The Reception of Día de Muertos and Frida Kahlo and Their Reincarnations in the United Kingdom (2015–2020): A Question of Cultural Degeneration or Rejuvenation (Again!)?

Abstract

Abstract Día de Muertos, its (mis)appropriation and ‘halloweenization’, is an underexplored area in the context of recent (non-)British cultural production examples and the reception and consumption of this phenomenon in the UK (2015–2020). Appadurian mediascapes (Coco [2017], [online] media, Strictly Come Dancing [2004–]) and retailers reinforce halloweenized understandings of this Mexican practice, whilst awareness of Día is propelled by local community events. The 2018 Frida Kahlo Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition conflates Día with the similarly deterritorialized (García Canclini), halloweenized artist. The co-optation of Kahlo/Día as globalized reincarnations provoke opposing responses, from appropriation as either denigrative or culturally/economically beneficial.