Altar at Tower honors ancestors

Red, black, yellow and orange balloons created a pathway on the Tower steps Wednesday night to an alter of marigold bouquets, painted animal masks and framed photographs of the deceased illuminated by candles.

Despite on-and-off rain, students celebrated Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, on the Main Mall, mingling in the rain or huddling under a tent enjoying free tamales and pan de muerto — a type of sweet bread made only for the celebration. The event, hosted by the Mexican American Culture Committee, gave students the opportunity to commemorate the lives of loved ones who have passed away and immerse themselves in an ancient Mexican tradition.

Despite its focus on the dead, the holiday is meant to be a joyous, family occasion and express the direct, spiritual connection between the living and the deceased, said Natalie Arsenault, outreach director for the UT’s Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies.

“It’s a way to show life doesn’t end when [people] die and people can say, ‘You’re still with me,’” Arsenault said. “It’s a very intimate connection so we can accept death and not make it seem so final.”

The balloons and flowers lining the steps signified a place for the dead to find a way back home, said Eric Camarillo, committee chairman. Although sugar skulls are not edible, students could take them and present them as an offering on the altar, he said.

Traditionally, people leave their deceased loved ones’ favorite food on the altar, along with flowers and items related to the person, such as toys if the deceased is a child, or a cross if the person followed Christianity, Camarillo said.

The event also typically lasts two days, Camarillo added. The first day honors deceased children and the second day honors adults, he said.

Grupo Flor y Canto, a traditional UT Mexican dance group, showed up but cancelled its performance due to rain. Eliseo Jacob, a UT graduate student and one of the dancers, said the group had planned on performing dances originating from Veracruz, Mexico, including “Colás,” a performance that tells the story of a man saying goodbye to his wife, and “La Iguana,” an expression of sexuality as the male performer moves like an iguana around a central female dancer. Another dance, “La Bruja,” an all-female dance where women balance candles on their heads while doing rhythmic footwork, was also cancelled.

The candle on the women’s head represents a soul for the dead, and balancing the candle while performing the dance steps demonstrates the woman’s equilibrium with herself and in society, Jacob said.

In Mexico, families will sleep and have picnics in cemeteries, though the practice appears to be less common in the United States, said Luis Guevara, the program coordinator for the UT Center for Mexican American Studies.

As Día de los Muertos crossed the border, passing its customs from Mexico to the United States, immigrants have shaped the holiday’s traditions, Guevara said. Immigrants who move from Mexico to the United States for a better life will ask the spirits of their loved ones for economic support, such as a better job, and a way to send their children to school, he said.

“Día de Los Muertos is a way for immigrants who are becoming a part of American society to also go back to their established roots,” Guevara said. “Every family is different. Some kids are brought up in it, some aren’t.”

Comments

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above: