Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake. "The pre-Hispanic people honored duality as being dynamic," said Christina Gonzalez, senior lecturer on Hispanic issues at Arizona State University. "They didn't separate death from pain, wealth from poverty like they do in Western cultures."

    The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. Today, people don wooden skull masks called “calacas” and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to a dead friend or relative.

    To make the ritual more Christian, the Catholic Church moved it so it coincided with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2), when it is celebrated today. Previously it fell on the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar, approximately the beginning of August, and was celebrated for the entire month. The Aztec festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl, the "Lady of the Dead," believed to have died at birth. Today most symbols and icons are Christian.

    Day of the Dead is still celebrated in Mexico and in certain parts of the United States and Central America. In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. They decorate gravesites with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults. They sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones.

In the United States and in Mexico's larger cities, families build altars in their homes, dedicating them to the dead. They surround these altars with flowers, food and pictures of the deceased. They light candles and place them next to the altar.

In Hispanic culture, the Day of the Dead is a celebration of life. Thus the name of the show is La Muerte Vive or “life from death.”

Origins of Festival de la Gente
    Festival de la Gente? was conceived in 1999 to provide a venue for local artists and musicians to showcase their talent, preserve the tradition of Día de los Muertos and bring the community a unique event that encourages the celebration of life and provides an opportunity to honor their ancestors. Festival de la Gente Inc. was formed in 2003 to bring the event to a new venue and to include the involvement of community based organizations and commercial sponsors.

    The new location, on the 6th Street Bridge, has allowed Festival de la Gente to produce a larger, more spectacular event with A-list talent and support from major media outlets. The historic three-quarter-mile-long 6th Street Bridge provides the perfect backdrop for Festival de la Gente to create a carnivale-like atmosphere featuring Arte Calidad’s fabulous inventory of papel maché puppets, such as 80-foot calaveras (skeletons), a 20-foot feathered serpent and a 20-foot Aztec sun.