CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Altars, or altares, are tied to observances for the Day of the Dead or Dia de Los Muertos but what’s the real meaning behind this day.
"My ofrenda includes, pan de muerto, pan dulce, white candles, roses and monarchs,” Coastal Bend resident Sharon Diaz said.
Diaz grew up celebrating Dia de Los Muertos. Her ofrenda or altar offering is something deeply personal. It includes images of those who have passed on.
"Growing up in Monterey Mexico, Dia de los Muertos wasn't just festivals or markets. It was about honoring our lost loved ones,” Diaz said.
Diaz said when she moved to the United States at a young age, she experienced a bit of culture shock.
"We don't really celebrate Halloween. It's all about Dia de Los Muertos and it's not just one day it's various days.” Diaz said.
Andrea Montalvo-Hamid, the Hispanic Heritage month coordinator at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, feels the meaning of Dia de Los Muertos has been forgotten. She shared that history.
"In the indigenous cultures it started as a way to help people get to that next step and when the Spanish came in, they kind of outlawed that but since then it has come back,” Montalvo - Hamid said.
While it has come back. Hamid and Diaz want people to understand Dia de Los Muertos is a time to grieve, not something to be commercialized.
"It's like okay great but it can also lead to exploitation and appropriation,” Montalvo -Hamid said.
Diaz agreed, saying that there is so much meaning in the details of the holiday.
That brings us back to the central detail of Dia de Los Muertos. Honoring and remember our lost loved ones at altars like this one at K-Space.
This celebration will be open to the community. It will be here during their Dias de Los Muertos street festivalhappening Saturday.
