My favorite description of Día de los Muertos is “like a joyful family reunion where some family members happen to have already passed on to Heaven”. In English it’s Day of the Dead, and it’s one of many examples of the blending of Mesoamerican (Aztec/Mayan) and European (Catholic) cultures.
Every year from midnight on Oct 31st through Nov 2nd, the separation between heaven and earth is dissolved and our loved ones can travel from The Other Side for a visit. We create an ofrenda (altar) where we display their photos along with bright flowers and lit candles to help them find their way home, as well as set out their favorite treats and beverages so they’ll feel welcomed.
I understand that setting out sugar skulls and dressing like skeletons can be reassuring to them– after all, human beings are kind of scary creatures and we want our visitors to feel safe!
To celebrate, we get together with family to have a dinner, and we serve Fiambre, which I think is best described as a Guatemalan version of Italian antipasto salad. It’s like a little of everything and every family has their favorite version (which is always the best one, of course).
This year my daughter and I created our ofrenda together. We reached out for input from other family members with the intention of better honoring the memory of our loved ones and being as welcoming as possible (see names and details in the photo captions below). Next year we’ll have the Sambuca for Tony, too!
Our ofrenda with our loved ones’ photos placed near their favorite flowers and sweet treats.Maria Alejandra Verdin, who had a beautiful warm personality and many friends who miss her very much; She loved dogs big and small (pictured here with I think Nala? The Great Dane, while she also had piles of Shi Tsu puppies running around at home!) Pink gerbera daisies were her favorite flower.Marie Ciampaglia Socci was a reliable bank teller for years and years; She loved chocolate and was a fantastic cook. Bob watched her make her tomato sauce with braciole and homemade meatballs, and hundred-layer eggplant lasagne and thank goodness he wrote it all down. Anthony “Tony” Socci was a WW2 Air Force Vet and longtime manager at General Electric, and of course the most prolific handyman of all time who could fix or build anything. Anything. He loved a shot of Sambuca Romana (we only have Scotch at the moment, sorry Tony, that’s Bob’s fault ;))John Vincent Santospago, mechanical genius and accomplished outdoorsman who loved being out in the woods, loved sunflowers best of all flowers, cookies of any kind, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.Christopher John Socci loved the outdoors– hunting and fishing with family and then grilling up the steaks and burgers made him happiest. He was the best babysitter to nieces and nephews. Twix was his favorite candy.Katie Marie Socci, brilliant ICU nurse, funny and fun, fierce mama to Sydney. She loved to eat chips and salsas, and favorite flowers were tiger lilies and hydrangeas.Abuelita Luvita (Matilde Eluvia Gonzalez) was a teacher and seamstress, her speciality was handmade wedding gowns. I remember her sewing lace appliques onto yards and yards of white silk– how I wish we had some of her handiwork to show the kids. She loved roses, some of which still grow in the garden in the little house in Guatemala City.Elizabeth Munn Santospago was beloved ‘Grandma’ to many grand- and great- grandkids. She loved gardening and all flowers. She always had butterscotch candies and/or menthol cough drops handy. Francis Vincent Santospago was a WW2 Navy vet who survived the attack on the SS Canberra because– as he told it– he was safely locked up in the brig at the time! He also loved gardening and his favorite meal was panzanella salad, with tomatoes and basil fresh from his own garden served up with olive oil and a torn up loaf of Italian bread.
Oh Monique! Thank you so much!!! Love the idea of this tradition and so enjoyed your sharing your families’ memories!! 💙💚💖
Mary thanks so much for reading and reaching out, so appreciated! Hope all is well with you!!