HOUSTON — The Day of the Dead will be celebrated by many families this weekend. It's a Mexican tradition where families reminisce about their loved ones with colorful altars.
"It's sort of a celebration of life and death is part of that," said Luis Gavito, MECA curator for the Dia de Muertos Altars.
Mexican families do this by building altars or “ofrendas” for their loved ones. These altars are adorned with bright colors and marigolds, and they’re done at home or at a gravesite. They’re filled with photos of the dead, important belongings and even their favorite foods.
Usually the altars bring people together, but because of the pandemic, many can't gather for the holiday. Local non-profit organization MECA decided to do an outdoor ofrenda to honor those who have passed due to COVID-19.
"It was important for us to dedicate to the people that have died due to COVID-19, because its such a big reality," Gavito said. "This pandemic what 200- thousand-plus people have died."
In Harris County, 2,222 people have died so far. About 39 percent of those have been Hispanic. MECA wanted to make sure that these families and others could come and celebrate their loved ones safely.
"In a collective way, we wanted to remember those people and put faces and names to those people. We didn’t want them to pass unnoticed," Gavito said.
They filled the outdoor altar with catrinas, food and pictures of the many people here in our community that have died due to the virus. As many families deal with the pain of celebrating the Day of the Dead, organizers at MECA hope this altar brings families peace and shows them their loved ones are gone but not forgotten.
"Be with the person they lost and recognize that death is only one moment in life. And depending on your belief systems, we believe life continues and does not end," Gavito said.
If you would like to visit the altar, it is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Nov. 10.
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