The la ofrenda is one of the most important parts of the celebration. Karen Valencia, lights candles on a Día de los Muertos ofrenda (Day of the Dead altar) for her father Jose Valencia, a nurse who died from symptoms related to COVID-19, at their home in Mexico City, on Sunday, Nov. We know when the Day of the Dead comes because grow in the woods." Marigolds are the traditional flower of the Day of the Dead, they look amazing. "We put a lot of flowers - marigolds - out. Everything just smells so amazing," Cabrera said. The first plate of mole, the first tamale, the first cup of hot chocolate goes on the altar, because the dead are our special guests. About two hours before we set everything out, they would start making tamales. My grandmother, mother and aunt have been cooking the mole all day. At noon, we take off everything that was set out for the children and put out the mole and tamales. "It begins at noon and ends at noon on Nov. We had tangerines growing outside of our house, so we cut them and put them out too." We put out different foods: candies, apples, chocolates, sugar skulls, and the most important for me - the bread of the dead, which is shaped like small figures of children. At noon, we put out a new candle, water and salt. "At 11 a.m., we take everything away from the altar. In fact, most of the festivities are aimed at helping to guide family members home. Unlike Halloween ( with its origins rooted in the Celtic festival of Samhain), where costumes are donned to hide from the spirits who walk for a single night, Día de los Muertos festivities welcome home deceased relatives who are treated as guests of honor. While the two holidays overlap in the belief that the dead can walk the earth at a specific time of year, the similarities end there. Thanks to erroneous commercial marketing of the festival, some people have begun to incorrectly identify it as Mexican Halloween. Día de los Muertos is NOT Mexican Halloween. Here are a few facts she shared about Día de los Muertos … 1. Recently, we asked Cabrera to help us better understand the celebration of Dia de los Muertos, and a few of the traditions that go along with it. 30 at Race Brook Lodge, in Sheffield, where they will put together an altar, explain what it is about and sing songs representative of Día de los Muertos in Mexico. It was special to have the whole family together," she said.Ĭabrera, a member of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center's Spanish-language Community Advisory Network and of 413 Latinas, said in addition to helping set up the la ofrenda (altar) at Berkshire Community College this year, she and her artist-focused group, I M Art, will be hosting a celebration on Oct. I was excited by the smells of the foods. "It's just tradition, the way it feels, it feels so real. It was a big celebration, especially for grandparents - it was a tradition with their ancestors, that my grandmother passed to my mother," Cabrera said during a recent interview. When we used to go to visit my grandparents, we would walk and it would take three hours, walking, to get there. At that time we didn’t have car and we had moved to another small town. "I remember that we would go to my grandparents' house. Laura Cabrera, who lives in Pittsfield but originally came to the Berkshires via Sheffield from Veracruz, Mexico, grew up celebrating Día de los Muertos - a tradition handed down through generations of her family. PHOTO PROVIDED BY LAURA CABRERAĪnd while Dia de los Muertos ceremonies are mostly associated with Mexico and Mexican American communities, the annual festival also is celebrated throughout Central America and Latin America, where, it is important to note, the traditions and celebrations differ by region, state and country.ĭía de los Muertos is celebrated by many members of the Latino/Hispanic community members of the Berkshires. Cabrera, who is also a Mexican folk singer, is seen here with her daughter Liberty. Laura Cabrera, originally from Veracruz, Mexico, is a member of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center's Spanish-language Community Advisory Network and 413 Latinas.
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