Offerings for the Departed : Celebration Honors Dead With Gifts and Prayers

ORANGE —  About a dozen altars decorated with colorful bouquets and food offerings lined the rim of Holy Sepulcher Cemetery on Saturday when members of Orange County’s Latino community gathered in annual observance of the Day of the Dead.

The smell of burning incense wafted through air as more than 600 people, led in prayer by a priest, marched in procession through the cemetery to pray for the repose of the dead. It was the Diocese of Orange’s annual Dia de los Muertos celebration, which is observed mostly in Latin America, Spain and Portugal.

Parishioners from several Catholic churches attended the celebration and erected several small altars behind the main one used by Msgr. Jaime Soto to celebrate Mass. The smaller altars were adorned with photographs of departed loved ones, ringed by flowers and offerings of bread, fruit and other foods.

The Day of the Dead is traditionally observed Nov. 2 and has evolved into an elaborate ritual in Latin America. In addition to the religious meaning, the celebration also takes on a festive air and the day is marked by feasting and dancing by performers in skeleton masks and costumes.

“This isn’t about sadness or loss. This day is truly meant to be a celebration and to rejoice because our loved ones have gone on to eternal life and a much more beautiful existence,” said Anastasia Aguirre.

Aguirre, a member of St. Joachim Church in Costa Mesa, placed a food dish in front of a photo of her father, Erasto Aguirre, who died last year at 91.

The significance of Dia de los Muertos is so profound in Latin America that families begin preparing for it during the year. No matter how poor a family may be, its members feel honor-bound to make a food offering.

“This is the day when you’re expected to offer a special dish, perhaps something that you can only afford to eat once a year or once in a while,” Aguirre said. “In Mexico, one borrows money if necessary to put out a special dish for a loved one. You try to offer a food or meal that your loved one was fond of.”

Sandra Padilla, a member of Our Lady of the Pillar Church in Santa Ana, tried to balance the purpose of the celebration and the reason why she was at the cemetery. Her eyes became misty as she placed a photo of her 15-year-old son, Jose, on the small altar. Jose was killed two years ago in a Santa Ana drive-by shooting.

“He was shot in the head, killed when his life was really just beginning. My son hung around with the wrong crowd,” said Padilla, who was flanked by her husband and three other children. “Before his death, this day didn’t really have much significance for me.”

The hundreds who gathered for the religious ceremony heard Soto preach that Dia de los Muertos symbolizes the Latino community’s continuous love for its deceased relatives.

“Monsignor is right. Mexicanos especially honor and revere family members whom they never met and who died years before they were born,” said Arnoldo Villarreal. “Why else would we be hearing paying tribute to faded pictures of old people we never knew? My grandparents died before I was born, but my dad talked so much about them that I feel like I’ve known them all my life.”

Celebrations continue today at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, where the Mexican-American Arts Council will sponsor a program explaining the meaning of Dia de los Muertos beginning at 11 a.m. The program includes performances by a folkloric group and a mask workshop for children.