by Bryan Gibel
Daily Lobo
For centuries, the sweet flavors of homemade bread and candy have mingled with the smell of marigolds to entice departed souls to return to Earth.
Dia de los Muertos, a Mexican celebration to honor the souls of dead loved ones, has roots in Mesoamerican traditions dating back to 1200 B.C.
More than 3,000 years later, sugar skulls, elaborate altars and other symbols of the celebration permeate Albuquerque art galleries and community centers for weeks before the Nov. 2 holiday.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Although Dia de los Muertos draws on morbid imagery and falls two days after Halloween, it shouldn't be confused with the North American trick-or-treating tradition, said Gina Diaz, visual arts curator at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
"In pre-Colombian cultures, they saw death as another stage of life, so the dead are living like us, but in another spiritual realm," Diaz said. "Halloween teaches you to be afraid of death, but these people weren't afraid of the dead. They welcomed them into their homes and celebrated them."
Diaz said the version of the holiday celebrated in Mexico is a fusion of Spanish and Aztec traditions that blended during the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
Community crossroads
On Oct. 21, about 75 people attended a free sugar-skull decorating workshop at La Parada, an art and Mexican-import shop at 8917 Fourth St. N.W.
The workshop brought together people of diverse backgrounds to celebrate a tradition that has deep resonance in New Mexico, event organizer Cherie Austin said.
"I really want La Parada do be a part of the community where it's located in the North Valley," Austin said. "This is our fourth annual, and it's free."
Student Erika Meneses, who attended the workshop with her daughter, said there is a tradition in Mexico of decorating calaveras, skulls made of sugar that are shared with the spirits of the dead.
"They're a sweet treat for our family that has passed," Meneses said. "Their souls come out from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, and we'll make altars with all their favorite dishes and favorite things."
Ysabelle Meneses, 8, said it was fun to decorate her sugar skull, which she fashioned after Frida Kahlo.
But she said celebrating Dia de los Muertos is not just a sugar-
coated ritual.
"I like the designs," she said. "I know that it doesn't just mean the designs, though. It's about the culture."
Mark Love-Williamson said he and his family celebrate the Day of the Dead every year.
His celebration started as an expression of pagan traditions rather than Mexican rituals, but he has come to appreciate both aspects after years of celebrations in Albuquerque, he said.
"We've been doing an ancestor celebration for a long time," Love-Williamson said. "We've celebrated the Day of the Dead for quite a number of years and learned about Mexican culture and traditions, but we've never done candy skulls before."
Hands-on education
Every year, the National Hispanic Cultural Center celebrates Dia de los Muertos through art and education, said Shelle Luaces, the center's education director.
"We feel it's one of the celebrations from Latin America, specifically from Mexico, that can really connect people," Luaces said. "The celebration is about honoring the people in our family, our community and our ancestors who have died. And that's a completely universal ritual."
The center held workshops in September and October to build ofrendas, altars to hold offerings of food, art and personal items to bring spirits back to visit Earth, said Christopher Gibson, an artist helping to run the project.
The center also taught papel picado workshops in schools, teaching students to make the intricate paper cutouts characteristic of the holiday, Gibson said.
On Saturday, the cultural center held a free Dia de los Muertos family day for the community to learn about the holiday, create traditional arts and crafts, eat traditional food and view student ofrendas.
More than 1,200 people attended, Luaces said.
On Friday, the cultural center will have a free Dia de Los Muertos celebration from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., where people can observe or help create a large outdoor community ofrenda.
"Come and observe Dia de Muertos," Luaces said. "Put an offering to somebody or to your family, and let's observe this ritual together. I think that's important because so many of us - no matter what color we are - are disconnected from where our great-grandparents are buried. This is a ritual that anyone can connect with."
