The calendar says it’s October, and San Antonians know that means Dia De Los Muertos is just around the corner.
The traditional event is Mexican and Central American in origin, and it is a way that regional Latino cultures have honored for hundreds of years loved ones who have died.
Cyle Perez with the San Antonio Zoo explained that it's “really a Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, but as part of that holiday, we set up these altars, and these altars are our opportunity to kind of celebrate and remember those that have passed and moved on.”
In recent years, San Antonio and the Zoo has embraced the tradition. “We have a Dia de los Muertos realm, like a whole area dedicated to that wonderful holiday,” he said. “As part of that realm, we have an animal ofrenda that we have activated.”
The tradition involves creating an altar, called an ofrenda, on which pictures of loved ones — in this case, family pets — and the one that the zoo is putting up will be for the public.
“That animal ofrenda is for the community. Anybody can come on over and bring an animal, loved one's photo that may have passed. Something that meant something really special to them, and bring it and then put it on the ofrenda,” Perez said.
He said that many house pets occupy a place in many families that are more important than that of just a pet.
“Just as a dog owner myself, really, [my dog is] part of the family. I don't have kids. I have a dog, and we find him as part of the family,” Perez said. “All of these moments are really just an opportunity for us to not forget but celebrate the love and the life that they did give us.”
Visitors to the zoo this month can bring a favorite photo, which will be photocopied and enlarged to 4-by-6-inch size, then framed for display. The photos will be displayed all month, then through Dia De Los Muertos, which ends on Nov. 2.
“All of these moments are really just an opportunity for us to not forget but celebrate the love and the life that they did give us,” he said. “It's tough when they pass, but this is an opportunity to remember them, to celebrate them. Think about their favorite treats. Think about their favorite spots on the couch.”
Learn more at sazoo.org.
