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San Antonio’s historic West Side honors los muertos on Nov. 1

An ofrenda, an altar, honoring the dead
Courtesy photo
/
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
An ofrenda, an altar, honoring the dead

Day of the Dead, or Día de Los Muertos, is a Mexican tradition that honors the memory of the dead. Several organizations in San Antonio are celebrating this long-standing tradition.

The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center will host its annual Día de Muertos event Nov. 1. It celebrates the lives the historic West Side community has lost.

Graciela Sanchez, executive director of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, said the event features a community garden of marigolds, or cempasúchil — a flower used in traditional altars to lead souls back to their families.

“The marigold has a beautiful scent, an aroma that allows the spirits to come home, and they have to smell it. So at the Alazán projects, the Courts, we've got a few gardens going on there … and we're giving away the plants that started just as seeds, and now they're in pots, or now they're in gardens,” she explained.

The community ofrenda on the corner of Guadalupe and South Colorado.
Courtesy photo
/
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
The community ofrenda on the corner of Guadalupe and South Colorado.

Sanchez added that the community pitches in to help build the altars for the event. “We have several — 20 or 30 — community altars that are within the Rinconcito. It's a larger area that has many little casitas. And then we also have this one larger altar, kind of pyramid style, that got started as an idea during COVID because we couldn't be indoors,” she said.

She added: “We ask people to put photos of your loved ones, if you just want to honor somebody that recently passed, or if you want to honor your little cat or dog that passed away. It's a community altar, and you can just bring them over. And it's on the corner of Guadalupe and South Colorado.”

The procession will pass by the Alazán-Apache Courts, San Antonio’s oldest public housing project.

“Many times, people who live in housing projects feel isolated and by themselves in their own community because people have said bad things about housing projects, but for us, they are our community, nosotros," Sanchez said.

She added: "Somos the Alazán Courts, and they are us. ... So we take the procession there, and we have groups that also do danza and give spirit and energy to that community, and it's also a way for young kids that live at the Alazán Courts to say, ‘Mommy, Daddy, let's go over to the celebration.”

The annual procession at the Alazan Apache Courts
Courtesy photo
/
Esperanza Peace and Justice Center
The annual procession at the Alazan Apache Courts

Sanchez said the Esperanza’s Día de Muertos celebration also includes poetry. “We have continued for over 25 years to do the poetry of that time. … calaveras, which are political satire, talking about a former president and how death comes and takes them. But it's poetry, and it's lyrical and it's smart.”

She said the event will also include the MujerArtes annual exhibit and sale. It consists of handmade works inspired by Día de Muertos, including calacas, skulls, and calaveras. It runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Nov. 2.

“And then we just have from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. lots of music by Conjunto Heritage Taller, Rito & Hunter, Panfilo’s Güera, Bene Medina, and also featuring our dear “DJ Despeinada” Bonnie Cisneros. So many, many things to do. All of it is for free. We don't want to charge, because culture shouldn't cost,” Sanchez explained.

The Esperanza’s Día de Muertos celebration is Nov. 1 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Rinconcito de Esperanza at 816 S. Colorado.

The altars will remain on view through Nov. 8.

Other events celebrating Día de los Muertos include:

  • Mariposas on the Plaza: The event is at Main Plaza on Friday, Nov. 1, between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Main Plaza will transform into a community ofrenda. It will feature printed butterflies with names of loved ones. Reserve a butterfly in advance or stop by the event.
  • Carnaval de Los Muertos: URBAN-15 's Día de Los Muertos Procession is at Elmendorf Lake Park on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. 
  • Mission Marquee Plaza: The celebration will be on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event will be MC'd by Anthony "The Poet" Flores. Featured performers include San Antonio Poet Laureate Eddie Vega, Gilbert Elementary School student poetry, Destiny Hernandez & Papa Bear, all-female mariachi group Mariachi Las Alteñas, Chayito y Los Flamenco de San Antonio, Tarasco Tropical, Zombie Bazaar Panza Fusion w/ Brenda and Gio.
  • 47th annual Día de los Muertos Exhibit and Celebration: Saturday, Nov. 2, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will feature a dual exhibition — Las Catrinas exhibition by Frank W. Harris III in Galeria Expresión I and Altares y Ofrendas Exhibition in Galeria Expresión II. The event will also feature the annual Avenida de los Muertos Arts and Crafts mercadito, live music by Andy Bernal and The Artifax, and student altars by St. Anthony High School's Spanish class.
  • Dia de los Muertos at Pearl: On Saturday, Nov. 2, Pearl's annual celebration is from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It includes altars, live music, art installations, and children’s activities. 
  • Emma Tenayuca ofrenda: The San Antonio Museum of Art features an ofrenda in the Great Hall. The altar is designed by Amalia Mesa-Bains in honor of Emma Tenayuca, a San Antonian labor and civil rights activist known for her central role in the Pecan Shellers Strike of 1938. 
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