People hold candles over a tomb decorated with flowers at a cemetery in Atzompa, Mexico, late Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. In a tradition that coincides with All Saints Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2, families decorate graves with flowers and candles and spend the night in the cemetery, eating and drinking as they keep company with their dearly departed. (AP Photo/Maria Alferez)
By María Teresa Hernández
Ana Martínez is eager to welcome her deceased loved ones back home.
Martínez and others in southern Mexico's Oaxaca state wait with anticipation for Day of the Dead celebrations every Nov. 1, when families place homemade altars to honor their dearly departed and spend the night at the cemetery, lighting candles in the hope of illuminating their paths.
“We preserve the culture of our ancestors, and that is why we make our altars,” said Martínez, 41, who lives in the town of Santa María Atzompa.
Each Oct. 31, Martínez builds a three-level altar on her terrace. First come the flowers, a type of marigold known as cempasúchil. Martínez ties them in an arch over the altar.
“For us, that arch is a portal so that they (the deceased) can reach our house,” she said. “We also create a path of flowers to the door as a welcoming sign.”
Next, she lights copal, an incense which is believed to guide the souls, and places foods such as apples, peanuts and bread. Chocolates are for her grandma, she said.
“She was like my mother, so everything I’m going to offer is with the hope that she can be here," Martínez said.
On this date, Oaxacans don’t honor death but rather their ancestors, said the local secretary of culture, Victor Cata. “It’s a celebration of those with whom we shared a time and a roof, who were flesh and blood like us.”
Santa María Atzompa traditions are embraced from childhood and passed from parents to children. Martínez’s 8-year-old daughter asked if she could help arrange the fruit on the altar, and her mother assigned an additional task: Make sure the candles stay lit in the afternoon so that our deceased don’t lose their way.
As soon as the sun sets, locals gather at the cemetery to light candles over their family tombs and start a vigil known as “vela."
María Martínez, 58, paid a visit to her late husband by noon. “I do feel that they are returning today but I also think they are with us daily, not just on this date,” she said.
Oaxacan traditions vary among the 16 indigenous groups and the Afro-descendant community, but according to Cata, there’s a shared ancient knowledge that relates to the land.
“October and November are the dry season, when the land languishes,” Cata said. “But it is reborn, so there is this thought that the dead return to enjoy what they loved in life.”
Felipe Juárez, 67, offered mezcal and beer for one of his brothers. For other family members, his wife cooked Oaxacan delicacies such as mole, a traditional sauce.
It will be a long night, Juárez said, until they go home at 6 a.m., but these are joyful times.
“On the day we die, we will meet them again,” Juárez said. “We will reach that place where they have come to rest.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
While people have been spending more time on their phones throughout the pandemic, a new report shows they were also spending more money as well. A review from Sensor Tower on the global app ecosystem this year found that the app economy will see record consumer spending in 2021, up nearly 20% from 2020. Sensor Tower director of sales and financial institutions Anthony Bartolacci joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to break down the report.
The future of gambling in Florida recently suffered a major setback after a federal appeals court rejected a request from the state and the Seminole Tribe to allow online sports betting in the state. Now, the tribe has been forced to stop taking bets on its Hard Rock sportsbook app. ESPN gaming writer David Purdum joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what this could mean for the future of sports betting in Florida.
Web3 software startup Thirdweb has raised $5 million in a funding round, coming from a group of high-profile investors, including Gary Vaynerchuk and Mark Cuban. Thirdweb says it is paving the way for the revolution surrounding the new iteration of the internet known as web3, by offering users free tools to build their own web3 projects. Thirdweb's co-founders Steven Bartlett and Furqan Rydhan join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Decentralized talent network Braintrust recently closed an atypical equity deal that involved investors buying $100 million in Braintrust tokens, the company's cryptocurrency. Braintrust's talent network is built on blockchain technology, which the company says allows it to be owned and built by users, instead of a centrally-controlled corporation. Braintrust users can also earn tokens for their contributions to the network and its growth. Braintrust co-founder Adam Jackson joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Time magazine has unveiled SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk as Person of the Year for 2021. Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large for Time, told Cheddar that Musk's impact on so many facets of forward-looking industries like crypto, solar power, electric vehicles, and especially his work on space travel were the reasons behind the selection. "On balance, Musk is performing on so many levels and in so many venues that it was hard not to consider him our Person of the Year," he said. Kluger also noted that the choice is based upon the influence the subject has had, whether good or bad and is not a judgment on its own.
The recent verdicts of the Kyle Rittenhouse and Ahmaud Arbery murder trials have put a spotlight on the country's justice system. Experts have pointed to the explicit racial undertones in the high-profile trials, as well as the increased levels of stress that may be felt by communities of color because of the prevalence of these trials. Kailee Scales, CEO of Pencils of Promise and former first managing director of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Gold Medal ski racer Bode Miller and John Emery, CEO of Alpine-X, discuss the need to make snowsports more affordable and how the new facility in Virginia aims to diversify the sport to urban areas.
Carlos Munoz, Head of Asset Manager Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Engagement at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, discusses how 'The Equity Collective' is helping to diversify the financial services industry and what the initiative means for racial equity.
Headspace Health has just launched the 'Headspace for Teens' social impact initiative, which will offer free access to the Headspace app for all teens ages 13 - 18 in America. Alice Nathoo, head of social impact at Headspace joins Cheddar News to talk about the program.
