“But I remember that when I was in the seminary in the 1990s here in Los Angeles, we would be asked to bring portraits of relatives and we would make altars around All Souls’ Day.” “The celebration did take place in the Church in parishes, prayer groups, youth groups, and Latino families, but there was no official archdiocesan celebration before,” said Vega. In Mexico, and in the homes of Mexican immigrants in Southern California, the cultural traditions of the Day of the Dead have always been celebrated along with the religious. These will represent the fullness of life once resurrected.” “That concept is not different from the Catholic-Christian belief that a person will manifest their faith through good deeds and virtues that will be practiced in the image of Jesus Christ.
The level or degree of light you will have in the afterlife would be according to the goodness and the integrity that you practiced,” explained Vega. “For the Anahuac (pre-Hispanic) cultures, the indigenous had a concept of life after death in which fulfillment depends on the virtues you have practiced during your physical life. But they draw from traditions deeply ingrained in Mexican culture, and to a lesser extent, in those of other Latin American countries.Īccording to Ernesto Vega, who oversees Adult Faith Formation in Spanish for the archdiocese, the version of the Day of the Dead celebrated in Southern California and all over Mexico has its roots in pre-Hispanic cultural traditions blended with the traditional Catholic festivities of All Saints’ Day (Nov. It’s only the sixth year that “Día de los Muertos”-themed events are taking place in LA’s Catholic cemeteries. 'Dia de los Muertos' celebration in 2014. 26 at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard, and Nov. Like the Vasquez family, thousands of others are expected to participate in the Day of the Dead celebrations in two Catholic cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles: Oct. It is true that there is sadness in this remembrance, but this allows us to also feel the happiness.” “We did it last year and loved the event so much we decided to do it again. “We knew of this tradition, but we had never physically created an altar for anyone,” Vasquez said. But now that they’ve immersed themselves in the altar-making as well as joined other families doing the same at Calvary Cemetery in East LA, they feel they are also celebrating his life. A few weeks ago, they had a Mass in his honor to mark the anniversary of his passing.įor this Southern California family of Mexican origin, the point of the Day of the Dead (more commonly known as “Día de los Muertos” in Spanish) celebration is to honor the memory of their loved one. On the altar, along with pictures of their loved one, they will place the traditional sugar skulls, several pieces of special sweet bread or “pan de muerto” (“bread of the dead”), bottles of the Mexican soda he loved and the exact brand of hot chiles he preferred to eat. For the second year in a row, 28-year-old Jeannette Vasquez, her siblings, mother, and other family members will come together at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard to create a traditional Day of the Dead altar in honor of her father, Rafael, who died Oct.
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