Undas
A blend of precolonial Pilipino ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, this holiday is celebrated in early November
Sharing Space for Remembrance
During this time of year, communities gather to celebrate Undas and Dia de Muertos in the Philippines, Mexico 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 donate in honor of someone your mourning 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.
Undas, from the spanish word honras, 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 Spanish Catholic influence. These celebrations of our beloved dead call for dambanas, also known as 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 decolonization, 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. We offer this grassroots fundraiser as a way to honor those we carry with us every day to support our mission to decolonize and de-center whiteness in global death practices.
How Pilipinos Celebrate Undas
Undas is an annual time of remembrance in the Philippines, when families and communities gather to honor their ancestors and beloved dead. Cemetery visits, prayers, candles, flowers, and shared meals are among the traditions through which loved ones are remembered and their continued presence in daily life affirmed.
These practices reflect the many ways remembrance in the Philippines is woven into family, community, and cultural identity. Observances can vary across regions, families, and faith traditions, but this season offers an opportunity to reflect on the relationships between the living and the dead, and the traditions through which those relationships endure.
Miko Aguilar shares more about his experience celebrating Undas in Metro Manila, Philippines.
Across Traditions, Connected in Remembrance
Undas and Día de Muertos 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 Undas and Día de Muertos 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.
Dambanas honor the dead through names, photographs, and other meaningful offerings, like rosaries or pusô (hanging rice), that reflect their 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.