Celebrate life (and death) with a tour of Dia de los Muertos altars.
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Run by Mexican-born Lily Ramirez-Foran, below, and her Irish husband Alan, Picado will be selling paste for making mole (which Lily describes as “Mexico’s answer to curry, but very sexy and moreish”) as well as skull-shaped piñatas and other bits and pieces for decorating your own Day of the Dead altar.
The Dia de Los Muertos celebration took place at 6 p.m.in the Grand Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr.
Halloween is just around the corner, which means that Day of the Dead is upon us too. Peanut butter, for example, or a fishing pole for someone who loved fishing, she said.
“It’s a celebration to honor your deceased people, to remember them with happiness and to welcome them to our homes one more time”, Colorado Mesa University Spanish professor Dr. Mayela Vallejos-Ramirez said.
The early November holiday is commonly associated with Mexico but has roots throughout Latin America and now has a growing following in the U.S. “So we thought that Dia de los Muertos is a holiday that maybe a lot of people in West Michigan aren’t familiar with that would be a really good way to connect to people with the Latino culture, so we made a decision to try it, and it was a huge success”. Around this time of year, I carved my Halloween pumpkin and picked my Halloween costume.
The yearly event is celebrated in many Latin American countries but not to the extent it is in Mexico. On Dia de los Muertos, the dead are also a part of the community, awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones. Catering to that demand is a smart business move, according to Santiago.
“It’s lovely – they have very similar decorations”, she said, asked how Cheekwood’s celebration compares to ones from her childhood. “It has an immediate impact, and it also creates brand equity”.
In the hour I spent Googling and YouTubing, I discovered that each post I read had information on Dia de los Muertos and links to credible sources if the reader wanted to delve deeper into the subject.
The increased commercialization of Day of the Dead however, is worrisome to Leor, the owner of the authentic Mexican craft store in New York City.
“It’s personal; it’s not just something people do for fun”, Mendoza said.
Her daughter, 8-year-old Sandra, whose face was painted to look like a glittery white and blue skull, said she most enjoyed, “when we get to eat”.
Santiago acknowledged that when venturing out into a different cultural territory, businesses should tread lightly.
“Out of all the holidays, Mexican or otherwise, this is one that we all connect with the most”, Mendoza said.
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At PCC there are a few Dia de Los Muertos related activities going on.
