The marigold, or cempasuchitl, occupies an important role in Mexico. It is sometimes called the Flor de Muerto because it is used to invite the souls of the dead to the Día de los Muertos celebrations.
There will be a Día de los Muertos celebration in Memphis on Nov. 2. It will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. at El Mercadito on 3766 Ridgeway Rd.. It will be open to the public and is free to attend.
Día de los Muertos is an important Mexican holiday with roots in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican traditions. Traditionally people set up ofrendas-altars with offerings-around the gravesites of loved ones as a way of honoring and celebrating the dead.
One of the ofrendas was made by U of M graduate student, Caitlin Hettich, who is working on her MFA in sculpture. She made the “Day of the Dead Altar” because she has been doing a lot of work with death. It took her about a month to make the amoire and the bones took her a semester to make. Her ofrenda is an homage to her grandfather.
“Since a lot of my work deals with ideas of death,” Hettich said. “Doing an altar for the Day of the Dead meshes pretty seamlessly with the work I already do.”
In Mexico Día de los Muertos is celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2. People bring their favorite food, music and anything else that was important to their ancestors. During Día de los Muertos in Mexico cemeteries look like block parties. Music, dancing, stories about the dead, ofrendas and traditional foods and beverages are typical of the celebrations.
Richard Lou, the chair of the art department at the U of M, describes Día de los Muertos growing up in Mexico.
“There would be this very festive atmosphere. It was a time of remembrance and of joy,” Lou said. “There was a gratitude. We all owe a debt to somebody for helping out, for teaching us.”
Here in Memphis, Día de los Muertos is still somewhat new. A large group of friends and affiliates from different Latino organizations in Memphis started a Día de los Muertos committee and this is their eighth year setting up an event in Memphis. As Gaelle Llambi, the Media Coordinator for the Día de los Muertos committee, explains this in large part was started as a way to pass down a cultural tradition.
“You can imagine if you have kids born here and you say ‘back in Mexico that’s how it is.’ Kids after a while will get bored of that because they don’t really experience it,” Llambi said. “It a tradition that needs to be experienced. It is a way to transmit culture to the children who are born here.”
It started back in 2007 and has grown over the past eight years getting larger each year. Last year there was around 1,300 people at the event according to Llambi and this year more are expected. There will be traditional Mexican dances, Danza Azteca Quetzalcoatl, Ballet Memphis, theatre, music, an Argentine historian will talk about the significance of death in Latin America, and of course, the 26 ofrendas.
Día de los Muertos is a time to invite the dead back to earth to celebrate, honor and remember their lives.
Cutline:
A Día de los Muertos ofrenda that is a mix between an armoire and a coffin sitting on a pile of bones made by Caitlin Hettich in homage to her grandfather.
