Linking Life and Death

If you’re hosting a Halloween party Friday night and think “Night of the Living Dead” and “Day of the Dead” are both classic gore flicks, you’ll be one video short of a double feature.

But the confusion is understandable. “El Dia de los Muertos” (“Day of the Dead”) and Halloween dovetail on the calendar and share the use of costumes and candy. But that’s where the similarity ends.

“This is a totally different celebration than Halloween, which has long since lost its original religious connection,” said Oxnard teacher Javier Gomez. “El Dia de los Muertos has a strong spiritual component. The celebration demonstrates respect for life and death through remembering our beloved deceased.”

The Day of the Dead, which is celebrated each year on Nov. 1 and 2, primarily in Mexico and the Southwestern part of the United States, is one of the oldest--if not the oldest--extant pre-Colombian indigenous celebrations of the Americas, according to Gomez, also artistic director of the nonprofit Inlakech Cultural Arts Center.

So as the dust settles on Halloween revelries, many members of the local Latino community will just be gearing up to celebrate. And the biggest event of its kind in the county will take place Sunday.

The 14th annual “El Dia de los Muertos Celebrations,” sponsored by the Inlakech Cultural Arts Center, Public Housing Drug Elimination Program and other community agencies, will offer free entertainment in the soccer stadium of Oxnard’s Parque del Sol. A smaller but similar event will be held Saturday in Ventura.

According to Gomez, “The Day of the Dead symbolizes the fusion of two cultures--the culture of the indigenous people of Latin America and the observation of the Spanish-Christian All Saint’s Day on Nov. 1. The Day of the Dead is observed mostly in Mexico, on Nov. 2, where Aztec legend claims the dead are released from Mictlan--the land of the dead--to roam and to visit the living world.”

On Nov. 1, family members light candles and make noise with rattles to help the spirits or animas find their house. In Mexico, people also explode firecrackers and play music. Families also convert cemeteries into picnic grounds, clean off grave sites and paint tombstones bright colors such as blue, pink or yellow. And they may guide the spirits with bright marigold trails made of cempa xochitl (the flower of the dead). The flowers are often placed around graves or as a trail leading into the house directly to the altar, where a great display of food and other offerings (ofrendas) await the visiting souls.

“The ofrendas are for those people who have touched your life no matter how long they’ve been deceased,” Gomez said. There will also be toys, figures, photos of the loved one and calaveritas--sugar skulls, which often bear the name of the recipient or family on the forehead. These are not meant to be eaten, but other food items are.

“Food offerings--ranging from fruits, nuts, meats, breads and candies--are placed on the altar with the belief that when the spirits visit, they eat of the essence and leave the rest for the living to devour,” he said.

Gomez estimated Sunday’s event will attract from 1,500 to 3,000 people. Members of the public are encouraged to wear costumes and masks and to bring candles, noisemakers and photos of a departed loved one as well as their favorite food or drink. “These offerings, along with written messages, can be placed on a community altar after the parade,” Gomez said.

Activities include a colorful procession of carnival floats, costumed actors, musicians, the Pasadena-based Aztec dance troupe, Yankuititl, and the Nahui Ollin Danzantes, a dance troupe composed of residents of La Colonia neighborhood.

But the highlight is the annual bilingual theatrical production staged by Teatro Inlakech. “The play changes each year to reflect the impact of certain issues or the personality of a recently deceased figure on the Latino community in mictlan, the underworld. But the tone is always irreverent and satirical to poke good-natured fun at the serious aspect of death,” Gomez said.

This year’s production, “A Death Jam; A Comedy-Musical Concert in Loving Memory of Mother Teresa,” features the arrival of Princess Diana. But she doesn’t realize she’s dead; she thinks she is attending a fund-raiser for Mother Teresa, whom she admired. The play also includes recently deceased musicians and celebrities.

New to the festivities will be sembrando un nombre--awarding an Aztec name to individuals who have been supportive in education and in the Latino community.

“The day itself is a rebirth of people as they visit us through the living,” said Gomez. “And the Aztec name will honor the individuals who took on the embodiment of virtues and deeds personified by those who lived previously.

“De lo viejo nace lo nuevo--the new is born from the old.”

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BE THERE

“El Dia de los Muertos” celebration starts at 8:30 a.m. Sunday with a 5-K “calavera” walk-run. Aztec blessing, entertainment and refreshments, 5 p.m. Parade, 6 p.m. Cultural showcase, Aztec dancers, community altar exhibit and bilingual play, 7-9 p.m. Activities take place at Parque del Sol, located at Rose Avenue and Camino del Sol in Oxnard. (805) 486-7063 or (805) 486-7468.

ALSO

Tonight

The public is invited to a free “El Dia de los Muertos” celebration, 7-9 p.m. featuring life-size altar, poetry readings, traditional costumes and refreshments. Ahmanson Science Center, Cal Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. (805) 493-3489.

Friday

An exhibit of Day of the Dead altars will be on display for two weeks at Inlakech Cultural Center, 937 W. 5th St., Oxnard. (805) 486-7063.

Saturday

Day of the Dead parade leaves 6 p.m. from the Senior Recreation Center, 550 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura. Teatro Inlakech bilingual play and refreshments, 7-9 p.m. (805) 648-2829.