Dia De Muertos
A blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, the holiday is celebrated each year at the beginning of November
Sharing Space for Remembrance
During this time of year, communities gather to celebrate Dia de Muertos and Undas in Mexico, the Philippines and in diaspora across the world to honor the memory of their loved ones through traditions that reinforce their continued presence in daily life.
You can contribute in honor of someone you love or submit their name to our memorial at no cost.
The Collective for Radical Death Studies' annual Día de Muertos digital ofrenda fundraiser is expanding this year to include Undas, recognizing the historical and cultural connections between traditions of honoring the beloved dead in Mexico and the Philippines.
Día de Muertos, interchangeably translated as Day of the Dead or All Souls’ Day, is the annual exaltation and remembrance of the ancestors and beloved dead who have gone before us and is rooted to both indigenous culture ways and Catholic influence in Mexico. These celebrations of our beloved dead call for ofrendas, or altars, lined with mementos of their lives lived and of their favorite things.
Now more than ever, community capacity for internal grief, public mourning, and connection is a necessity. How we love shapes how we grieve. How we grieve impacts how we live. When we account for both, our loved one’s legacies live with and through us.
As a collective that threads colonialism, justice, death, and grief together in our scholarship and pursuits, we have launched this digital altar in tandem with our October programming. From October 15 to November 30, we invite you to share the names, images, and stories of those you are remembering this season. As a way to honor those we carry with us every day and as a grassroots fundraiser supporting our mission to decolonize and de-center whiteness in global death practices.
The Richness & Ritual of Dia de Muertos
We encourage you to watch this short film by Director Monica Alvarez to better understand the richness and ritual of Día de Muertos from Lake Pátzcuaro, Mexico.
The Collective for Radical Death Studies has the pleasure of working with talented scholars deconstructing and reconstructing death stories around the world. In this video, CRDS contributor Marlene Melissa Davila discusses the Mummy Museum in Guanajuato, MX.
Across Traditions, Connected in Remembrance
Día de Muertos and Undas are annual traditions rooted in the remembrance of loved ones whose legacy remains deeply woven into community life, carrying histories of cultural exchange, adaptation, and continuity across generations. Their observances reflect the interconnected histories of the Philippines and Mexico, shaped by Spanish colonialism, Catholic influence, and Indigenous cultural practices.
Bringing Día de Muertos and Undas into a shared digital space creates the opportunity to explore these connections through cultural continuity, and community care. Each tradition retains its own unique cultural context while contributing to a collective space for honoring the dead through the influence of Spanish Catholic colonization.
Coming Soon
October 6, 2026: Ara Chawdhury, Miko Aguilar and Valeria Villegas Lindvall, PhD, join CRDS board members, Dr. Lourdes Arguelles and Mala (Trishia Frulla), to discuss the interconnectedness of both traditions.
Make a donation to the ofrenda.
This year, we expanded our annual Día de Muertos digital ofrenda fundraiser to include Undas, the Pilipino season of honoring the ancestors and deceased loved ones. By opening the community altar to both traditions, the fundraiser creates space to showcase these connections across diaspora while honoring the specific cultural practices that give each observance its unique meaning.
A donation to CRDS includes a feature of your loved one in the digital community altar as a tribute to the life and legacy being remembered. Through this shared digital ofrenda or dambana, all community members are invited to remember those they carry with them and reflect on the many ways the beloved dead remain present in our lives.
Your support helps CRDS sustain it’s ongoing work towards developing the canon of post-colonial, anti-racist death work. All legacy funds donated in honor of your loved one will be put towards hosting workshops, paying scholars and writers, and bringing anti-racist death work to communities around the world.
Add a loved one to the ofrenda for free.
Ofrendas honor the dead through names, photographs, and meaningful offerings, like marigolds or pan de muerto (bread of the dead), that reflect their taste lives and legacies. This digital community altar offers a free shared space to remember those who are mourning, missing, and celebrating their loved ones.
Submit a loved one's name to be included in the memorial at no cost.