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El Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is an ancient tradition that commemorates the memories and the return of our dearly departed. Its indigenous roots run deep in Mexico and Central America, and the tradition has gained popularity in the U.S., particularly in San Antonio.
One of the largest Día de los Muertos celebrations in the country was held here last week.
But several smaller, more community-based commemorations continue this week, closer to the actual holiday.
One of those is the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center’s 31st Día de Muertos event, on Sun. Nov. 1.
The Esperanza’s director, Graciela Sánchez, said these days hold special meaning.
"Especially on Nov. 1 and 2, it's this idea that people return — those spirits return, and we celebrate them and we honor them and we visit with them," she said. "Our grandparents and people in Mexico, especially, go to the cemeteries and go and clean the tombs of our departed and bring flowers and basically make a picnic out of it. Families come together and remember. It is about remembering them, but it's also about continuing to create that community with our own families or friends who knew the people who we're celebrating and honoring."
Sánchez said Día de los Muertos has a long tradition in San Antonio.
"49 years ago, Centro Cultural Aztlan, as they created their own organization, they were the first ones in San Antonio to begin this practice in their gallery spaces. Since then, the Guadalupe (Cultural Arts Center) and the Esperanza, Conjunto Heritage Taller, San Anto Cultural Arts Center — the Latino cultural centers of San Antonio — started celebrating it."
Sánchez said the community wasn’t quick to embrace the tradition.
“'What is this strange celebration of talking about the dead?' And 'what are all these skulls and calacas?' It's like, 'what is this? This is Satanism.' We had pushback even from community members who have lost that tradition, and so it was about educating our community to remember again that it comes from our Mexican Indigenous cultures. And all we're doing is trying to bring it back as a tradition so we can remember our mothers, our grandparents, our great grandparents, and beyond," said Sánchez.
This is the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center’s 31st Día de Muertos event. Sánchez said it has always been about involving the West Side community in keeping the tradition alive.
"One thing that we thought was really special was to ask the community members from the West Side, and people who grew up in the West Side and have left the neighborhood, but you know remember their families, to be the ones to build the altars."
The Esperanza’s Día de Muertos commemoration includes 40 altars and one community altar to which anyone can contribute. The public can submit digital images to ofrendas@esperanzacenter.org no later than Fri., Oct. 30.
The altar exhibits will remain on display Nov. 2-8, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., at the Rinconcito de Esperanza. The community altar is on display 24/7 from Nov. 1-8.
An evening procession is also central to the Esperanza’s embrace of its West Side community.
"So, it starts here at the Rinconcito (de Esperanza), and we walk towards the Alazán-Apache Courts because that's a community...where they kind of live isolated from the rest of the neighborhood, and we see the Alazán community as ours," said Sánchez.
Community members have also helped create special tapetes (rugs) out of painted sawdust.
"So, what we used to have is the very long 35-foot tapete," said
Sánchez. "This time we're going to have five or six smaller ones throughout. So, as you take a walk through our little Rinconcito, you'll be able just to see variations of it."
The Esperanza’s Día de Muertos events also include live music, readings of traditional Calavera poems, an exhibit and sale of works by the MujerArtes clay artists and much more.
Click here for more details.
