VCU news

By Cheryle Rodriguez

Andrew Chesnut, Ph.D., author and religious studies professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, is available to provide insight and analysis  about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a Mexican holiday celebrated in Mexico and around the world on Nov. 1 and 2.

Chesnut, the Bishop Walter Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies in VCU’sSchool of World Studies, part of the College of Humanities and Sciences, is an internationally recognized expert on Catholic topics. He is frequently interviewed by national and international media on Latin American religious history.

“In Mexico, Dia de los Muertos, which is one of the most anticipated times of the year, is a time to reconnect with deceased friends, family members and ancestors in a festive spirit of remembrance and celebration,” Chesnut said. “Visits to the cemetery to bring offerings to the dead, such as candles, flowers and food, are common, along with offerings left at home altars, and accompany more festive celebrations, including the striking sugar skulls, calaveras de azúcar, which have become a familiar icon of the tradition.”

Chesnut is the author of “Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint,” which analyzes the rising popularity of the folk saint that has attracted millions of devotees in both Mexico and the United States. He also is the author of “Born Again in Brazil: The Pentecostal Boom and Pathogens of Poverty” and “Competitive Spirits: Latin America’s New Religious Economy.”