The second half of the event at El Centro is full of life and culture. There’s a vendor section where people are selling things they’ve made. A woman is selling her art and they’re beautiful drawings that express intersectionality, whether that’s the intention or not. I bought a drawing of a muerto with a banner that said ‘resist’. I think it shows how Latinx culture and American culture combine, with the current political climate calling for more and more resistance. Then there were the performances. People of all ages were dancing and playing music, it was truly special seeing everyone so full of life. It embodies what Día de los Muertos is all about. Celebrating life while remembering and honoring those we have lost. 

Today we arrived at the event as a class and got to observer other altars/ofrendas as well as show our altar to other guests at the event. It was interesting to the see the various ways in which other group chose to interpret the theme, “honoring those who built bridges, not walls” as well as the celebration of dia de los muertos as a whole. As a group we got to interview many people and one person that stood out in particular was Michael Dixon from the Black Panther Party. Michael told us that dia de los muertos to him was a celebration of life and death as well as unity and the coming together of community for the celebration. Michael is also and alumni of the UW and helped create OMAD and stressed the importance of resistance and passing down resiliency through generations.

While walking around the event, I ended up talking with a woman named Victoria for a little while. She had helped build an altar with the Beacon Hills Arts Program. In the altar there were pictures of all the people in Beacon Hills that were killed by police officers in 2017. There was also a baby carriage and rocking horse by the front that she said was there for when the children walked by to see the altars. After, I went downstairs where the vendors were selling posters and clothing and such. Many of the posters had a powerful message about life and resistance. Through the door was an area where children were dancing with skull faces painted on. Here they were passing out bread and Mexican hot chocolate to dip it in. Overall, I had a great time and feel like I’ve learned more about Latinx culture. 

On October 31st our group arrived at El Centro de la Raza and set up our mini altar. Our theme was centered around honoring and remembering the lives of transgender people who lost their lives to violence in 2017. Altar making has historically given the “others”/marginalized members of society the opportunity to have their voices and existences both seen and heard and our group saw this as the perfect opportunity to honor trans lives. Trans people defy social norms and exist in resistance to normative society and so we used altar making and creativity to also defy these norms. A picture of Marsha P. Johnson, a leader in the gay/trans rights movement, was the center of our altar and we also included pictures and names of the 23 trans people who lost their lives this year.

Before coming to El Centro, I expected the event to be quiet with people standing by the altars they had built. Instead when I got here, people were moving up and down the hallway to look at the altars, people were introducing themselves to one another, and they were talking to each other throughout the event. The atmosphere was friendly and open, people were celebrating their loved ones and causes that they cared about. One of the altars was about the air traffic over Beacon Hill. It had a note that was praying for peace and quiet. In the note, it talked about how the planes flying overhead has taken away sleep and the ability to focus. I was talking to a woman here about it and she said that the planes fly over almost every 3 minutes, so there really isn’t any peace. The altar had a graph of all the lines a plane from SeaTac flies over every day and how many times it went over Beacon Hill specifically. There were so many lines blended together that it looked like a solid color. 

There are lots of different people here looking at all the different altares. It’s interesting to see everyone’s interpretation of this year’s theme: those who build bridges not walls. There are calls for social justice and action for a range of issues. Some are LGBTQ+ equality, deportation, military service, community issues, and many more. My favorite interpretation of the theme was the Amnesty International altar. Amnesty International aims to build bridges across different nations, and stands in solidarity with those who are being oppressed. By honoring some of the people who have died in other countries, we build a bridge between the past and the present, and use their stories to continue fighting for justice. 

Our altar is honoring those who have died crossing the border. As a group, we believed this was dear to our hearts because we have either experienced this in our own families or we know of others who have lost loved ones. As we explain to the community our altar, they also have shared their experiences of losing their loved ones. We come together this evening to cry, to laugh, and to make conversation. I have learned so much about people and have listened in on conversations being discussed about tonight, alongside my colleagues. As the Dia De Los Muertos event comes to an end tonight, I hope to continue to meet people and ask them about their altars and what it means to them.

Starting from a spontaneous session on the third floor, eight musicians collectively decided on chords and a rhythm and used this to lead a procession through the hallway of altars. There was a great variety of instruments traditional to Venezuelan fandango musical custom, including a charrasca, an animal’s jaw bone, used in a manner similar to that of a wood cricket. They lined up and performed throughout El Centro to their new auditorium where they broke into song and dance, and spectators received pan dulce and took a seat to watch. Many people, kids in particular, joined in in the dancing. The music was uplifting and positive, and the energy of the dancers and musicians alike was palpable. The musical tradition forms a central aspect of Día de los Muertos festivities.

Being surrounded by so many diverse people coming together in one space to celebrate el Dia De Los Muertos is a beautiful experience. I have never attended a Dia De Los Muertos event as my family and I didn’t celebrate it. Immersing myself in such an event and being able to participate in one as well has been an experience. As I walk through the hallway of the altars, there are so many people that are being honored. The overarching theme of this year’s Dia De Los Muertos is “Honoring Those Who Have Build Bridges Not Walls.” Through the altars we are honoring family members, friends, and so many other people that have not been forgotten. As a community we are coming together and celebrating a collective theme.

A great variety of colourful and dense altars line the walls beneath rows of papel picado, with full meals, bread, fruit, or candy placed out front, flanked by orange paper flowers and candles. In their remembrance of those who have passed away, the dedications made are varied and include the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, Amnesty International, HIV/AIDS prevention, the 2016 Orlando Pulse shooting, as well as issues local to Seattle and directly personal to the people who have built these altars, such as the level of pollution and noise in Beacon Hill, the Washington Coalition to Stop the New Nuclear Arms Race, and Somos Seattle, an LGBTQ Latino organization. The altars concern themselves with the remembrance of the past, who and what has been lost, as well as the continued struggles of the present and the potential for a more equitable and peaceful future.