Salt and water are also essential they are set to quench the thirst of the souls, tired from their long trip. The light of the candles also called ceras -waxes- symbolize Jesus Christ Reborn and faith.įlowers, specially Cempasuchitl, adorn the ofrenda. Their light is thought to guide them on their way back. Generally, on the top level, the images of Saints and the Crucifix are set.įor each deceased relative, a candle is set. Several levels can be set on the ofrendas. Then the papel picado, cut tissue paper, is set over the cloth. The ofrenda is set on a table, covered with a fine tablecloth, preferably white. We must remember they are going to have very important “visitors”. Every November 2, known as the Day of the Dead or All Souls Day, Hispanics across the Southwest transform grave sites. Before setting an altar, they thoroughly clean their house. O frendas are set up to remember and honor the memory of their ancestors. The vast majority of Mexicans are Christian Catholics, so they only worship God. Some people mistakenly think that Mexicans that set up ofrendas for their defunct relatives are actually worshiping them. They are also called altares or altars, but they are not for worship. The word ofrenda means offering in Spanish. In Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Tucson, and even Kansas City, Missouri, museums and cultural centers are hosting celebrations that include altar contests, meals that include pan de muerto con champurrado (chocolate), and elaborate musical programs and poetry readings.Ofrendas are an essential part of the Day of the Dead celebrations. More and more communities in the United States are adopting the tradition celebrated a day after Halloween, on All Saints’ Day in the Christian calendar followed by All Souls’ Day on November 2. I remember the prayers, the incense, and the food left on the tombs which we also enjoyed: caña (sugar cane) and certain seasonal fruits, but not pan de muerto, the bread prepared with anise seeds that has become de rigeur in contemporary celebrations.
In my recollection of visiting graveyards in both Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, several things stand out: cleaning the tombs and decorating them with flowers-marigolds plus other seasonal flowers like manita de león and sunflowers. Where I grew up in the Southwest, the Chicanx community had been celebrating Día de los Muertos for generations, only not as flamboyantly, with modest rituals that included annual visits to the cemetery in homage and remembrance of those who have died. Posada’s La Catrina satirized Mexicans who looked to abandon their indigenous roots in favor of aristocratic European traditions, as well as politicians and other elites.Ĭhicanx artists in East Los Angeles-especially associated with Self Help Graphics & Art-and the Mission District in San Francisco are credited with celebrating the earliest truly alternative form of the tradition in the 1970s.
In Mexico, the calaveras, or sugar skulls, and literary calaveras-satirical poems-were added around the time that Jose Guadalupe Posada, a famous printer, popularized the satirical image of La Catrina and the poems through a series of annual publications in the early twentieth century. Other innovations include papel picado, the intricately cut paper art that adorns the altar. Some of the newer elements come from Catholic tradition-after all, it is a liturgical celebration blended into the indigenous one-such as the crucifix and saints’ images or statues. We decorate an arch and a pathway that lead the souls to the altar, which traditionally consists of seven or nine levels. We begin with the essential elements for constructing an altar to loved ones: salt, herbs, water, copal (a tree resin used as incense), cempazuchitl (marigolds), candles, food, and photographs. The contemporary version often includes the altar or ofrenda, a procession or parade, and certain foods. In true folk tradition, the celebration has many variants depending on social class, geography, and belief system. Rooted in Mexican indigenous ritual, the annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration that honors those who have passed on has been transformed over centuries.