Ancient Mexican Ceremony for Dead Takes Modern, Mournful Turn : Latino group of mothers against violence debuts on first day of celebration honoring children.

Less known than the Mexican Day of the Dead ceremony, celebrated today, is the first day of the holiday, El Dia de los Santos Inocentes --the Day of the Innocent Saints, the day honoring children who left this world before they had a chance to put their stamp on it.

By tradition that predates the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the two days are festive if fatalistic commemorations of the departed. But in a Long Beach ceremony Wednesday, the ancient ceremony took a decidedly modern, and mournful, turn.

The sponsor of the celebration, the Long Beach-based Community Hispanic Assn., focused part of the event at Long Beach Plaza mall on the youngsters who lost their lives to violence, and introduced a new organization--Latinos Opposing a Violent Environment--formed last week by grieving mothers of victims of street violence.

“We don’t want you to be the next parent that we have to visit in your sadness,” said Raymond Chavarria, president of Community Hispanic Assn.

Chavarria explained that his organization chose to commemorate the holiday Wednesday--a day before the more widely celebrated Mexican equivalent of All Saints’ Day--to recognize a parallel yet lesser known ritual on Nov. 1 dedicated to invoking and comforting the spirits of children who have died.

Four altars--each devoted to the memory of a youth murdered in the area this year--formed the literal and figurative center of the event.

Although Salvadoran-born Maria Salazar had never participated in the holiday before, she prepared one of the four altars for the memory of her daughter, Misshell Michel, who was killed May 1 at age 19 by a bullet to the head.

Salazar said she first had a negative response when fellow members of the new anti-gang group with the acronym LOVE told her of the celebration.

“I said to myself, ‘How can they celebrate a day like that?’ ” she said. But Salazar decided to take part in the ritual so she could warn other parents to guard their children as well as join them in receiving the spirits of the dead.

“I want to believe it and I want to receive [Misshell] well.”

Others who aided in organizing the event emphasized the cultural aspects of the holiday.

“It teaches you the circle of life,” said Ivan Limas, a student artist at Cerritos College and member of Mecha, a Chicano student group. He and other Mecha members donated art and traditional decorations for the event.

“You aren’t supposed to cry,” Limas said. “They say that if you cry, the spirits when they come back will slip on your tears.”

The tradition originated in ancient Mexico, when Indians would summon the spirits of their dead with food and music. On the first day, they would recall those who had died as infants or young children, on the second they would invoke their dead warriors.

Early Catholic priests in Mexico, realizing that their chances of bringing in converts were better if Indians could continue their traditions, brought the Day of the Dead celebrations within their religion by combining it with All Saints’ Day.

The first day became El Dia de los Santos Inocentes , which means Day of the Innocent Saints--those who died before knowing sin.

Luis Montes, founder of Los Angeles Teens on Target, a Downey-based organization that warns students against firearms, said: “This is a more somber event [than the usual Day of Innocent Saints] in the fact there still is a lot of trauma that is here.”

Long Beach resident Jean Martinez, who has attended numerous Day of the Dead celebrations, appreciated Wednesday’s focus on violence.

“Certainly, the time has come to remember those who have died,” she said.