Spook your Spanish-speaking Friends with These Popular Costumes!
Halloween is a celebration of all that’s scary. It’s one of the oldest holidays we celebrate and a personal favorite of mine! Traditionally, Mexico and Central America only celebrated Día de los Muertos on November 1st. Halloween has been celebrated to a lesser extent, and it only became a big holiday in recent years.
As the month of October creeps in, you can start to hear people talking about what their costume plans are and where they plan to show them off. Venues start scheduling themed events, costume contests with cash prizes, and spooky rock bands to entertain ghouls and ghosts all night long.
Popular Costumes in Latinoamérica
- Catrín/Catrina
You’ve probably seen these in movies before, and there’s no going wrong when you dress as a Catrín or Catrina. On any normal day, Catrín is a word to describe someone who’s high class and elegant, but on Halloween, Catrín is the name of the traditional decorated skull costume from México. These costumes usually have the person wear a suit or a dress coupled with the makeup. If you’re in México, you can get your Catrín makeup in almost any street! It’s common for locals to go out and offer to paint your face for cheap, and they do a great job too. Don‘t worry, they also take hygiene into account.
- El Sombrerón
One of the old folk tales in Latinoamérica, El Sombrerón, is a short man with a huge hat that hides his evil intentions. Young girls beware, for he’ll perch upon your window at night and sing a hypnotizing serenade that will deprive you of sleep and hunger, ultimately leading to an untimely death. To rid yourself of El Sombrerón’s evil song, you must cut your hair short, for this will make him lose interest in you and move on to his next victim.
To dress as El Sombrerón, all you need is a Mariachi outfit with a BIG hat and a tiny guitar. Alternatively, you can dress in all white with a straw hat as well!
As the young man walks through the night, ready to go home after a night of partying, he finds the silhouette of a beautiful woman by the river, brushing her hair with a golden comb. Entranced by her beauty, he slowly approaches her. When he is close enough, the young man shrieks in fear as La Siguanaba reveals her face is actually a horse skull, and then he dies of shock as La Siguanaba devours his soul.
- La Siguanaba
If you want to dress as this character, all you need is a dress, a straight black wig, and a horse mask (you can even make a comical version of the costume using the famous internet horse mask!). It’s an easy costume that reminds young men to be loyal to their partners, for La Siguanaba hunts unfaithful men!
Words and Phrases to Celebrate Halloween
And how do you say Halloween in Spanish, you ask? That’s easy, Halloween! Just like ‘taco’ was adopted from Spanish to Egnlish, Halloween was adopted from English to Spanish. You’ll find some more common Halloween words and phrases below so you too can be ready to be scary with your Spanish speaking friends!
| English | Spanish |
| Trick or treat | Dulce o travesura |
| Ghost | El fantasma |
| Costume | El disfraz |
| Candy | Los dulces |
| Skeleton | El esqueleto |
| Horror movie | Película de miedo |
| Jack-o’-lantern | La linterna de calabaza |
| Witch | La bruja |
| Monster | El monstruo |
| Pumpkin | La calabaza |
| Princess | La princesa |
| Superhero | El superhéroe |
| Spider | La araña |
| Wig | La peluca |
| Mask | La máscara |
| Face paint | La pintura de cara |
| Let’s dress up! | ¡Disfracémonos! |
| That’s not scary! | ¡Eso no da miedo! |
| That’s so scary! | ¡Qué miedo! |
November 1st Is Also an Important Day in Latinoamérica!
If you’ve ever been to a graveyard you’ll know it’s not the happiest place to be in. Día de los Muertos changes that. Starting early in the morning, families visit their loved ones in the graveyard. They decorate the tombs and eat festive foods of all kinds, one of which is the famous pan de muerto, or dead man’s bread. Decorations are usually colorful and vibrant, like giant kites and sugar skulls. If you’re in México or Central America, I highly recommend you ask around about November 1st celebrations. Even though it’s mostly a family holiday, most towns make events open to everybody, and they’re usually a lot of fun.
Learning Spanish can be scary – make it fun by trying a free class at Homeschool Spanish Academy and start practicing today!
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