Pandemic Amplifies Meaning of Dia De Los Muertos This Year

Dia de los Muertos, the annual Latin American tradition of honoring the dead, will take on a special significance this year, in which the pandemic has created a collective sense of grief. While coronavirus has impacted everyone, Latinos have disproportionately felt the brunt of the pandemic both in terms of deaths and economic hardship. Dia de los Muertos is, in essence, a time of confronting death and remembering loved ones who have passed. In a society that prefers to neglect feelings of grief, cultural and spiritual expert Lara Medina says the tradition provides lessons in how to heal, cope and understand death. With Dia de los Muertos approaching next week, Medina joins us to talk about what the tradition can teach us in a year so heavily marked by loss.