A young attendee at the Oct. 29 Dia de los Muertos celebration at Cardoza Park in Milpitas gets adorned with a traditional skull mask by artist Orlando Salcedo of Tortax Face Painting. The event marked the city’s first public celebration of the Day of the Dead. (Photo by Mylene Stolpe/Charismatic Photography)
Milpitas residents turned out Oct. 29 for the city’s first Dia de los Muertos celebration at Cardoza Park, where families, friends and neighbors displayed their altars honoring deceased loved ones at the Community Altar de Ofrenda Showcase.
Entertainment was provided by Mariachi Mexico de Gilroy, Bay Area Aztec Dancers and the Randall Elementary School Folkloric Dancers. Orlando Salcedo of Tortax Painting decorated faces with traditional Dia de los Muertos skull masks.
Attendees could also paint sugar skulls, make paper marigolds or help create a papel picado banner for a community art project.
A colorful pathway of marigold flowers and the smell of the copal incense led to the altars, which honored the dead with items that would have been familiar to them. These included the bread of the season, pan de Muertos, as well as photos and other personal momentos. Attendees were invited to vote for their favorite altar, and the top vote-getter got a prize.
Symbols of the four elements of nature were also incorporated into the altars. Earth was symbolized by objects and aromas of the harvest season. Colorful paper artfully cut into lace fluttered in the breeze to evoke the wind. Water was placed in open containers for washing and drinking, while candles bring the fourth element, fire.
The Day of the Dead has been strongly anchored in Mexican culture. Its pre-Columbian roots involve many Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Aztecs, Toltecas and Chichimec.
Originally published at Mylene Stolpe