Dia de los Muertos is a time to honor, remember and celebrate dead ancestors as their souls are believed to return to Earth. In Germany we also have this holiday. Families head to the cemeteries to pray for their dead loved ones, but Latino people celebrated in a different way. Their holiday celebrates life, rather than mourning death. I like this attitude - focusing on being happy that this person has lived rather than being sad that they have passed. Important is the impact they made in someone else’s life.
At the center of the tradition are ofrendas, a shrine to deceased relatives adorned in bright colors sugar skulls, marigold flowers and the traditional papel picado. Every item on the ofrenda has a meaning and isn’t just decoration. Family and friends will decorate the altar with items the deceased liked in life such as their favorite foods, toys, clothes, flowers, and personal photos. I love this way of honoring the ancestors. When people die, their presence, their legacy and teachings are not over. But if you lived a life without making contributions or making a difference, you’ll just be a fading picture of somebody no one remembers anymore, catching dust in a drawer.
The Dia de los Muertos traditions have evolved and changed as people migrate and different cultures mingle, and I am grateful to be part of the celebration each year. I always try to come up with a new idea for my art installation. What touched me the most is that it’s believed your soul will disappear when you are forgotten. I thought of all the undocumented immigrants that are already now like ghosts among the living. Because of the immigrant raids, ordered by President Trump, they have to hide and skip work to stay off the radar. I wanted to speak with my piece about the many contributions of immigrants to our society. Because sometimes they get forgotten in the loud rhetoric of the people who are making the decisions in Washington and take credit for all the great achievements of the US. A rich and vibrant history of San Francisco is lost, when you don’t acknowledge the contribution of immigrants. This is why over 500 monarch butterflies are gracefully fluttering and swarming the city. Each building has a soul given by the people living or working there, that is symbolized through my spirit animals. What would they say? Many immigrants literally sacrificed everything – their family, friends, and everything they know - to settle in the city, and then they have to justify their action. Especially at a time when immigrants face unprecedented hate and federal policies that seek to tear them down, we need to remember the past and build opportunities for our collective success.
