Dia de los Muertos, also known as Day of the Dead, is a holiday celebrated from November 1st through the 2nd. During the Day of the Dead, families can welcome back their loved ones for a food and drink celebration. They use ofrendas to help welcome back their spirits to the family.  “Ofrenda just means “we will remember you” because we believe their spirits will fade away if we forget about them,” says Daniel Valenzuela, a member of Unified in Color. He brought up the idea of creating ofrendas for Sahuaro for the Day of the Dead.

Ofrendas have many parts to them, and all aspects are an important part of an ofrenda. When students created an ofrenda, they had to add a photo of the loved one, a gift to them, and marigold flowers. On an ofrenda, the photo doesn’t just have to be someone related to them, it can be anyone they were close with or someone they love. The gift can be Pan de Muerto, a special sweet bread, or they can put their ancestor’s favorite food, anything to represent them. Marigold flowers are believed to serve as a pathway to the mortal world and help loved ones return. “Typically, ofrendas would be done a week or 2 weeks before the Day of the Dead so everything can be ready. But, honestly, you can keep it up for the whole year, not just on the Day of the Dead,” explains Daniel.

In addition to ofrendas, “There can be a huge parade and I know in Mexico on the actual Day of the Dead, people go to the cemetery to celebrate and will spend the entire day there to just celebrate with their loved ones,” Daniel said. These various traditions create a deeply meaningful Day of the Dead celebration. So, starting October 31st, you can view Sahuaro’s Cougar family ofrendas and see the creativity and thought that went through while making them.