child’s life, in respect and appreciation for the parents. There is also dancing with colorful costumes, often with skull-shaped masks and devil masks in the plaza or garden of the town. At midnight on November 2, the people light candles and ride winged boats called mariposas (Spanish for "butterfly") to Cuiseo, an island in the middle of the lake where there is a cemetery, to honor and celebrate the lives of the dead there.

The air hums with anticipation in the villages of Mexico as November approaches and with it "Dias de los Muertos" or the Days of the Dead. There is a buzz of activity as there is much to be done. Everything must be perfect for the visits from deceased relatives and friends. Graves must be cleaned and swept, weeds pulled, repairs made and painting done. The cooking will take all night: making the tamales is a long, complicated and delicate process. Spices must be ground for the moles, special pumpkin seed sweets be prepared.

Building the family altar is a very important part of the preparations. Laden with flowers, fruits, food and drink for the visiting dead, it will also be covered with treasured belongings and photographs from times past to help the visiting spirits feel at home. Jars of water are set out to quench the thirst of the dead for it will be a long journey home. Exotic brews such as tequila or pulque are on hand for those who fancied something a little stronger in their time; perhaps there is a Coca-Cola for a child. Each altar is a personal expression of the family and the expected souls.

Villagers often shop for new items for their home, altar and loved ones just before the Days of the Dead. New dishes must be purchased for offerings on the altars and for stewing spicy chicken moles because one cannot honor the dead with old crockery! The herb stands are redolent with the fragrances of ginger, corianders and whole nutmegs. Nearby, tables are piled high with the "Pan de Muerte" (bread of the dead) twisted into fanciful shapes and decorated with skulls, crossbones, and skeletons. People buy and hang papel picado (literally perforated paper) paper or mylar banners.

Children crowd around the stalls of handmade toys showing people from all walks of life as skeletons: There are ice-cream peddlers, seamstresses, dentists, secretaries at their typewriters and mechanics crouched under Volkswagens making repairs. Sugar skulls with shiny paper foil eyes twinkle in the sun. Exquisite candies in the shape of hearts, angels and tiny animals are filled with liquors of anisette. In another stall, the mellow colors of handmade candles catch the eye. A candle is lit on the altars for each soul expected. The part of the market devoted to flowers is the most enticing of all. Great bundles of crimson cockscomb and sun-yellow Tsemposuchil (flowers of the dead) are heaped up everywhere in brilliant still-life compositions. Paths of petals will be laid into the houses to help the dead find their way home.

On the evening of November first we will all converge on the cemetery. As we follow the glow of the candles into the cemetery, we can feel the spirits around us using the same lights as guideposts to their families. The mood is hushed and solemn, one of quiet fellowship. The smell of the carpets of flowers and flickering candles creates a mysterious atmosphere. The women kneel or sit all night to pray. The men will keep watch, talking softly and drinking. The children will play board games on the gravestones, finally falling asleep.

Outside of the cemetery, in the eerie light of bare light bulbs, food stands sell cooked tamales, empanadas, fresh fruit and refreshing beer and mezcal. After a short break for refreshment, our all night vigil continues in the warm glow of the cemetery. In the morning, everyone will return home and the deceased souls can return to the other world reassured that they have not been forgotten.