Hello, my name is Berenice 🙂 

I am from Mexico, and one of the things I enjoy most about being an intern at this company is the opportunity to interact with colleagues from different countries. This leads to a cultural exchange that allows us to broaden our ability to adapt to multicultural work environments in future jobs. That is why I would like to share a bit about my culture with you.

I am sure you have heard about the Aztec culture or Tenochtitlan. This ancient civilization plays a significant role in our culture and is the cornerstone of one of Mexico’s most important celebrations, “Día de Muertos.” In this civilization, the structure of the universe was divided into the 

Heaven, the earth, and the underworld, also called the land of the dead or Mictlan. Warriors, women who died in childbirth, and stillbirth babies had direct passage to paradise in the 13th heaven, while other deceased individuals had to pass through the land of the dead. 

The underworld was ruled by Mictlantecuhtli and the fearsome Mictlancihuatl, “the lord and lady of the land of the dead.” It was composed of nine levels, including the place where one crosses the river, where mountains collide, the mountain of knives, and where the wind of knives or icy wind blows, among others. Each level in Mictlán represented a challenge for the soul of the deceased, allowing for the disintegration of their material being to enter a state of nothingness, understood as a place of rest at the bottom of the underworld. 

Initially, the dead altar consisted of nine levels or steps, each representing one of the levels of the underworld. On it, the family of the deceased would place objects and food believed to help their loved one complete the levels of Mictlan and thus reach eternal rest. This has changed over time, but altars are still used to remember and celebrate those who have passed away.