Los Dias de los Muertos

Several years ago a recently retired teacher who lived in the Beacon Hill neighborhood asked me if she could add a “decoration” (previously used in her classroom) to a branch program. Skeptical but intrigued, we were willing to host her Los Dias de los Muertos altar and we were subsequently awestruck at the charming and ephemeral work of art that turned our staid meeting room into an incandescent art gallery. The altar was covered with skeletons, skulls, bright orange marigolds, photos of the dead, candles, florescent tablecloths and foods. The altar or ofrenda became a bridge to appreciation of this unique cultural celebration of death. In this telling, death seemed less of a spectre and more a shimmering river that extends beyond this life. Picnicking beside this river, one can openly and joyously remember a loved one with gossip and stories flowing, just as at any family gathering.

The Days of the Dead or Los Dias de los Muertos are traditionally celebrated from October 31 to November 2nd. The Seattle Public Library will be honoring this Mexican tradition through family programs at these library locations during October and November: Columbia, Lake City (two events), Beacon Hill, Central Children’s Center, South Park, Southwest and Greenwood branches. Check our online calendar for dates and times. Storyteller and artist, Amaranta Ibarra, will introduce audiences to this holiday by decorating sugar skulls, cardboard coffins and calaca pincushions.

An excellent introduction to this tradition is The Day of the Dead El Dia De Los Muertos, edited by Dr. Alderete with text by Antoni Cadafalch. The popular art that has emerged in Mexico around this sacred time is stunningly reproduced, with chapters devoted to the most popular icons: the skulls, the skeletons, the altars and the bony woman. Throughout the book, the emphasis always is towards humor, as Cadafalch notes: “In some traditions, death is not regarded as an ending but rather the transition to a mystical and unknown world, and so, the argument runs, why not laugh when making the journey from life to death?”