Guest Author - Rebecca M. Cuevas De Caissie

So, you read all of my articles and you want to experience the fun of El Dia De Los Muertos for yourself. Well, then you have come to the right place. I am going to tell you how to find a Dia De Los Muertos celebration in your area as well as tell you how to have one in your own house in case you can’t find one in your area.

To get started let’s name some places where you can connect with your local Hispanic Community. Considering that El Dia De Los Muertos is a Mexican holiday I will refer you to the Mexican Community by telling you how to connect with their culture rich community. Provided below are some places to begin your search that are guaranteed to get you in touch with your local Mexican Community. Once in touch with them, you can participate in El Dia De Los Muertos festivities as well as many of the other holidays and event hosted by your local community.

Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities is one of the first points of contact for new Hispanic immigrants as well as being a constant support for Hispanics within the US. As the ties between the Catholic Church and Hispanics are so strong and integrated, this is one of the best places to look to find Hispanics in area as well as find out where El Dia De Los Muertos is being celebrated.
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/

United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Through the link to the USHCC you can find the local Hispanic Chambers of Commerce in your area. Through this network you will find events sponsored by the local Hispanic Community. Many Hispanic Chambers of Commerce will host a Dia De Los Muertos celebration.
http://www.ushcc.com/

The United Farm Workers Union
The United Farm Workers Union is a perfect place to meet your local Hispanic Community. This organization was founded to fight for the rights of Farm workers by a Cesar Chavez. This link will put you in touch with your local Farm Workers Union where you will undoubtedly come in contact with your local Hispanic Community as well as afford you the opportunity to help out the people to whom we as a consumerist society owe our unyielding support.
http://www.ufw.org

Aside from these places you can call your local Catholic Church and see if they know of any Dia De Los Muertos celebrations going on in the area. You can cruise the radio to find a local radio station that host Hispanic Music or NPR who always knows the cultural beat of the local cultural events. Look in your phone book and see if there is a Latin market in your area. If there is they will most assuredly have flyers or know if there are any festivities in connection with El Dia De Los Muertos going on locally. Local Hispanic Markets tend to be a communication hub for Hispanics as it is a central place. If all else fails, why not start the festivities in your own home? The following is a guide to setting up your altar, making sugar skulls from scratch as well as all the fine details to getting your first El Dia De Los Muertos off to a good start without too much overwhelming work to take away from enjoying the event. By starting slow then learning more as you go, you can personalize your El Dia De Los Muertos celebrations each year and expand on it. But for now let’s get the basics down and have some fun!

To start with you will most likely want to whip up some sugar skulls. Here is the easiest recipe to make and make El Dia De Los Muertos sugar skulls or Calaveras.

1 package or powder sugar (usually this will be around a pound or so)
1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
2 XL egg whites (you may need more if the mixture is too dry but I found 2 worked well)
Corn Starch

Separate eggs whites and add vanilla extract, beat lightly, add powdered sugar and mix well. If you find the mixture is too dry, it should have the consistency of play dough, and then add some more egg whites, a little at a time until desired consistency. Lightly sprinkle corn starch out on kneading surface and knead mixture until it is moldable and then be creative! Shape and mold mixture into skull shapes. It takes practice to get them to look like the ones from Mexico and there are people who practice their art just for the season and are highly compensated for their abilities. So have fun and get everyone involved. Remember your celebrating, or getting ready anyway.

After you have your skulls formed, lay them out on a tray lined with wax paper and let them dry for at least 24 hours and then decorate them with food coloring, colored sprinkles and silver dregs. For family members honored by your celebration, you can write their name across the Calaveras and place them upon the altar.

Now while your Calaveras are drying, lets get to setting up for your Dia De Los Muertos celebration.

Gather pictures of all those relatives you wish to invite home for this visit. You will need to think of what their favorite food was so you can set a plate out for them. For adults, we would serve a shot of Tequila but you can serve them their favorite beverage if you know what it was. A glass of water is always included in a Dia De Los Muertos altar to quench the thirst of your ancestors. For your children visitors a coke is always a welcomed offering. You will also wish to provide them maybe with a change of clothes so they can freshen up as well as a basin of water, a comb, soap and a mirror so they can freshen up after the long journey. You should set out a little salt for seasoning the meal as well. Yellow Marigolds are used to decorate the altar as they are believe to have a scent that will help the dead find their way home on El Dia De Los Muertos. Papel Picado is easy to make and adds more handmade fun to the preparations. It is easy to craft his paper in an amateurs fashion if you can not buy any buy taking tissue paper and cutting it in the same fashion as you used to do for snowflakes folding and randomly cutting designs out. You can always get more intricate as you grow accustom to the celebration. Once you are done you stretch them open and use them to decorate your altar. A little incense is always nice and copal scent is the traditional scent for El Dia De Los Muertos. A table and a white sheet will be needed as well as candles. You will need four candles for each direction as well as one candle for each relative and an extra candle so you make sure no one is left out.

Once you have all you items gathered, decorate your sugar skulls and make them fun and colorful. In this celebration, you are celebrating with your dead ancestors and so this is a fun time and never meant to be scary.

You will also the day before want to make a quick batch of bread especially in honor of El Dia De Los Muertos. A quick internet search will produce many recipes an there are as many as there are families. Choose one that sounds easy and inviting and give it a whirl.

Today is the day so now the fun part, setting up and celebrating!

Cover your table with the white sheet. Now you will want to set out you pictures in simple frames if you like.

In your altar you will want to show and celebrate the four elements Earth, Wind, Water and Fire.
For Earth you place your food offering which some say represent the crop or harvest.
For Wind you have your Papel Picado which is light and shows the movement of the wind.
For Water you have your offering of water for the souls to drink.
For Fire you have your candles which you light and are meant to burn through the night so there is no darkness and each represents a direction (set up separately) or a soul.

Decorate your altar with the flowers, papel picado, incense, and sugar skulls. Once you have all this arranged, set out a chair with a change of clothes if you like but for sure the wash basin, comb, soap and mirror. Place the Bread you made for El Dia De Los Muertos on the altar along with the favorite meal of your ancestors. Set out the drink of coke, Tequila or whatever the chosen beverage is. Remember, this is their favorite drink not ours. I always like to set out a radio playing lively music as well. Perhaps a favorite song, item or toy for the children can be set out as well.

Now, if you live close to where your relatives live, pack a picnic basket and gather some of the flowers as well as a candle and go for a road trip. You will probably want to take a blanket as well to sit on. When you go to their grave site, decorate it with flowers, clean it up and spend the afternoon with your family here as well as those souls who come once a year. Light a candle for them and leave it burning while you are there. Have a nice lunch and laugh, play music and enjoy the special time of fellowship with your relatives. When you are done, pack up and go home and continue the celebration with family and friends you invited over to meet your relatives.

One important side note is this. The Aztecan and Mayans believe in three deaths. The first death is when your soul leaves your body. The second death is when your body is lowered into the ground. The last and final death is when there are no more descendants to remember you. By celebrating this holiday we honor our ancestors in tradition and spirit but we also teach our children to accept in peace and harmony death as the natural circle of life. Celebrating El Dia De Los Muertos touches the hearts of the souls here and beyond and makes living life now sweeter as we conquer fear of death. By learning how beautiful death can be we learn how much more beautiful life here is and embrace it to the fullest. Enjoy your Dia De Los Muertos and receive the gift of life by giving the gift of memoria.