Latino families to honor their loved ones on Day of the Dead

by Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista

With less than a week remaining to “officially” celebrate this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month, most in the Latino community know that the real celebration recognizing an important event of Hispanic culture is only just about to begin.

During the last part of October, Latino families prepare to honor their loved ones who have died. Here in the United States, we remember our dead on All Souls Day, but in Mexico it spans two days and has become known as Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

On November 1, families remember the souls of the children who have passed on with cemetery rituals called Vigil of the Little Angels, and on November 2, the souls of the adults are honored.

Far from being sad and melancholy, the observance is more fiesta-like with personalized candy skulls exchanged between friends so they “can eat their own deaths” and graveyard picnics at the plots of their loved ones.

Author Mary Andrade writes in her Day of the Dead Blog:

The celebration concludes in many towns with the vigil in the cemetery. In some places the vigil is done during the whole night of November 1st to November 2nd. In other towns the vigil is done during the day. Mysticism is the rule in the cemeteries, but in many music is also part of the ritual that combines religious prayers with the sounds of the trumpet playing a tune by a Mariachi band. In others it is a trio that sings a song by the tomb or in some cases even a band plays danzones at the entrance of the cemetery. Ritualistic dances are also part of the celebrations in many places honoring the deceased.

One element of the tradition that personalizes and reminds the families whom they are honoring on Day of the Dead are the homemade altars known as ofrendas.

Though some people mistakenly think that we are “worshiping” our deceased loved ones with these altars, the purpose of the ofrendas is to remember and honor our deceased relatives.

The ofrenda is a way to guide the spirits back home. The altars can become works of art themselves depending on how the families decorate them and the amount of time they put into them.

In fact, in some towns in Mexico there are contests of whose ofrenda is the most ornate with judges going house by house to find the three most beautiful altars.

Locally, folks at Casa Mexicana, a longtime Mexican folk art store, will be sharing how people can make their own ofrendas and explaining the significance of the tradition.

Starting this Saturday, October 13, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and every Saturday morning through October 27, free seminars will be given to those who would like to learn more about Day of the Dead.

In addition to the seminars, Day of the Dead folk art will be exhibited in the store’s gallery, an authentic altar complete with sugar skulls and traditional copal incense to attract past spirits will have been constructed and on view and complimentary refreshments.

I recommend getting there a little before the seminar starts because chances are it could get crowded — even though you may not be able to see everyone who’s there!

Casa Mexicana is located one block east of the Latino Cultural Center at 2710 Live Oak in Dallas. For more information, call 214-747-7277 or casamexicanafolkart.com.

Pegasus News content partner: Latina Lista. You can find the main site for Latina Lista, which includes national news and views, podcasts, the store and more here.