Día de Los Muertos, La Catrina Procession Tradition in Santa Ana’s Downtown

9 hours ago 1
La Catrina, wearing a formal made of maize husks, walks with a candle to airy the altars astatine Noche de Altares successful Sana Ana, California, connected Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. Credit: ANNIE LEWIS Voice of OC

Thousands gathered to immerse themselves successful civilization and contented done Santa Ana’s Día de Los Muertos celebrations this weekend.

Starting with the procession of La Catrina, a skeletal pistillate wearing a fancy dress, who satirizes societal classes of Latinos and a reminder that nary substance your societal people successful the surviving world, the dormant permission with nothing. 

A young pistillate holds a candle successful tribute arsenic she faces La Catrina during a Día de los Muertos solemnisation Viva la Vida, successful Santa Ana, Calif., connected Nov. 2, 2024. Credit: QUINCI CARTMELL, Voice of OC

Editor’s note: This is an occasional bid wherever Voice of OC works with section assemblage photographers to connection residents a first-hand look astatine the section sites and scenes of Orange County.

“The Catrinas, from the Mexican Revolution that punctual america that it doesn’t substance however elegant and affluent you are, we are each going to extremity the same,” said Socorro Sarmiento, co-founder of El Centro Cultural de México and committee subordinate for Noche de Altares, astatine the OC Board of Supervisors meeting wherever their Día de Los Muertos lawsuit readying was recognized. 

Her beingness is felt astatine each altar, arsenic she lights a candle astatine each one, wherever papel picado, nutrient offerings and photos are cautiously placed. 

La Catrina lights the candle of a family’s altar astatine Noche de Altares successful Sana Ana, California, connected Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. Once La Catrina lights a candle connected the altar, the household uses that occurrence to airy up the remainder of the altar. Credit: ANNIE LEWIS Voice of OC

“Everyone looks guardant to La Catrina coming around, due to the fact that she represents the value of the transportation to death, which, successful turn, you know, brings america life,” said Rudy Cordova, pb organizer and president of Viva La Vida – a solemnisation of Día de Los Muertos that has occurred annually for the past 10 years successful Downtown Santa Ana. 

“Once she lights up the altars, you’re capable to successful crook airy up each the candles successful your altar for each picture, each idiosyncratic you’re commemorating connected there,” helium explained of the tradition. 

La Catrina lights the candle of Sabrina Patiño for her household altar astatine Noche de Altares successful Sana Ana, California, connected Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. Credit: ANNIE LEWIS, Voice of OC

“They find their guidance. They’re, you know, capable to sojourn with us. And it benignant of brings the full time of Día de Los Muertos into being.” 

The awesome – seen contiguous successful Santa Ana Day of the Dead parades, costumes and La Catrina processions to airy candles connected altars – has origins successful a satirical illustration by Mexican engraver José Guadalupe Posada showing a calavera, oregon a skeleton, wearing a ample feathered chapeau with a wide grin.

Handcrafted Catrinas and Mexican miniature foods made successful Mexico connected show to beryllium sold astatine the Dia de Los Muertos event, Viva la Vida, successful Santa Ana, Calif., connected Nov. 2, 2024. Credit: QUINCI CARTMELL, Voice of OC

In the archetypal 1912 print, La Catrina is known arsenic “Calavera Garbancera” – a word utilized to peasants of indigenous ancestry that sold garbanzo beans successful thoroughfare markets. These women attempted to walk arsenic upper-class by dressing fashionable and powdering their faces – adopting Eurocentric customs to blend into Mexico’s urbanizing society. 

Decades aboriginal the awesome of life, decease and nine was featured arsenic the centerpoint successful Diego Rivera’s 1947 mural “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon successful Alameda Park.”

Día de Los Muertos and Downtown Santa Ana’s 2 celebrations – Noche de Altares and Viva La Vida — were recognized astatine a caller committee of supervisors meeting. 

“For the past 20 years, Día Los Muertos has been celebrated present successful Downtown Santa Ana,” said Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who is Bolivian and presented a solution to Socorro Sarmiento and Cordova. 

“And it’s 1 of the astir palmy events successful the downtown.”

Sisters Tonya Navarro, 28, and Karla Navarro, 34, show their Día de los Muertos look constitution astatine Santa Ana’s yearly solemnisation connected Nov. 2, 2024. They person been attending this lawsuit for the past six years, honoring the galore who person passed distant successful detention centers oregon incidents of constabulary brutality. Credit: QUINCI CARTMELL, Voice of OC

“I cognize that we’ve had adjacent to 10, 15,000 radical travel and amusement up, due to the fact that these offerings, and these ofrendas, altars, are works of art,” helium said. “And if you spell retired determination and you spot them, you’ll spot that they’re not just, you know, done randomly. They’re done with a batch of care, they’re done with a batch of art, they’re done with a batch of love.”

The Supervisor applauded the organizations for “continuing the work” successful carrying retired celebrations downtown.  

Attendees were seen dressed successful antithetic Indigenous wear, representing antithetic autochthonal tribes, specified arsenic the Maya and Aztec peoples. Credit: ANNIE LEWIS, Voice of OC

Latinos successful countries specified arsenic El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala and Bolivia observe Día de Los Muertos the archetypal 2 days of November. The solemnisation tin beryllium traced backmost decades earlier the Spanish colonization of Mexico to Mayan and Aztec traditions of honoring the dead.

“To recognize the value of Noche de Altares successful Santa Ana, and to beryllium capable to truly bask an altar, we request to person an knowing of the agelong humanities process progressive successful each altar,” said Socorro Sarmiento. 

“In our altars, since the pre-Colonial times passing done colonialism, the beardown influence of the Mexican Revolution and the migration to this country, each this bequest of this agelong past is reflected successful the offerings seen successful our Santana household altars.” 

A Día de los Muertos altar with vibrant marigolds and framed household photographs creates a lukewarm tribute to ancestors during Viva la Vida solemnisation successful Santa Ana, Calif., connected Nov. 2, 2024. The marigolds are traditionally utilized to usher the spirits backmost to the satellite of the surviving with their agleam colors and chiseled fragrance. Credit: QUINCI CARTMELL, Voice of OC.
Brother and sister Aylet Garcia, 16, and Anthony Garcia, 14, who be Valley High School holding pictures successful representation of their grandparents astatine the Dia de Los Muertos lawsuit successful Santa Ana, Calif., connected Nov. 2, 2024.
Mother and girl locals to Santa Ana, Maribel Grajada and Darlene Sancen basal adjacent to a representation successful solemnisation of the beingness of Harvey Romero, Grajada’s son, astatine the Viva la Vida tract for the Dia de Los Muertos lawsuit successful Santa Ana, Calif., connected Nov. 2, 2024. Credit: QUINCI CARTMELL, Voice of OC
Coming from Alhambra, Calif., Kendra Pineda-Llamas lights a candle astatine her family’s altar during a Día de los Muertos solemnisation successful Santa Ana, Calif., connected Nov. 2, 2024. Pineda-Llamas says, “We grant my begetter each time by listening to his euphony and my sister by sharing stories astir her beingness with her children.” Credit: QUINCI CARTMELL, Voice of OC.
Santa Ana siblings grant their sister Amy, who passed distant successful 2019. Credit: QUINCI CARTMELL, Voice of OC
Josie Gomez, 53, from Santa Ana lights candles connected her family’s change honoring her parent and begetter for the nighttime of Dia de Los Muertos connected Nov. 2, 2024. Gomez says, “Tonight is each astir culture. I privation my kids to beryllium doing the aforesaid happening and to support contented going.” Credit: QUINCI CARTMELL, Voice of OC

Erika Taylor is simply a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow and photojournalist. You tin find her connected Instagram @camerakeepsrolling oregon email astatine [email protected]

Julie Leopo contributed reporting to this story. 

•••

Can you enactment Voice of OC with a donation?

You evidently attraction astir section quality and worth bully journalism present successful Orange County. With your support, we tin bring you much stories similar these.

*** Disclaimer: This Article is auto-aggregated by a Rss Api Program and has not been created or edited by Nandigram Times

(Note: This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News Rss Api. News.nandigramtimes.com Staff may not have modified or edited the content body.

Please visit the Source Website that deserves the credit and responsibility for creating this content.)

Watch Live | Source Article