by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
The dead took a walk through the South Valley on Sunday.
Marching and riding in floats covered in colorful tissue-paper marigolds, people took to the streets dressed as the deceased as part of the Dia de los Muertos Marigold Parade and Celebration.
Each float's dÇcor protested a form of violence - community, war, killings of migrant people and the disappearing women in Juarez, Mexico.
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Danzantes, traditional dancers in feathered headdresses and beaded boots, led the parade from the intersection of Bridge
Boulevard and Goff Boulevard to the West Side Community Center, where a celebration with music, dancing and a marketplace of local art was held.
The celebration's theme was "≠YA BASTA! Stop the Violence."
"This year we took a stand against preventable death," said Rustia Arila, project director of the celebration. "People don't have to die sooner than their bodies give out."
Arila said South Valley couple Sandra Castro and Jorge Castro started the parade and celebration 14 years ago. Arila became project director when they moved away six
years ago.
"We wanted the event to continue," she said
The celebration's co-director, Regina Corritore, said its committee only accepted local business sponsorship.
"This year we changed our roots," she said. "Community support has gone well."
Quality of Life, a nonprofit organization that raises money to support art and culture in school programs, decorated a Jeepney for the parade. A Jeepney is a large jeep used for public transportation in the Philippines. Quality of Life member Pamela Chavez said Filipinos have Spanish heritage, making their culture comparable to Mexican culture.
"You can see the similarities with the flowers and colors (painted on the Jeepney)," she said.
Quality of Life member Arie Bickel said the organization's motto is "Make art, not war."
"All people benefit when we make culture and arts," she said.
Women with the organization Amigos de Mujeres drove a truck with pictures of missing women from Juarez. Arila said the women were sisters of the victims.
"Their lives matter," Arila said. "We took time to acknowledge that."
UNM students Christopher Ramirez and Yvette Morales marched in the parade. They held flags made of strips of material. Each strip had the name of a deceased immigrant on it.
"We just thought it was important to remember the people who died crossing the border this year," Ramirez said. "That teaches us that is somebody's brother or somebody's mother. It was interesting writing the names on the cloth. It was like giving them life again."
Ramirez said more than 350 people of different ages died crossing the border this year. Ramirez and Morales gave the strips to spectators after the parade.
Arila said it was good to see people of all ages participate. She said residents of a retirement home watched the parade.
"It was multigenerational," she said. "They were lined up at the fence. It was so cool."
Arila said the celebration was not only about death.
"It's not just a time of sorrow," she said. "We are celebrating their lives and our lives."
