(An altar in Houston, Texas)
What Is Día de Muertos? 3 Things to Know
The inextinguishable tradition dates back 3,000 years,
during the time of the Aztecs. It survived through the 16th century,
when the Spanish arrived to central Mexico and thought the tradition to be sacrilegious.
Instead of it being abolished, however,
the celebration evolved to incorporate elements of Christianity,
such as celebrating it on November 1 and 2 instead of on its original
summer observance to coincide with All Saints’ or All Souls’ Day,
a time to pray for departed souls.
In San Francisco, California, Martha Rodríguez-Salazar
has been working with the San Francisco Symphony for the past 10 years
in their annual Día de los Muertos community celebration,
which includes music and altars commissioned from different artists.
Dia de Los Muertos event at San Francisco Symphony
My parents never made an altar while I was growing up,
but some of my parent friends did, say my friend
Every November 1st and 2nd, they put altars of family and friends.
In the Bay Area, it’s become sort of in fashion - its own thing — where people dress up.
In Mexico, it’s not that way. Here is where you paint your face,
Now with globalization, it’s mixing,
The tradition [in Mexico] is you invite people to your house for pan de muerto
and then you go to the cemetery. You eat food there, drink tequila or mezcal,
and that’s the celebration.
You want to leave your door open because a stranger can bring a spirit of your loved one.
You never know
Mexican folk store in New York City has been busy selling items for altars to celebrate El Día de los Muertos.
In New York City, has been an avid celebrator of Día de Muertos since she was a little girl,
and she’s not even Mexican.
My mom is from Argentina and my dad is American —
I was around 11 when I first went to Mexico,
and I fell in love with the country and culture; I feel so connected to it
A lot of people were asking, ‘Is this Halloween?
the visitors, mostly non-Latinos, who were passing by her stand.
The tables looked like altars with papel picado, figurines, bark paper,
and José Guadalupe Posada’s prints. This was introducing them to Día de Muertos.
The museum wanted to have a Day of the Dead feel, not Halloween,
and the woman who ran the gift shop brought pan de muerto.”
Dia de los Muertos celebration at the Hollywood Forever cemetery in Hollywood, California.
My friens is Mexican-American born in the border city in El Paso, Texas.
Her identity is both Mexican and American. Growing up,
I knew about Día de Muertos, but it’s not something fron her family really did,
since it came more from southern Mexico," she said.
"When she moved to New York, I met people from Puebla,
and I started learning more.”
(Dancers perform at the Capulli Mexican dance Company's annual "Dia de los Muertos)
When her Grandfather passed away,
Castaño fam wanted to do something special, so she decided to make her first altar.
“It was really a beautiful experience...It’s a very personal thing,
” she said. “I remember looking at the altar and putting coffee there,
because my grandad loved coffee.
My mom said, ‘No, he would never like it like that —
and she took it away and made it piping hot with a little sugar,
and the experience created a conversation between us," said Castaño fam.
Dia de Muertos is very powerful, because you feel peace and a beautiful
experience remembering someone and celebrating what they did and who they were.”
His 14-year-old Calpulli Mexican Dance Company has always incorporated
elements from Día de Muertos in performances that started on October 26th
and will have a final performance on November 4 in New York’s prestigious Town Hall.
On Día de Muertos, No Elaborate Rituals, Just Honoring Her GrandDad
The theme and the message of the story if what Día de Muertos is about
— the hope that we have to reconnect with the loved ones we have lost,"she said.
"The world of the dead, according to Aztec mythology is called
Mictlan - a beautiful world where we all want to be.”
Although they are separate celebrations, Castaño fam,
believes there has been a huge influence on Día de Muertos from the U.S.
and Halloween, namely the face painting.
Santa Fe Springs, Calif., applying a death mask makeup at a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles
Anytime cultures come together,
it’s a way to bring communities together.
In my opinion I don’t think it’s a negative thing,” she said.
“I have nephews that love Halloween, but I think it’s really nice for them
to know about Dia de Muertos, too — it's such a nice way to deal with death a
nd celebrate death in a healthy, constructive way."
"For young people, the boogie man [and Halloween] can be traumatizing,
" said Castaño. "Maybe we can disarm the fear, stress and anxiety of what dying represents.”
Who Were the Victims of the New York Terrorist Attack?
A book of condolence is open next to a portrait of Anne Laure Decadt in a community center in Staden, Belgium on Wednesday Nov. 1, 2017
Five longtime friends visiting from Argentina, a Belgian woman,
and two New York-area men were killed Tuesday when a driver in a rental truck
plowed through a scenic bike path along Manhattan's West Side.
The New York Police Department released the identities of all eight victims
Wednesday afternoon. Their ages ranged from 23 to 48 years old.
The five Argentines were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school
graduation, Argentina's minister of foreign affairs said in a statement on Twitter.
Anne Laure Decadt, 31, of Belgium, was the only female victim who died.
In a press conference on Wednesday,
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the six foreigners would be remembered as locals.
"Six of them came from other nations because they saw New York as a special place to be,
and we now and forever will consider them New Yorkers," he said.
"They shared this tragedy with us. We will remember them as New Yorkers."
The Argentines were identified as Hernán Diego Mendoza,
Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damián Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernán Ferruchi.
A sixth Argentine, Martin Ludovico Marro, was injured and is recovering in the hospital,
the foreign minister said.
Their alma mater, La Comunidad Educativa del Instituto Politécnico in Rosario,
in central Argentina, confirmed on Facebook that the victims graduated in 1987
and expressed "sincere condolences."
Atentado en Nueva York: Cinco Víctimas de Nuestro Instituto
La Comunidad Educativa del Instituto Politécnico expresa sus más sinceras
condolencias a los familiares de las víctimas del atentado en la ciudad de Nueva York,
cinco de las mismas, son egresados de la Promoción 1987 de nuestro colegio.
Acompañamos en el dolor a todos su allegados.
Equipo Directivo Arq. Patricia Zeoli, Directora, Ing. Alicia Oliva,
Vicedirectora Ciclo Secundario, Arq. Gustavo Bercovich,
Vicedirector de Ciclo Terciario, Ing. Mónica Bollatti,
Vicedirectora de Extensión y Articulaión y Téc. Miguel Leggeri,
Vicedirector de Infraestructura
According to Argentine newspaper Clarín, the group had planned on celebrating
in New York and then reuniting in Rosario with more alums who couldn't make the trip.
From left, Hernan Ferruchi, Alejandro Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij, Ivan Brajckovic, Juan Pablo Trevisan,
Hernan Mendoza, Diego Angelini and Ariel Benvenuto, gather for a group photo at the airport
in Argentina before their trip to New York on Oct. 28. Mendoza, Angelini, Pagnucco, Erlij and Ferruchi
were killed in the bike path attack near the World Trade Center
In total, 10 friends had gone to New York, the paper reported.
One survivor who wasn't hurt, Ariel Benvenuto, called his wife, Cecilia Piedrabuena,
back home in Argentina around 5:45 p.m. ET to tell her something serious had happened
in New York, Piedrabuena told LT8, a radio station in Rosario.
The news hadn't yet been publicly reported in Argentina.
"The 10 of them were on bicycles, chatting in groups of two.
He was closer to the center. All of those on the right were run over,"
Piedrabuena told the radio station. "He felt a vehicle speed up and go over his five friends."
Piedrabuena said it was the first time the group traveled together,
and in addition to celebrating the anniversary of their graduation,
they were visiting two friends who lived in New York.
"They were 10 high school friends that would always get together.
It's terrible what happened," she said.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he spoke with Argentina's
president and expressed his condolences.
DonaldTrump
Just spoke to President Macri of Argentina about the five proud and
wonderful men killed in the West Side terror attack. God be with them!
