Celebrating Día de los Muertos means merging grief and joy, thanks to community creativity.

Sara Rubin here, looking around at the joyful colors of Día de los Muertos. It is a holiday of mourning as people remember the dead, but also a celebration as people share stories of what made those departed family members happy. Grief is in the air, but so is love as marigolds, ofrendas with family photos and sweet treats are set up in homes and cemeteries, and also public places. 

“Even if we cry a little bit or feel sad, we also are feeling that our loved ones are at peace,” says Esmeralda Montenegro of Salinas. She is the event chair for the fourth annual Día de los Muertos celebration hosted by the Hospice Giving Foundation, in partnership with Hartnell College and Hijos del Sol, held tomorrow, Nov. 2, from 2-6pm at Hartnell. 

The occasion may be very inward as people remember their late family members and friends, but the idea to make a public event has roots in Latin America. Montenegro remembers growing up in El Salvador, walking from church all the way to the cemetery with green wreaths. “Tomorrow we are doing a traditional procession, just around the plaza area,” she says. In this way, this community observance is not just about personal grief, but also paying homage to a tradition. (And, Montenegro adds, many immigrant families may not have local grave sites to visit—their loved ones may be buried in their countries of origin.) 

This celebration is open to all, whether it’s your tradition or not. I personally love the idea of festivities to honor the dead—it’s different than my own Jewish faith tradition, in which we don’t have flowers at funerals or cemeteries, instead bringing more permanent objects (rocks, sea shells) to grave sites. The idea of honoring the dead with things—sweets, flowers, paper mache artwork—is different, and it’s beautiful.

Expect live music, dance, art workshops and more. Another Día de los Muertos celebration takes place tomorrow from 6-8pm at Oldemeyer Center in Seaside (986 Hilby Ave.), hosted by nonprofit Palenke Arts with dance performances by four baile folklórico ensembles and more, live musical performances, pan dulce and hot chocolate, and an invitation to bring your own photos to add to a community ofrenda. 

It’s not all joy—there is also reflectiveness on loss, and there will also be a healing circle. Montenegro will be especially focused on remembering an uncle and an aunt who mattered greatly to her. Her uncle was murdered; “he had a horrible death,” she says. 

Her aunt treated her especially attentively during her youth in El Salvador, and Montenegro always thought she would return to visit, but her aunt died last year, before she got to reconnect in the way she had hoped to. “I feel guilty I did not make that trip. But she’s OK, she’s in heaven, resting in peace.

“Those two losses are really hard, but I remember them, and think about them during this time.” 

There is beauty in remembering the dead, and there’s also pain. Día de los Muertos observances aim to bring those elements together. If you are remembering someone in particular today or tomorrow, I wish you peace and comfort.