WATCH: A brief history of the Day of the Dead holiday
Day of the Dead, or el Día de los Muertos, has been celebrated for centuries in Central America. Let’s trace back some of its history.
Nicole Schaub, The Republic | azcentral.com
As Día de los Muertos approaches, Arizona grocery stores stock their bakery shelves with traditional pan dulce and sweet breads that help families honor loved ones with flavor and memory.
Conchas, empanadas, pan de huevo and pan de muerto were among variants that could be found at Food City, Ranch Market and El Super locations across the Valley.
Here’s a look at where you can get Mexican sweet bread ahead of Día de los Muertos on Nov. 1.
Which Arizona grocery stores sell pan dulce for Día de Muertos?
Food City, Ranch Market, and El Super, all have pan dulce and other Mexican sweet breads available year-round, including during Día de los Muertos.
Most of these stores offer self-serve bakeries for shoppers to select their favorite sweet breads.
Some Food City locations have specific checkouts at the bakery for shoppers buying pan dulce.
What kind of pan dulce are available Día de los Muertos?
Pan dulce sold year round included iconic conchas with their grid-like sugar crust, animal-shaped molasses cookies called puerquitos, also known as cochitos, and seasonal variants, like pumpkin empanadas.
Some bakeries also offer Americanized options, such as chocolate chip conchas or muffin-style sweet breads.
How much is pan dulce at Arizona grocery stores?
Food City and El Super had pan dulce options most for $0.98 each.
El Super had larger pan de muerto for $3.99 each.
Why is food part of Día de los Muertos celebrations?
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday that honors and remembers loved ones who have passed.
Decorative ofrendas often include the favorite foods of those being remembered.
For many, that included sweet breads like pan dulce.
Día de los Muertos is all about celebration, remembrance and joy, turning grief into a festival of life.
Arizona Republic reporter Tiffany Acosta contributed to this article.
Rey Covarrubias Jr. reports for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@gannett.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.