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More than 100 people followed Aztec Dancers walked through an arch of paper flowers at El Colegio High School Saturday morning to visit altars that students had built to commemorate Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
“It’s… a way to welcome our ancestors back into our homes, into our lives, even if they’re not here physically, but spiritually,” said Daniela Rosales, a senior at the small, bilingual school. minneapolis“It’s a way to bring the community together and let them know that there’s some way they can feel safe.”
These are important religious, family and community festivals for most people. Mexico and many other Latin Americans have taken on particular importance in U.S. Latino communities this year as the Trump administration has increased immigration enforcement raids, including minnesota,
While some organizers were concerned that fear of deportation would put a dampener on public gatherings, participants turned out in droves in cities big and small, saying the rituals brought a much-needed sense of resilience and community pride.
“We decided we couldn’t cave,” said Justin Eck, one of the founders of the Day of the Dead festival in Mankato, a town in Minnesota farmland. “Our cultural festivals are what we need to fill our souls for what is to come.”
The family of an indigenous Latino artist started a small commemoration in the parking lot of his painting business in 2018. This year, about 12,000 people attended the day-long celebration, which included live music and several dozen papier-mâché sculptures of catrinas (elaborately dressed skeletons) and fantastical creatures called alebrijes. Most activities were funded by community donations.
Mourning, but with joy: the spiritual side of the Day of the Dead
Eck’s father came to the U.S. from Mexico as a teenager and in the struggle to earn a living and eventually build a family, many connections to his homeland and to relatives there disappeared, Eck said.
In addition to remembering recent family deaths, the Day of the Dead has become a way to mourn and rekindle certain relationships, he said.
One said, “This is our way of honoring what we have lost.”
The holiday’s balance of joyful memory and a renewed sense of presence distinguishes it from both the obvious party atmosphere of Halloween and the solemn commemorations of the Christian holy days of All Saints on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2.
In fact, the Day of the Dead evolved over centuries from indigenous practices across the Americas, and settled on these autumn dates only after Catholicism began, said University of Texas professor Cary Cordova.
Different regions mark it with unique details, but the key element is paying tribute to the dead with “ofrendas”, celebratory offerings of the deceased’s favorite foods, drinks, music and pastimes. Many believe that their spirits return for a visit, guided by the candles and marigolds that mark the route to the orenda.
Whether it’s his Mexican childhood or today in Mankato, Luis Alberto Orozco said the main thing is to “have fun” — with the departed’s favorite snacks and songs.
Orozco said, “It’s about remembering those who passed away in a positive way because they want us to remember them happy… and to make ourselves feel like they’re with us.”
Joyful and proud commemorations defy fears of immigration enforcement
As a symbol of this year’s celebration, Orozco reflected on the tense negotiations in recent months over whether the event in Mankato could be subject to immigration enforcement raids, especially as rumors spread on social media.
“We decided that we will not be afraid. It is important for us to maintain our faith,” he said. “Once I got to the event and saw everyone smiling, all the fear went away.”
The recent crackdown on illegal immigration in Chicago has created controversy and instilled fear throughout the city.
Lisa Noce, some of whose ancestors immigrated from Mexico to Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, where she grew up, was worried that people would shy away from the Day of the Dead installation she helped create for the National Museum of Mexican Art. But a big crowd came.
“I’m very grateful that it happened this way,” she said, adding that she has also set up a small orenda in her kitchen with candy, Barbie dolls and smiling photos of deceased family members.
‘Ofrendas’ range from family outings to political statements
For more than a century, artistic representations of the Day of the Dead have also shifted from the family to the public sphere.
Starting in Mexico and later through the Chicano rights movement in the United States, ofrenda has also become a form of protest often covering marginalized victims, said Minneapolis artist Luis Fitch, who has created Day of the Dead images for the retail giant. Target and the US Postal Service.
In Los Angeles, the site of some of the strongest enforcement actions, a group advocating for detained migrants planned to hold prayers Sunday along with Buddhist, Jewish and Protestant Christian rituals, along with altars commemorating those who died in custody, said the Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez, one of the organizers.
“There is a lot of concern,” said Gutierrez, the United Methodist minister. “But also an environment of coming together to help each other.”
At El Colegio High School, a half-dozen altars with flickering candles, decorated candy skulls and piles of paper flowers were reminders of local and global loss.
There were photos of children killed at a school just 3 miles (5 kilometers) away, but there were also photos of people killed crossing the US-Mexican border, as well as victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the war in Gaza and violence against indigenous women.
“We always try to keep our sources of spiritual strength nourished,” said Susana de Leon, one of the traditional Aztec dancers who started the commemoration at El Colegio. “When the community sees us dancing, they feel stronger. They feel love.”
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Associated Press religion coverage is supported by the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.