WISCONSIN (NBC 26) — Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated from October 31st through November 2nd.
This celebration originated in Mexico and is celebrated by Mexicans all over the United States, including across Northeast Wisconsin.
Look at how the Appleton Public Library is celebrating:
The holiday is meant to be a celebration of life and death. It's important to note that Día de los Muertos is NOT a “Mexican Halloween”.
The celebration is a blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion, and Spanish culture.
For Amanda Chavez, whose husband is from Mexico and she believes it's very important to pass down this cultural tradition to her two daughters.
"My husband's family is from Mexico so their traditions there and when can we go to Mexico to travel and visit family. But when we can't sharing those traditions as much as we can with them," Chavez said.
Every year she brings them to area celebrations across Northeast Wisconsin.
“The Appleton Library has a display and they also pull up book recommendations as well as the Menasha Library has a display until Friday. This past week, Lawrence started a mariachi band so they had a celebration on Saturday we attended. That was really fun,” Chavez said.
Beginning November 1 is what is considered “el Dia de los Inocentes,” or the day of the children. That is also All Saints Day. November 2 is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead.
According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31 and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours on November 1.
The spirits of the adults can do the same on November 2nd.
A big piece of this tradition is to build an ofrenda, which is essentially an altar.
These “ofrendas” contain the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia of loved ones who have passed away.
NBC 26 reporter Valerie Juarez is also of Mexican heritage and celebrates Día de los Muertos.
Below are more pictures from her altar last year. In her altar, for example, it has her great-grandmother pictured.
Her "abuelita" died in August of 2020 at age 105-years-old. The altar is honoring and celebrating her life:
The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the words of the living directed to them.
Patricio Gonzalez is the owner of Alegria Mexicana in Appleton, a bakery where they put up an ofrenda as well at their store.
"Typically there's tamales, mole, and bread. That's the most popular," Gonzalez said.
It's also very much a religious holiday. Many families go to church and pray for loved ones.
"Its not really like a party. Some people do party but it's not really about a party. Mostly, it's about praying," Gonzalez said.
At the bakery Gonzalez owns, they also make a traditional "Pan de Muertos" which many families also put up in their altars.
"You can see right here, those look like bones. That's what it is, that's why it's special. And the recipe is not like any other bread. It's only for this occasion that we use this kind of recipe and for this kind of bread," Gonzalez said.
The bread "Pan de Muerto" is only sold seasonally around Dia de los Muertos.
If you're interested in trying the bread, the bakery will be selling them until the end of the week.
Below are details for that Mexican Bakery:
2171 W Wisconsin Ave, Appleton, WI 54914
(920) 903-9009
To learn more about this celebration, check out Go Valley Kids, which is run by a local mother. There are several resources on there meant to educate the community about this holiday.
