Rockford Dia de los Muertos display aims to bring community together
Vic Rivera was walking through a neighborhood in Milwaukee a couple years ago when he noticed a Dia de los Muertos display on the front porch of a home.
Turns out, it was a community display. The homeowner set up an ofrenda — a traditional Day of the Dead altar to honor family and friends who have died — and the people from his neighborhood did the rest, adding their own photos, flowers, sugar skull candy and other decorations as days passed.
"I immediately thought 'What a cool idea. ... I want to do this back home,'" the Rockford man said.
Last year, during the days leading up to Dia de los Muertos, Rivera set up a similar ofrenda in a gazebo at the Ethnic Heritage Museum. By the time the two-day holiday arrived in early November, community members had added about 100 photos to the display as a way to remember, grieve and celebrate deceased loved ones.
"One thing we all have in common is we all pass away," said Vic Rivera, a museum volunteer who spearheaded the community altar. "Death is something we all share. It doesn't matter if you are Mexican or Catholic or gay or Black. This is open to anybody."
In a couple of weeks, Rivera plans to do it again. He and Monica Terronez, director of the Hispanic gallery at Rockford's Ethnic Heritage Museum and local artist Patricia Chavez will once again create a space for the whole community to come, learn and participate in Mexican culture. All they need is a photo of a loved who has died and their memories.
While Dia de los Muertos happens each year around the same time as Halloween, the holidays are unrelated.
According to tradition, the souls of friends and relatives come back to visit the living during Dia de los Muertos. The ofrenda plays a key role because it helps guide spirits back to those who miss them most.
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The Ethnic Heritage Museum's Hispanic gallery has an ofrenda on display inside the museum, but it's for viewing only. Rivera said the community ofrenda is special because it encourages inclusivity.
"This is a great coping method," Rivera said. "We're all there for the same reason. We are putting up pictures and showing love and respect to our deceased family members and friends. So, it just opens up this great conversation of memories."
The community ofrenda will officially open to the public at 10 a.m. Oct. 28. It will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Nov. 5 in the gazebo outside the museum at 1129 S. Main St.
"We had such a good response last year," Terronez said. "We just thought we'll just make it an annual thing."
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford museum to host community Dia de los Muertos altar
