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Day of the dead finds new life
Cross-cultural appeal
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Eric Parsons / Star staff Cassandra Calderon, left, waits with her family to have their photo taken after they dressed in costume at the Museum of Ventura County on Sunday during the seventh annual Dia de los Muertos celebration in Ventura.
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Eric Parsons / Star staff Sarah Rodriguez is reflected in a mirror as she and Nicholas Colmenero participate in the Dia de los Muertos celebration at the Museum of Ventura County.
Carmen Guerrero will feel closer to her grandmother today.
She'll celebrate the woman who died nine years ago a month before her 99th birthday, who took her to her first rock concert, brought her on road trips aboard a Greyhound bus and made the best beans.
All of those memories are represented in an altar Guerrero built to commemorate her grandparents for Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead — one of the most important holidays in some parts of Mexico and an increasingly popular tradition in the U.S.
The festival of Dia de los Muertos, celebrated over the first two days of November, is when some believe deceased loved ones return to Earth.
While Mexican-Americans might have been some of the first to embrace the tradition in the United States, Day of the Dead has exploded in popular culture, showing up in art galleries, museums and cultural centers. People from many different nationalities celebrate the holiday from San Francisco to San Diego, Texas to Illinois.
"I think when you honor your ancestors, you are honoring yourself, and that makes sense to people," said Juan Carrillo, a Sacramento-based artist and retired art administrator. "There aren't a lot of opportunities to do that."
The spread of Day of the Dead celebrations throughout the country, especially in California, began with artists' movements in the early 1970s, he said. As it spread, people brought their own cultures to the ritual. It's more of a human experience now, instead of just a cultural one.
"I think it has something to do with moving from a very deep fear of death to embracing death as part of life," Carrillo said. "It's about connecting to our past."
Dia de los Muertos is not celebrated everywhere in Mexico, said Eva Ramirez, a Spanish professor at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
Ramirez never celebrated Dia de los Muertos when she grew up in Jalisco, Mexico, and didn't know anyone who did. About two years ago, however, Ramirez returned and saw a Dia de los Muertos exhibit displayed at the town's cultural center. With the Internet and international travel, she said, more people are learning about the traditions and art associated with the Mexican ritual.
Each community has its own traditions, Ramirez said, but it always is about celebrating loved ones who have died.
Included in the traditions are altars, like the one Guerrero made, which are filled with food, drinks and other items that represent loved ones. They are in homes and cemeteries, as well as a growing number of museums throughout Ventura County.
Guerrero's altar is on display at the California Oil Museum in Santa Paula as part of an educational art exhibit. It's the first year the museum has celebrated Dia de los Muertos, said Jeanne Orcutt, museum director, and it could become an annual event. The artwork is inspiring, Orcutt said, and shows people that it's not a morbid holiday.
"It's a celebration of life. It's not a spooky thing," Guerrero said. "For me, it's a wonderful day."
The Museum of Ventura County counted 1,560 people at its seventh annual Dia de los Muertos Community Celebration last weekend.
"It has grown every year," said Wendy VanHorn, the museum's education director. "This is definitely part of our tradition now. ... We are a museum about history and art. The Day of the Dead combines those two so perfectly."
She said it has grown to become the museum's biggest annual event.
"It's about family and the community," Jeri Nava-Maynez of Ventura said at the museum Sunday. Her daughter, Katrina Maynez, 11, stood nearby, her face painted like a skeleton.
"It's part of my Mexican culture," Katrina said.
People have embraced the celebration, VanHorn said.
"We don't have a lot of ways in our modern culture to remember people who have died," she said. "Somehow this has touched that nerve in people."
Posted by daze805 on November 1, 2007 at 10:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
News flash... this is the melting pot...try to be a little more tolerant and you might be less bitter.
Posted by myusername on November 1, 2007 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
DJKnows' comment would lead me to assume you don't celebrate Christmas or Easter, since Jesus was not from the United States. Or St. Patricks's day either. And unless you're pure American Indian, you yourself ultimately came from another country.
Posted by CollegeProf on November 1, 2007 at 11:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I would say that our country is more of a "melding" pot than a "melting" pot. When matter melts it looses its original shape and then merges with other matter to form something completely different. But to "meld" means joing other matter but not loosing original properties. I like to use a salad as an example. In a salad we add many different ingredients each with its own distinctive flavors, colors and shapes. Together in a salad each ingredient contributes to the overall taste but each retains its own uniqueness.
Likewise in the US, as a nation of immigrants each of our unique cultures contributes to a shared culture. The holidays of St Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo are two prime examples of holidays that ARE NOT origins of Ireland or Mexico but instead evolved here in the US based on history and cultural practices in each of two countries. We are products of our shared cultures and that is one reason that our shared US culture is so interesting.
Posted by XcLarate on November 1, 2007 at 12:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DJknows, U buddy are fighting a loosing battle, no matter how you dice and slice the American pie this nation was built on the backs of immigrants illigal/legal whatever!!! A diffrent subject... And I am not refering to you!! DJknows, But your'e forfather's that came to this country, I'm sure many many moon's ago..America is a melting/melding pot that's our culture wheather you accept that or not.. Now if you cannot accept that, You are living in the wrong place. Before you know it Latinos will be the majority in Calif. And i'm sure those very words are making your'e blood boil, But no matter where you go in this country you are going to have to accept the different type of tradditions that have been assimilated into that culture, No matter what ethinic backround it was originated from..
Y don't u just buy a farm in the middle of Kansas with 100 acres and you can have your'e very own culture and celebrate holliday's that u whant to celebrate with no one to immpose their cultural celebration's on you.. Or stay here and and give your self a heart attack from all the Cinco de Mayo, St Patrick's day, Dia de los muertos, hollidays. Enjoy life a little..Adapt and overcome. Semper fi...
Posted by rebel123 on November 1, 2007 at 1:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DKknows, you reek of intolerance. I find it interesting to know about other cultures. If you don't like what you read, log off and choose to stay in your small minded world. For pete's sake, it is just an article about a rather fascinating piece of culture. Do you get your knickers in a knot over the Greek Festival too?
Posted by mrya_99 on November 1, 2007 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DJKnows..... Lighten up will ya!!! Enjoy life and let others do the same. We are only here for a short time as it is, lets not get all "uptight" because of a nice simple cultural event.... Dios Mio!!!
Posted by daze805 on November 1, 2007 at 7:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow, this guy is a real xenophobe.
DJ, No one said you HAVE to do anything... you are an adult and live in a country that grants you freedom of expression.
However, should you one day CHOOSE to be more tolerant, you might be less bitter.
Posted by CollegeProf on November 1, 2007 at 8:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Latino culture it seems is anti-American" is an oxymoron. Impossible to be anti-American if you are a Latino because Latinos are American!
QUESTION: Why do so many in the US think they have a monopoly on America?
Posted by CollegeProf on November 2, 2007 at 12:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Of course they want to act American: Latinos always act American, just as Canadians always act American, and Mexicans always act American, and Guatemalans act American, and Chileans act American, and Argentines act American, and Brazilians act American, etc, etc.
We in the US do not have a monopoly on being an American! We don't have to live/reside in the US to be an American!
Posted by moethebartender on November 2, 2007 at 1:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Problem is Prof...Latinos don't want to act "American.""
If by "American" you mean "from the United States"... People said the same thing about the Irish in the mid-19th century, the Italians and Jews in the early 20th century, and so on. But the Republic still stands.
Posted by moethebartender on November 2, 2007 at 2:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If Day of the Dead goes mainstream, it'll be the latest in a long line of holidays and holiday traditions we Americans have adopted from other cultures. Halloween became popular in this country when Irish immigrants brought their traditional All Saints' Eve celebrations with them. Our Christmas traditions come from all over the world: The Christmas tree and Advent calendar are from Germany, and Santa Claus is based on "Sinter Klaas" (St. Nicholas), who was revered among Dutch settlers in New York State.
I wonder if those who fret over a "Mexican holiday" being celebrated here realize that every October 31, they celebrate an Irish holiday. I can think of three holidays invented in the USA: Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July and Cinco de Mayo.
Posted by moethebartender on November 2, 2007 at 3:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Go to vannuysmecha.com website. On it you'll see a poster depicting a Mexican flag draw over part of the American flag. This is what they're teaching at an American high school. Would a high school in Mexico allow an American flag to be drawn over a Mexican flag? I don't think so!"
I decided to investigate DJKnows' interesting claims. This is the poster he refers to:
http://vannuysmecha.com/mexicanameric...
The image on the poster combines the Mexican and American flags, with the message "Somos Americanos" (We Are Americans). As in, the U.S. and Mexico are both part of the Americas. It is a message of unity, not a slander against the United States. Only part of the American flag is on the poster, but only part of the Mexican flag is there as well. A jingoistic patriot from Mexico could just as well take it as an anti-Mexican statement. The poster was displayed at the May 1, 2006 protest rally in downtown Los Angeles, which is not a school-sponsored activity.
Here's another image posted on that America-hating high school club website:
http://vannuysmecha.com/weloveusa.JPG
Posted by daze805 on November 2, 2007 at 5:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
DJ, if you are implying that Mexican-Americans don't assimilate, you couldn't be more wrong. Haven't you been to a mall lately, or a high school? The majority of second and third generation Mexican-Americans act and talk just like all the other youth.
Thanks moe and CollegeProf for your positive input. I have argued that point for such a long time, America is a continent(s) and not a country.
We all have a lot to learn from each culture that is here, and that is part of what makes CA, and Ventura County such a great place!
Posted by byteme on November 2, 2007 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Live and let live...enjoy life without worrying about what others are doing or celebrating (as long is is legal of course.) Some peeps have too much time on their hands and need to get a life
Posted by FedUp on November 2, 2007 at 12:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DJ - does make some valid points. I think when he is referring to America, he really needs to be stating "the United States of America". of course the Americas dont just include the USA. to think that is ignorant at best. and I dont think DJ thinks that.
what he says about the STAR is correct though. they tend to run more articles about cultural events from other nations, specifically Mexico. do I know the reasoning behind that? I really dont. I do know they tend to lean a little left (like most media) when it comes to articles about other nations. when they run articles about immigration, they never seem to point out all of the negatives. they only seem to focus on the displaced families. not the amount of money the illegals are costing american taxpayers.
I personally find other cultures and their celebrations interesting. I do however get sick of reading the same article about the "day of the dead" every single year. it seems as if they are just inputting new names into the article. every 4-5 years they can write about it, but seeing it every year, the text seems to get a bit stale.
But what do I know? I am just a racist, right?
**sorry for the rambling**
Posted by daze805 on November 2, 2007 at 3:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Try reading a different paper if you don't like the stories...just a suggestion to solve your disdain for the paper?
Posted by FedUp on November 2, 2007 at 3:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
not many choices in ventura county now is there??
Posted by daze805 on November 2, 2007 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Try the LA Times or the internet for your news. I for one, support the star ever since i delivered their papers years ago...
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