Ancestral remembrance / Memoria de los seres queridos
Day of the Dead / Día de Muertos
A photograph is set upright. Someone remembers a favorite saying, and another person adds a story. Día de Muertos makes room for the dead through the care of the living. To enter its world thoughtfully, begin with the people who carry the tradition, rather than treating an altar as a collection of decorations.
A living tradition with particular roots
In a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts interview, Chicana altarista Ofelia Esparza describes Día de los Muertos as a Mexican Indigenous tradition intertwined with the Catholic observances of November 1 and 2. She emphasizes remembrance, reverence and celebration, while noting the diversity of practices in Mexico. Her own knowledge came through her mother and great-grandmother, and she has passed it to her children.[1]
The Vincent Price Art Museum situates Esparza’s work in East Los Angeles and identifies her mother’s Purépecha traditions as an important influence. Its retrospective also documents the public altars she began making at Self Help Graphics in 1979. This is a named family and community history, not a template that every Mexican household follows.[2]
The Library of Congress describes ofrendas containing photographs, treasured belongings, flowers and favorite foods. It notes the belief that cempasúchil flowers help guide souls home. Such elements belong to practices of welcoming and remembering the departed; the holiday should not be collapsed into Halloween or a generic witchcraft rite.[3]
What an ofrenda holds
Esparza’s interview places the person being honored at the center. Photos, mementos and stories make the altar specific. She describes papel picado as representing wind in her practice; her devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe is also her own named religious context. Those details help us learn without assuming that a single chart can speak for everyone.[1]
If this celebration belongs to your family, your relatives’ knowledge may guide you more closely than an introductory article. If you are learning as a guest, seek out community-led exhibitions or public celebrations, follow the hosts’ guidance, and ask before photographing personal memorials. Buying from a known artisan can be a meaningful way to support the work when you choose to buy.
Objects, meanings & context
| Symbol or correspondence | Meaning and attribution |
|---|---|
| Photographs and mementos | Personal remembrance in Esparza’s account; the honored person shapes the display. |
| Cempasúchil | Flowers associated with guiding returning souls in the Library of Congress account. |
| Papel picado / cut paper | Wind in Esparza’s description; not a universal chart for all communities. |
| One paper flower and a memory card | Our optional remembrance craft below, not a complete traditional ofrenda. |
Original shop craft: a flower for one remembered story
This small activity is offered in response to the tradition’s attention to memory. It is not a prescribed Mexican ritual or a recreation of Esparza’s altars. You can use it beside an existing family remembrance space or simply keep it in a memory box.
Materials: three small squares of tissue paper, a short piece of yarn, a card and pencil. Orange is an optional visual echo of marigolds; any color meaningful to the remembered person is welcome. No fresh plants, food, incense or flame are needed.
- Choose someone you wish to remember. You do not need to include a person whose memory feels unsafe or unwelcome.
- Stack the tissue squares. Fold the stack back and forth into a narrow accordion, then tie the middle gently with yarn.
- Open the two ends like fans. Lift the tissue layers carefully to make a soft flower. An imperfect flower still carries your care.
- Write the person’s name and one specific memory on the card: a story, a phrase, a skill they taught, or something they loved.
- Set the flower beside the card. Speak the memory aloud if you wish: “I remember this about you. May this kindness be carried forward.” These are our words, not a traditional prayer.
- Invite a willing relative or friend to add a memory, or keep the moment private. Store the card when finished and reuse or recycle the paper flower when it becomes worn.
Keep tissue and yarn away from heat, children and pets. Our illustration’s candle remains unlit. The craft does not require contact with spirits or a particular emotional response; quiet, laughter and tears can all have room.
Journal prompt: Which story would help someone who never met this person know them a little better?
Sources & further reading / Fuentes
- National Endowment for the Arts: Ofelia Esparza.Biography and directly consulted 2018 interview with Esparza and Rosanna Ahrens; primary practitioner testimony.
- Vincent Price Art Museum: Ofelia Esparza, A Retrospective.Museum account of her family traditions, community work and artistic practice.
- Maria Peña, Library of Congress: The Multinational Traditions of Halloween and Día de los Muertos (2024).Institutional overview; cited here for remembrance displays and cempasúchil beliefs.
Continue your Book of Shadows
Return to the Book of Shadows library / Volver a la biblioteca