On November 1, we make food for the whole family and leave an extra plate for the altar. We believe our deceased love ones will take these as gifts for their journey and be blessed by our memory of them. We also decorate altars with bread of the dead, water, salt, candy, and other offerings. On Dia de los Muertos, the deceased spirits come and visit loved ones on earth.

Castro stopped by to visit with Cruz and talk about her altar. During his recent trip to Chico State, California State University Chancellor Joseph I. We believe the scents from the flowers and lit candles help guide the dead. We also decorate the altar with cempasuchil, or marigolds, also called “flower of the dead,” and place them in vases around the altar-while some families create a trail of petals in front. I grew up with a large family, so I usually arrange a number of photos around the altar, ranging from my 30-year-old cousin, who died in 2020, to my great-grandparents, who died in the 1990s. For example, I place a photo of my grandpa with a bottle of Coca-Cola and pomegranates-two things we knew he loved when he was alive.

We gather photos of our deceased loved ones with their favorite objects and foods. We start decorating the altar on Halloween and place it in our homes. But the more I spoke to Adrienne and museum staff Heather McCafferty about the Dia de los Muertos traditions in my mother’s house, I realized there was a lot of curiosity behind the celebration, which made me more excited to work with my community and set up an altar to represent this special holiday on our campus.ĭia de los Muertos starts on October 31 and runs through November 3. I assumed many people knew and understood the meaning behind the altar-I didn’t think it was a big deal. Smith Museum of Anthropology, Adrienne Scott, asked if I could set up an altar for Dia de los Muerto s this year, I immediately agreed to it. I am from Los Angeles and my parents are originally from Oaxaca, Mexico.

All Stories Diversity Galleries People Voicesīy Guadalupe Cruz (Junior, Child Development)

Make a dia de los muertos altar