The Clackamas print., October 26, 2016, Page 8, Image 8

Boundaries blurred on the
Day of the Dead
BY MERARI CALDERON RUIZ
No one is-ever truly gone.as long as they are remembered.
Dia de Iqs Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a holiday
that originated in Mexico and Central America and has
spread to other parts of the world.
It’ s a convergence o f indigenous and European
religious beliefs, and a tradition that has been going
on for more than 500 years.
The celebration starts on Oct. 31 and ends Nov. 2. These
three days are known as All Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day
and All Souls’ Day respectively.
Guadalupe Martinez, a counselor at Clackamas
Com m unity College, explained some o f the
history of the Day of the Dead.
“ They a n seen as times
when the boundaries
between our living world and
the spirit world are particularly
thin and permeable.
-R o b e rt Keeler
“ The traditions have sort of merged together,
M artinez said. “ Som e o f w hat the indigenous
population used to do, like set up an altar at the
cem etery, is not so m eth in g necessarily that
Christians do but it’s something that the indigenous
population has always done and so that has
persisted as a tradition in middle
America m ostly, so Mexico and
Central America. ”
Robert Keeler, a social
science instructor at C C C ,
also had some background
information.,
“ A ll over the world, the
celebrations that have to do with
the dead tend to be times when
an throp ologists call lim in al
tim e s ,” said Keeler. “ They
are seen as tim es w hen
the boundaries between
our liv in g world and
the spirit world are
particularly thin and
permeable, \
T ra d itio n a lly , on
the Day o f the Dead,
8 M a m a s Print October 26,2016 ttieclackamasprintcom
family members get together and honor their deceased
loved ones. Communities and organizations also hold
a variety of events
___ ____ in celebration of
the holiday.
Teatro Milagro, the Northwest’s Latino arts and culture
organization, is having its 21st annual Day of the Dead
celebration this year. One of the productions the group
is featuring is called “ El Muerto Vagabundo.” It’s an
entertaining play about an orphan who wants to build an
altar for his deceased parents; instead, a dead homeless
veteran takes the offering by mistake, but that’ s only
the beginning.
At the end of the production, some of the actors
shared their thoughts on the Day of the Dead.
“ I started celebrating it when my dad
died three years ago ,” said Carrie
Anne Huneycutt. “ I lived in a house
with a lot of friends and we all
gathered togeth er and made
this really big feast. One timë
someone brought the name of
their grandmother who died and
the door swung open. It was a very real, beautiful and
powerful moment for m e.”
When if comes to families, this tradition usually takes
place at the cemetery or at home. On the altars that
people set up, they may light candles and put up pictures
to honor their dead loved ones.
“ It’s a very personal type of holiday for families,^
said Martinez. “ So what people do is they take
decorations, particularly flowers, and food and
beverage to the gravesitës o f their departed
and they set them up on their grave...
They celebrate by having pan de
muerto and atole or champurrado.”
„ This holiday has been spreading,
not ju st in M exico, but in
A m erica and oth er places
too. A lthough not everyone
celebrates the Day of the
Dead in the same way, the
meaning remains the same.
“ It’ s a wonderful tradition
because it’ s a convergence of
our cultural past and present of
Latinos, and I also think it’s a very nice
way to pay tribute to people who have
passed,” said Martinez.
Patricia Alvítez plays La Catrina in the
production of “ El Muerto Vagabundo”
at teatro Milagro in Portland.
photo contributed by Teatro Milagro