Festive Date With Death

The colorful and larger-than-life altar, or ofrenda, was decorated with dozens of skulls, or calaveras, orange marigolds, candles to lead the way to the afterlife and the customary bread of the dead, pan de muerto, in case the deceased become hungry on their journey.

It was, perhaps, more elaborate and artistic than most altars, but then again it told the story of one of Mexico’s most revered and dynamic artists, Frida Kahlo.

Photos of the well-known artist, reproductions of some of her paintings, and a wheelchair were but a few of the items that complemented the exhibit and told of the joy and tragedy that marked her life.

Dozens of people were drawn to the altar and other attractions during Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, festivities at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana on Sunday.

For those interested in their family history, a genealogist was on hand to look up Latino surnames. Young girls in traditional garb danced to folk music in the Spanish-style courtyard, and workers from the Hispanic Education Services branch of the Orange County district attorney’s office were on hand to face-paint a variety of skulls on cheeks. Others busily cut out paper skulls so children could color and decorate them with glitter.

A celebration of death may sound morbid to some people, but it’s not for Latinos. Dia de los Muertos and Halloween both have their roots in the feast of All Saints, but that is where the similarity ends.

Alice Rumbaugh, a Spanish teacher at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, said the holiday is a blend of Catholic and indigenous culture that occurred during Spanish colonial times. The customs are not unique, however, and are practiced in varying forms around the world.

“The Anglo culture buries their dead and walks away,” Rumbaugh said. She said decorating an altar for a deceased loved one or bringing food for them in a cemetery shows the spirit that it has not been forgotten.

“A part of life is that you know you’re going to die. [Visitors] can see how the Mexican faces death. It’s done in humor, art. It keeps them constantly connected to the other part of life, which is death.”

When first-grade teacher Teri Rocco tells her mostly Mexican American students at Dr. Edward Russell Elementary in Santa Ana they will be tasting pan de muerto or sugar skulls in class, they are less than pleased--until they taste the delicacies.

Rocco, wearing whimsical skeleton earrings, said many of her students are not familiar with this important aspect of their culture.

As a member of the Amigas de la Cultura, Rocco is one of three schoolteachers who organize traditional exhibits for Latino events locally. The three women spent about eight hours setting up Frida Kahlo’s popular ofrenda, spending less time than they had in years past, they said. They have been doing this for about five years.

Laguna Beach resident Maile Bartholomew has always been drawn to the concept of Dia de los Muertos. She said she grew up in a culture in which death and dying are perceived as terrifying and are a taboo subject that is in direct contrast to the celebratory Mexican holiday.

“It’s not a scary thing to go to the cemetery to visit Grandma and bring her cookies,” she said, standing among dozens of laughing, toothy skulls in the museum.

A few moments later, a woman walked by wearing a skeletal mask and garbed in black. Her large hat was adorned with feathers and the symbolic orange marigold flower. The costume is a caricature meant to poke fun at rich women and is based on a political cartoon created by famous satirist Jose Guadalupe Posadas.

Teresa Maldonado Parker is the woman in costume, and as president of the Mexican American Arts Council at the museum, she has helped organize the event each year for the last decade.

Her family never celebrated the holiday, but when Parker’s husband and son passed away several years ago, she decided to construct her own ofrenda to them and has been celebrating since then.

“It was a wonderful experience,” she said. Constructing an altar out of memories and love helped with the healing process and made her remember the good times they shared.

“It’s a whole different way of looking at death.”