(i am writing on my computer so i don’t have accent marks…i apologize in advance).
Dia de los Muertos was celebrated this past weekend with great enthusiasm. People put up offering tables piled high with food and drinks and flowers in order that all loved ones that have died can return and have enough food for the following year. When you’re walking down the street, you see trails of marigold petals leading into houses which are meant to lead the dead to where the tables are.
Although these days are very close to Halloween (Dia de los Muertos is the 1st of Nov but it’s often celebrated the day after as well), they are not related, as far as I know. I feel like Halloween is mostly about dressing up and getting candy, but Dia de los Muertos is much more about the memories of your loved ones. There was a dance (of course) and all of my friends came back from university and it was great fun in general.
This link, from the BBC, is great. We hear the music that’s playing in the first half of the clip ALL the time. The costumes that people are wearing are also very common, as is the bouncy dance that people are doing. The second half of the link shows more of what goes on in houses here….the flowers, the food and drinks that are put out as offerings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7705462.stm
Enjoy 
