Minneapolis — More than 100 people followed Aztec dancers through an arch of paper flowers to El Colegio High School on Saturday morning to visit altars created by students to commemorate Dia de Muertos Or Day of the Dead.
“It’s… a way to pay homage to our ancestors in our homes, and come back to our lives, even if they’re not here physically, but spiritually,” said Daniela Rosales, a senior at the Little Bilingual School in Minneapolis. “It’s a way to bring the community together and know that they can feel safe in some way.”
these Important religious, family and community celebrations to Most Mexicans And many other Latinx Americans have gained particular prominence this year in Latino communities in the United States, as the Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement raids, including In Minnesota.
While some organizers expressed concern that fears of deportation would overshadow public celebrations, participants turned out in large numbers in cities large and small, saying the ritual brought a much-needed sense of resilience and community pride.
“We decided we couldn’t cave,” said Justin Eck, one of the founders of the Day of the Dead festival in Mankato, a city nestled in Minnesota’s farmland. “Our cultural celebrations are what we need to fill our souls for what is to come.”
The indigenous Latino artist’s family started a small celebration in the parking lot of their painting business in 2018. This year, about 12,000 people joined the day-long celebration that included live music and dozens of papier-mache paper sculptures. Katrina (elaborately crafted skeletons) and Fantasy creatures called albrigs. Most activities were funded through community donations.
Eck’s father came to the United States from Mexico when he was a pre-teen, and in his struggle to earn a living and eventually build a family, many ties to his home country and relatives there disappeared, Eck said.
He added that Day of the Dead celebrations have become a way to mourn and rekindle some connections, in addition to commemorating recent family deaths.
“It’s our way of honoring what we’ve lost,” Eck said.
The balance of joyful remembrance and a renewed sense of presence sets it apart from both A festive Halloween atmosphere and Sad memorials One of the Christian holy days All saints on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd.
In fact, Day of the Dead evolved over centuries from indigenous practices throughout the Americas, and only settled into these fall dates after the rise of Catholicism, said Cary Cordova, a professor at the University of Texas.
Different areas mark them with unique details, but the crucial element is honoring the dead with “ofrendas,” festive offerings of the dead’s favorite food, drinks, music, and entertainment. Many believe that their spirits come back to visit, Guided by candles and Marigold flowers Which defines the way to ofrendas.
Whether in his Mexican childhood or today in Mankato, Luis Alberto Orozco said the key is to commemorate by “enjoying as they would” — with snacks and favorite songs of the departed.
“It remembers people who have died positively because they want us to remember them happy…and make ourselves feel that they are with us,” Orozco said.
As director of this year’s celebration, Orozco reflected on tense conversations in recent months about whether the event in Mankato might lead to immigration enforcement raids, especially as rumors spread on social media.
“We decided we would not be afraid,” he said. “It was important for us to keep our faith.” “Once I arrived at the event and saw all the people smiling, all the fears went away.”
The recent crackdown on illegal immigration in Chicago It generated controversy and Raised concerns Through that city.
Lisa Noss, some of whose ancestors immigrated from Mexico to the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago where she grew up, worried people would turn away from the “Day of the Dead” installation she helped create by the National Museum of Mexican Art there. But a large crowd came.
“I’m so grateful it ended up this way,” she said, adding that she also set up a smaller ovirenda in her kitchen containing candy, Barbie dolls and smiling photos of deceased family members.
For more than a century, artistic representations of the Day of the Dead have also moved from the domestic to the public sphere.
Beginning in Mexico and then through the Chicano rights movement in the United States, it also became a form of protest covering often marginalized victims, said Louis Fitch, a Minneapolis artist who created Day of the Dead images for retail giant Target and the U.S. Postal Service.
In Los Angeles, the location of some of the most powerful sites Enforcement actionsa group that defends Detained immigrants Sunday services are planned with Buddhist, Jewish and Protestant Christian rituals as well as altars in memory of those who died in detention, said the Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez, one of the organizers.
“There’s a lot of anxiety,” said Gutierrez, a United Methodist pastor. “But also an atmosphere of coming together to help each other.”
Back at El Colegio High School, the six altars with flickering candles, Decorated candy skulls and an abundance of paper flowers in memory of local and global losses.
There were pictures of children who had been killed At school mass Only 3 miles (5 km) away, but also those who He died while crossing the US-Mexico border As well as the victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11 The war in Gaza and violence against indigenous women.
“We try to always keep our spiritual sources of strength nourished,” said Susana de León, one of the traditional Aztec dancers who initiated the commemoration at El Colegio. “When the community sees us dancing, they feel empowered. They feel loved.”
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