Pan de muerto

Pan de muerto(Spanishfor 'bread of the dead') is a type ofpan dulcetraditionally baked inMexicoand theMexican diasporaduring the weeks leading up to theDía de Muertos, which is celebrated from November 1 to November 2.
It is a sweetened soft bread shaped like abun, often decorated withbone-shapedphalanxpieces.Some traditions state that the rounded or domed top of the bread represents agrave.Bread of the dead usually hasskullsorcrossbonesadded in extra dough.The bones represent the deceased one (difuntosordifuntas), or perhaps bones coming out of a grave, there is normally a bakedteardrop on the bread to represent goddessChīmalmā's tears for the living.The bones are often represented in a circle to portray thecircle of life. The bread is topped withsugar, sometimes white and sometimes dyed pink.This bread can be found in Mexicangrocery storesin the U.S.
The classic recipe forpan de muertois a simplesweet breadrecipe, often with the addition ofaniseseeds, and other times flavored withorange flower wateror orangezest.The bread often contains some fat, such asbutter. Its texture has been described as similar to that ofchallah,brioche, or falling between aconchaand ahamburger bun.
Other variations are made depending on the region or the baker. The one baking the bread will usually wear decoratedwristbands, a tradition which was originally practiced to protect from burns on the stove or oven.
Pan de muerto is eaten on Día de Muertos, at thegravesiteor alternatively, at a domestic altar called anofrenda.In some regions, it is eaten for months before the official celebration of Dia de Muertos. As part of the celebration, loved ones eat pan de muerto as well as the relative's favorite foods, but not those that have been placed on theofrenda. It is believed the spirits do not eat, but absorb its essence, along with water at their ofrenda, after their long journey back to Earth.
The Day of the Dead is an example of Spanish-indigenous cultural mixing. Wheat and the baking culture were introduced to America by the Spanish, so it is not uncommon to see that many classicMexican breads, such ascemita,pan bazoortelera, have their respective counterparts in Spain. For its part, thepan de muertohas its origin in thepan de ánimas('soul bread'),avotiveproduct (an offering) that was formerly prepared for All Saints and Faithful Departed (November 1 and 2) in areas ofCastile,Portugal,AragonandSicily(among other places) to honor to deceased loved ones.The parishioners came annually to the cemetery and put bread, wine and flowers on the graves.The bread was blessed by the local priest, so it was also known aspan bendecido("blessed bread").During theViceroyalty of New Spain, thepan de ánimaswas used by the Spanish as an offering for their dead, and was assimilated by the indigenous people because of their pre-Hispanic beliefs.At first, the breads produced in Mexico were crude and poorly developed doughs, but over time, the country strengthened its baking tradition by making increasingly refined pieces.In certain Mexican states, such asPueblaorTlaxcala(both with noticeable Spanish influence),pan de muertosis still occasionally calledpan de ánimas.
A frequently repeated myth explains that the Mexican bread of the dead dates back to thepre-Hispanic custom of human sacrifice: "A maiden was offered to the gods, and they placed her still beating heart in a pot withamaranth, they had to bite it as a symbol of gratitude".Legend has it that theconquistadors, disgusted with the cannibalistic practice, forced the natives to replace the heart with a nice sweet bun.Although this origin is not true, it serves to interpret the "ritual" meaning of the dead bread, since it is an allegory of the deceased person: the circular shape symbolizes the cycle of life and death; the ball of dough in the center is the skull, as well as the decoration that represents the bones, symbolically arranged in the shape of a cross. Thus, the bread comes to embody the dead person himself. In the words of José Luis Curiel Monteagudo: "Eating the dead is a true pleasure for the Mexican, it is considered the anthropophagy of bread and sugar. The phenomenon is assimilated with respect and irony, death is challenged, they make fun of it by eating it."
Various Mexican public institutions omit the Hispano-Christian origin ofpan de muerto, attributing it to pre-Hispanic preparations. For example, theNational Institute of Indigenous Peoplesrelates the bread of the dead with thepapalotlaxcalli. According to the chronicles ofFray Bernardino de Sahagún, thepapalotlaxcalliwas literally a butterfly (papalotl)-shapedtortilla(tlaxcalli) that was offered to women who died in childbirth orCihuapipiltin.Likewise, the blog of the Cuautitlán Izcalli University points out another possible ancestor of thepan de muerto, thehuitlatamalli, a votivetamale.Thepapalotlaxcallias remote origin of the bread of the dead is a thesis defended by theGovernment of Mexicoon its website,and it is the most widespread theory today.The Spanishpan de ánimasis not mentioned at any time in the theories disclosed by these three entities. However, the very composition of the ingredients of thepan de muertoreveals its origin: wheat, cane sugar, cow's milk and butter, eggs and orange aroma. All these products arrived in America in what is known as the "Columbian exchange". According to Dr.Malvido (1999), although much weight has been given to pre-Hispanic ideas in the celebration of the Day of the Dead, the influence that the Spanish culture and Catholic religion has exerted in colonial Mexico is also very important. According to this author, in an essay published by theNational Institute of Anthropology and History: "continuing to think that [thepan de muerto] is a tradition of pre-Hispanic origin means that we did not understand anything, since it is profoundly Roman".With theindustrialization of Europe, the traditions ofpanes de ánimas('soul breads') disappeared from the Old Continent, but curiously the tradition is still alive on the other side of the ocean, in Mexico, as well as in theCentral Andes, where the bread of the dead is known asguaguaortanwawa.
In this regard, Stanley Brandes, historian and anthropologist of Mexican culture (and in particular of the Day of the Dead), comments:
Until the1970s and 1980s in the United States,pan de muertowas not common in celebrations of what was then largely calledAll Saints' Day, but the rise ofChicano cultural activismlead to an embrace of the bread, public altars, and the nameDia de los Muertos.In Latin communities in Los Angeles, for example, many public altars serve as protests, such as those dedicated to the victims ofpolice brutality.
With the rise of globalized cultural awareness starting in the 1990s, pan de muerto has become a cultural ambassador for Mexican popular culture. A 2019 Japanese exhibition at theNational Museum of Ethnologyon Mexican folk art, for example, included a baking demonstration and samples of the bread for visitors.As a form of cultural outreach and collaboration with local communities, some American museums and institutions create public altars that include pan de muerto.
InSan Andrés Mixquic,despeinadas(literally,unkempt or unbrushed ones) are made withsprinklesandsesameseeds.
Muertes(deaths), made in theState of Mexico, are made with a mix of sweet and plain dough with a small amount ofcinnamon. Other types in the region includegorditas de maíz,aparejos de huevo(egg sinkers, apparently afterfishing weights) andhuesos(bones).
InMichoacán, breads includepan de ofrenda(offering bread), the shinypan de hule(rubber bread), and corn-basedcorundas, made withtomato sauceandchile de árbol.
InPuebla, and in diaspora communities, the bread often is coated with bright pink sugar.Within Puebla, there are further regional specializations, with towns such as San Sebastián Zinacatepec known for baking pan de muerto.
While the bread has always been an expression of popular religious celebrations, by the late 2010s,pan de muertohad become more known through several American pop culture representations. It appeared in the 2017 Pixar filmCoco, which broadened recognition of the bread outside the Mexican diaspora.In the award-winningyoung adultnovelCemetery Boysby Latino-American authorAiden Thomas(2020),pan de muertois a central component in a Dia de los Muertos celebration.