Ancient celebration evolved in modern times ---
Thousands of people in the Bay Area will soon celebrate Day of the Dead, which continues to evolve as a cultural celebration with growing appeal to Hispanics and non-Hispanics. The evolution of ´Dia´ has accelerated in recent years as social and political issues are represented in Dia altars, and as awareness and interest from non-Hispanic Americans grows.
Before the Spaniards arrived to Mexico, the Day of the Dead festivities were celebrated by indigenous pagan cultures for as long as 3,000 years. In the pre-Hispanic era, skulls were commonly kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.
The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern Catrina.
Today, people in Mexico reserve November 1st and 2nd to go to the cemeteries, make altars, prepare the favorite food of their deceased love ones and celebrate their lives. In the multicultural Bay Area dozens of events will be held on November 1st and 2nd. Oakland will have its traditional festival on Sunday October 28th in the Fruitvale area – it is the largest Dia event in the Bay Area and will feature family altars, food, music, Aztec dancers, arts, and crafts.
“People do not have the cemeteries like in Mexico to gather and remember their love ones”, said Dr. Carlos Von Son, faculty member of National Hispanic University in San Jose. “Here people make these big festivals.”
In the Bay Area every year more and more people from other cultures enjoy and join the festivities of Day of the Dead, continually increasing the celebration´s popularity.
“It really shows a cultural development”, says Eduardo Pineda, curator of the exhibition, Forgotten Stories, Remarkable Lives: Días de los Muertos 2012 at the Oakland Museum of California.
“It has been really interesting what is happening because the festivities still hold the consistency to honor the dead and at the same time it has been able to open it up to include other cultures”.
Through altars and installations, the exhibition at the Oakland Museum pays tribute to Californians in the recent and distant past, and unveils how their remarkable experiences compose the narrative of change in the ever-evolving story of California.
In Hayward, a Day of the Dead celebration will be held at Pancho Villa Center. Through a fun, hands-on workshop, people will create their own mini altar to celebrate Day of the Dead. People will bring small, family photos to personalize their altar, which they will build in shadowbox - a piece of art to take home at the end of the day.
“The more the celebration gets popular, the more that people add their own twist”, said Oscar Cisneros, resident of Oakland and owner of Tu Tienda Azteca in Hayward.