Pablo Remembers the Fiesta of the Day of
the Dead
Book Review:
This book is about a family in Oaxaca, Mexico that is preparing for
the celebration of El día de los muertos, The Day of the
Dead. Pablo and his sisters help their mother and father prepare for
this special day that will honor their grandmother who died. Pablo takes
us into the streets of the market place of Oaxaca where he and his family
shop for the supplies needed for constructing an altar. They buy oranges,
chiles, apples, pan de muertos, candles, sugarcane, spices,
cempasuchil (marigolds), and sugar skulls for the altar. When
they arrive at home, the children set up the altar for their grandmother
by putting a tablecloth on a table and covering the altar with all the
provisions bought while at the market place. Meanwhile, their mother
is busy making the traditional food for the festival: tamales,
tortillas, and mole. The next day they go to the cemetery
to visit the grave of the deceased grandmother. They take flowers, candles,
and offerings of food to their grandmother, clean the graves and picnic
there all day.
The illustrations in the book are great. Photojournalist George Ancona
brings to life the preparation of El día de los muertos
in his photographs taken in Oaxaca, Mexico. The different items in the
marketplace, Pablo's home, his family, the altars, and the cemetery
transport readers to help them experience another culture.
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