Dia De Los Muertos

||| Día de los Muertos is almost here!  On November 1st and 2nd, this festival will be celebrated everywhere in the world where the Latin American heritage lives. This year especially, with so many loved ones having recently crossed the threshold around the world, I sense that Día de los Muertos will be experienced by most at a still deeper and richer level. In remembering and honoring our dead family members, friends and pets, we strengthen the fabric of the community of the living, and keep the relationship with those who are no longer with us alive. The activities leading to and performed on Día de los Muertos help us slow down and be really present in holding a picture of our loved ones and sharing that picture with others. A conversation arises that in a way includes us in the realm of the living and our departed loved ones in the realm of the dead: memories are shared, questions are asked, there is meaningful work performed for others, there is art, there is music, food is shared, there is laughter.

On this Día de los Muertos 2020, you may join in the celebration at your own home. These are ways in which you can bring this festival to life with your family:

  • Set up an altar
  • Bake Pan de Muerto
  • Share anecdotes about your departed loved ones
  • Make paper butterflies
  • Make paper flowers
  • Make sugar skulls
  • Make a favorite dish of your loved one
  • Play your loved one’s favorite music
  • Make calaca (smiley skeletons) masks
  • Cut out papel picado and string into a banner
  • Pick up a book at your library and read about the festival

Song

Listen

Lyrics below

Event

On October 31, the San Francisco Symphony presents a bilingual virtual Día de los Muertos celebration at 3:00 PM

A las almas que se han ido
Las queremos recordar
Una flor y una vela
Les llevamos al altar
Y nuestra luz
Queremos enviar
El amor unidos nos ha de guardar
Y nuestra luz
Queremos enviar
El amor unidos nos ha de guardar
The departed souls
We wish to remember
A flower and a candle
We bring to them at the altar
And our light
We wish to send them
Love will keep us united.
And our light
We wish to send them
Love will keep us united