LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Outside the Esparza family home in Worthington Hills are Halloween decorations; a blow-up pumpkin and ghost staked into the front lawn, filled with air from a humming machine.
But inside the home, there is no Halloween decor in sight. Since moving to the U.S. from Guadalajara, Mexico, eight years ago, Alejandra Esparza has tried to keep a balance of new and old traditions for her family. While the Esparzas celebrate Halloween by trick-or-treating, the most sacred holiday this time of year is Dia de los Muertos.
For Latino people in the U.S. and all over the world, Dia de los Muertos is a time to honor dead ancestors as their souls are believed to return to Earth for two days. Every year, the spiritual holiday on Nov. 1 celebrates life, rather than mourning death.
And at the center of the tradition are ofrendas, a shrine to deceased relatives adorned in bright colors, sugar skulls, marigold flowers and the traditional “papel picado,” a decorative craft made by cutting elaborate designs into sheets of tissue paper.Every item on the ofrenda has a symbolic meaning.
Putting together the ofrenda, or “offering,” on a small table in the family’s dining room felt therapeutic for Esparza, a Spanish teacher at St. Rita’s Catholic School in Louisville. She cried as she built an altar in her home for the holiday this year. And she laughed.
“This tradition makes you realize and believe that your loved ones will be there waiting for you” when you die, Esparza said.
Next to a photo of Esparza’s abuelita (grandmother) is a Virgin of Guadalupe painting and a rosary, to represent her grandmother as a religious woman. And next to her abuelito’s photo is a bottle of tequila - her grandfather’s favorite. There are candles and burning incense so the souls can find their way back to the living world. Tradition calls for Pan de Muerto, a sugary Mexican bread, to be placed on the ofrenda. But Esparza had a hard time finding the pastry, so she put conchas,a similar sweet bread roll, on the altar instead.
As a child, she visited the cemetery with her family every year during Dia de los Muertos, where her parents would encourage her to talk to her dead family members.
“In Mexico, we talk about the dead,” Esparza said. “We are raised not to be afraid because we are visiting Abuelito or Tio (uncle), people who we loved and who love us.”
She hopes her teenage sons will carry on the tradition of creating an ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos when she dies, that they will remember her. As it’s accurately represented in the Disney movie “Coco,” Esparza said, it’s believed that your soul will disappear when you are forgotten.
The Dia de los Muertos traditions for families like Esparzas have evolved and changed as people migrate and cultures mingle, said Karina Barillas, executive director at La Casita Center, 223 E. Magnolia Ave. In Louisville, it’s created new ideas and rituals for the celebration, but at its core, Dia de los Muertos is the belief that death is not the end, Barillas said.
“We believe that when people die, their presence, their legacy, their teachings are not over,” Barillas said.
Guillermo Solano, a local photographer, hasn’t celebrated Dia de los Muertos since he moved to the U.S. from Mexico City 20 years ago. It’s hard to keep up with traditions as an immigrant, he said.
For him, Dia de los Muertos is about honoring, remembering and celebrating those who have made an impact in his life, not mourning them.
“We see death as inevitable,” Solano said. “It’s not that we’re sad someone has passed, we’re happy that they lived. One day, you’re just going to be remembered for things that you did. And if you lived a life without making contributions or making a difference, you’ll just be a photo in a drawer somewhere.”
Solano is celebrating Dia de los Muertos for the first time in two decades with a party at 1619 Flux Art + Activism, 1619 W. Main St., where his photography is on display as part of the Louisville Photo Biennial. The exhibit is a joint project with his best friend, Sandro Fajardo, who is Chilean.
If you’re new to the idea of Dia de los Muertos, here’s everything you need to know about the holiday:
WHAT IS DIA DE LOS MUERTOS?
In the two-day celebration of Dia de los Muertos, it’s believed that the passageway between the real world and the spirit world is open so deceased loved ones can come back to visit.
What is a Dia de los Muertos ofrenda?
At the center of the tradition are ofrendas, a shrine to deceased relatives adorned in bright colors, sugar skulls, marigold flowers and the traditional “papel picado,” a decorative craft made by cutting elaborate designs into sheets of tissue paper. Every item on the ofrenda has a symbolic meaning for that person and family.
WHAT ITEMS GO ON AN OFRENDA:
While it varies by person or family, here are items that should go on a traditional ofrenda:
A mirror at the top for the spirits to see that they are dead when they come to visit.
Fire: Visiting souls are illuminated from the shadow of death by candles.
Wind: Colorful, flowing punched paper lets loved ones know when the spirits have arrived.
Water: After a long journey home, spirits need water to quench their first.
Earth: The soul is nourished by favorite family dishes.
Toys: Favorite toys for the soul of children.
Decorative skulls, sugar skulls
Photographs
Copal incense: The smell of burning incense is said to guide the dead to the feast at the altar.
Flower: Marigolds have a strong scent that is said to attract the spirits of the dead.
Bread: Pan de Muerto is sweet bread decorated with bones running across the top and a single teardrop atop the center of the bun representing sorrow.
The Esparza family ofrenda includes photos of Alejandra and Fernando’s grandparents.
WHAT DO SKELETONS MEAN ON DIA DE LOS MUERTOS:
One of the most common symbols you’ll see around Dia de los Muertos are skeletons, or calaveras. In addition to sugar skulls, La Catrina, a statement-making skeletal figure (a bit reminiscent of sugar skulls) adorned in a dress and hat, has become an icon ubiquitous with the holiday.
According to urban legend, La Catrina’s roots come from the Aztec death goddess Mictecacihuatl. In the legend, the goddess served the same purpose as La Catrina does today: to honor and protect those who have passed and to symbolize the relationship Mexicans have with death.
La Catrina, or El Catrine for males, represents the skeleton that is inside everyone, no matter their race, religion or background, said Esparza.
“When you die, you can’t take earthly materials with you,” Esparza said. “So for us, the calavera shows we are all the same. It’s a way of saying, ‘I’m just like you in the end.‘”
IS DIA DE LOS MUERTOS ‘MEXICAN HALLOWEEN’?
One of the most pervasive misconceptions about Dia de los Muertos is that it’s a “Mexican Halloween.” It’s not.
Though both traditions fall around the same time of year, they have different origins and unique traditions. Halloween has its origins in the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain, a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year, while Day of the Dead is rooted in the ancient religious traditions of Mesoamerica’s indigenous population.
Halloween began as a festival to ward off ghosts, while Dia de los Muertos welcomes spirits to honor and remember deceased loved ones.
WHERE DID DIA DE LOS MUERTOS ORIGINATE?
The history of the tradition dates back more than 2,000 years, long before the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The modern holiday is derived by an Aztec tradition that believed that in order to reach a final destination, souls had to complete an arduous journey. To help the deceased along this journey, the Aztecs would make offerings of useful objects at their relatives’ burial sites.
Several Aztec holidays involved rituals to honor the deceased, including decorating tree stumps and placing offerings for dead relatives. These traditions set the precedent for the ofrendas, or Day of the Dead altars placed by Mexican families today.
After colonization, these traditions were Christianized and became incorporated into the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
HOW IS DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CELEBRATED TODAY?
Today the holiday is celebrated differently all over Mexico, but in most places, it involves going to the cemetery and visiting the gravesites of loved ones. In preparation for Day of the Dead, families will clean and wash the graves of their departed, and decorate them with candles and marigold flowers. They will bring their loved ones’ favorite food and important objects from their lives.
For children, toys are brought to the gravesite. In many parts of the country, families will share a meal alongside the graves of their relatives and share stories and memories.
IS DIA DE LOS MUERTOS A RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY?
Some people celebrate Dia de los Muertos religiously, by placing images of Jesus, Mary or saints on the ofrenda. But the tradition is not inherently religious. At the same time, it’s not witchcraft either. It’s a spiritual time for connecting with others, even their physical bodies are not present, Barillas said.
During Halloween, spirits are seen as scary, or something to be warded off. Day of the Dead focuses on receiving the souls of dead relatives with joy and hospitality.
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