The Day of the Dead lives on.
The traditional Latin American festival of Dia de los Muertos, as celebrated with coordination by the Bare Hands arts organization, marked 20 years in Birmingham on Tuesday.
“It’s a way to honor the dead and remember their lives,” said Saily Robaina.
“People love to remember their loved ones,” said Tosha Gaines, a member of the board of directors of the non-profit arts organization Bare Hands Inc. “We feel the pain together. You can cry here without judgment.”
Dia de los Muertos moved this year to Sloss Furnaces, after several years at Pepper Place.
The festival offers a walking path through altars set up to memorialize the dead, with elaborate art, candles and memorabilia tied to the lives of the deceased being honored.
There is a “Letters to Heaven” booth, where those who wish to reach out to the world beyond can sit down and write letters to their dead loved ones.
“It gives people a way to grieve,” said DeAnna Fields, who oversaw the Letters to Heaven booth. “It seems to be comforting.”
There is a pet memorial booth, where those whose pets have died can write their names on paper and hang them on a memorial art wall.
Dia de los Muertos, observed each year on Nov. 2, is also known as All Souls’ Day.
In the Americas, church ritual mixed with native celebration of ancestors. Mayans, Incans and other Native Americans had great reverence for the dead and ancestor worship was culturally important. That tradition blended into the Catholic holy days of the dead.
In the tradition of Anglican and Catholic churches, All Souls’ Day is a day to pray for all souls. Among Catholics, prayers are offered for those in purgatory, waiting to get into heaven.
In many countries in Mexico and central America, Nov. 2 is a national holiday. It’s the climax of three days of celebration: All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. People often dress as skeletons as a way of remembering the dead and celebrating their ancestors.
In addition to the altars, there are elaborate costumes, with face makeup that often echoes skeletons.
