A community conversation with Vamos Geneva 2030
Ofrenda (offering) made by Marilu Segura at the Geneva Public Library in 2019.
Every year, we notice the importance of the Día de los Muertos in our multicultural community and we appreciate diverse ways of remembering loved ones. Here in Geneva, we celebrate el Día de los Muertos in families, community groups, churches, libraries, and universities. Teachers, parents, students, and diverse members of the community come together to celebrate collectively. Mexican stores sell the pan de muerto and materials for the ofrendas and our public library lends out books on the subject.
This year, to celebrate virtually, Vamos Geneva 2030 talks with members of the community about how we have celebrated Día de los Muertos en Geneva. Read about the memories and experiences of Marilu Segura, Marcela Romero Rivera, Joana Pacheco, Manuel Portillo, Daniel Juarez, Nanci Aguilera, Stephanie Annear, May Summer Farnsworth, and Michelle Martin-Baron.
Marilu Segura
"El Día de los Muertos is an important tradition in my family. As a child I remember the feeling of anticipation as we helped my mom and my grandma Victoriana prepare the ofrenda. When my family moved to the United States, that tradition was lost to some extent, it was not until my grandmother Victoriana passed away that we began to bring back the tradition of setting up the altar in honor of her and other relatives who have passed. Now with my grandparents having passed away, we put up ofrendas every year to honor, remember, and celebrate with them on Dia de los Muertos. Dia de los Muertos is a tradition that I will keep alive and teach my children to cherish as a celebration of life, keeping in mind that our loved ones will forever live in our hearts as long as we remember them.
In our ofrenda every year, we make sure to include typical foods such as mole and calabaza en dulce that my grandma or “Mamá Vito” used to like so much. We also include fruits: tangerines, guavas, apples, bananas, etc. My grandpa Miguel loved to drink his “Coca” so there is always a bottle of Coca-Cola, he also liked to eat pan with hot chocolate. Candles, flowers, and a glass of water for the souls, salt and incense or copal if available are also part of the ofrenda. Our ofrenda would not be complete without photographs of our loved ones.
Even though we are far away from their gravestones, every year we open our homes and set up our ofrendas with the belief that our loved ones’ soul will come to be with us on Dia de los Muertos.”
Marilu Segura at the public library (2019).
Marcela Romero Rivera
“The altar of the Día de los Muertos is a tradition that is observed in various Latin American countries between the last days of October and the first days of November. All of the elements -- colors, smells, flowers and images-- have a ritual meaning whose ultimate purpose is to give us a space to connect with the memory of our loved ones who have come before us on the path of life.
In October 2014, I was able to share this tradition with students and colleagues at Hobart and William Smith in Geneva, N.Y. Thanks to this opportunity I realized that, in addition to the joy of assembling the altar and explaining the meaning of each element, the most gratifying thing was that the students involved embraced the ritual and made it part of their personal experiences, rather than seeing it only as an expression of cultural difference from a remote place or a tradition belonging only to others.
After I explained what the structure, lights, food, flowers, and other figures symbolized, we talk about what this physical space means in a community that once a year pauses to devote time to revisiting the memory of those who have passed who we wish were still alive. The portraits of my father, my grandmother and a friend of mine were soon joined by the photographs brought by students. We dedicated food and messages and, above all, affectionate memories.
This year, marked by a drastic change in our conditions, makes the need to find collective spaces for the recognition and assimilation of our individual and collective losses more pressing than ever. The altars of the Día de Muertos give us a necessary space for those who are still present to pay our respects to those who have left us and continue to move forward.”
Altar created by Marcela Romero Rivera (Hobart and William Smith, October 2014).
Joana Pacheco
"I share my photos from Mexico. I have pictures of my grandfather’s tomb and his altar with another uncle and grand uncle. In one picture my little sister is dressed like La Catrina in a dress that my grandmother made her. I have a photo of the design of a skull on the floor from La Ciudad de Mexico and I have photos taken in Visa Hermosa, Puebla, Mexico."
Photos that Joana Pacheco has shared of her family celebrating in Mexico.
Manuel Portillo
“Hablo con mis estudiantes sobre las visitas a los panteones de cuando era niño, los altares, el sincretismo religioso, el chocolate con molinillo … el chocolate abuelita, que me encanta. Llevo pan de muerto cuando encuentro alguna panadería en la zona”.
Pan de muerto in Hernández Mexican Store (702 W. North Street Geneva, NY).
Daniel Juarez
"A family tradition I remember was my parents incorporating both Halloween and el Día de Muertos into one, this way my parents could still have an ofrenda while we got to carve a pumpkin. My father would carve a pumpkin into a jack o lantern for decoration and include it in an altar which both my parents would decorate with pictures of religious figures and include food like a bowl of mole (a spicy Mexican sauce) and some tortillas along with a beer, and some Mexican sweet bread - el pan de muerto in particular. The food was for those that have passed away, or “los muertitos” as my mother would say. And we would get to add some of the candy we collected as part of the ofrenda."
Mural created by Daniel Juarez at North Street School (2019).
Nanci Aguilera
“Where I am from in Mexico, white flowers are put on tombs of people who have died without being married and are called angels because they died without sin. People who die without being married regardless of age on the day of the burial, are brought to heaven to let the whole community know that an angel died. As a child I remember attending the cemetery with my parents and placing a wreath of flowers and candles on my grandparents' tomb.
What my mom does is light candles on the first day of November for remembrance and for the eternal rest of your family members that have passed away. Here in Geneva I continue to do something similar, I take a bouquet of white flowers for my niece to the cemetery and light candles in my house, as it is not allowed to leave candles in the cemetery.”
Nanci Aguilera remembres the white flowers that are placed on the graves of people who die unmarried.
May Summer Farnsworth
“In 2019, Marilu Segura and I organized a community celebration of Día de los Muertos. Families from the Geneva School District worked with volunteers from the Hobart and William Smith Bilingual Education class to organize an educational event at the Geneva Public Library. With the help of the volunteers, the children made paper flowers, painted skull images, decorated cookies and created balloons similar to sugar skulls. Stephanie Annear collaborated with us in making an ofrenda at the entrance of the library, baking cookies, donating balloons and encouraging visitors to post their memories to the wall. We decorated the community room with children's art, colorful fabrics, relevant books, photos, candles and other objects related to the Día de los Muertos. Marilu Segura placed an ofrenda, shared Pan de Muerto and spoke about the traditions of her Oaxacan family to the university students, families and children."
Marilu Segura, Gannon Annear, Allie Peron, Jessica Lietz, Alessandra Bryan, Tatianna Suriel, Katie Scully, May Farnsworth, Stephanie Annear y Soren Annear (Biblioteca Pública de Geneva/Geneva Public Library. November, 2019).
Stephanie Annear
“My husband's mother died when he was young. With our own children we keep Grandma Janet alive by telling stories about her every year and putting things that make us think of her - like swimming goggles and Doritos - on the ofrenda. For us Día de los Muertos is a time to slow down and remember all the things we love about family members we have lost.
Last year my favorite part of celebrating Día de los Muertos was the public ofrenda at the library. For one week everyone who entered the library saw the ofrenda and was invited to write a message to or share a memory of a loved one they had lost. Over the week the bulletin board began to fill up with messages on colorful paper. The general ofrenda became a warm and personal Geneva ofrenda.”
Stephanie Annear's ofrenda (offering) in her home.
Ofrenda comunitaria (community offering) made by Stephanie Annear (Biblioteca Pública de Geneva/Geneva Public Library. November, 2019).
Michelle Martin-Baron
"I've been teaching about the day of the dead since I began teaching about Chicana feminism and Chicana/o and Latina/o art. Students in my intro level class build altars inspired by both traditional altars as well as the more conceptual ones created as installations by artists. For my Chicana/o and Latina/o students, this often means bringing a piece of "home" to Geneva, and for my non-Chicana/o and Latina/o students, this means thinking about death and memory in a totally new way. I've had students share with me that the process of building altars is liberating, healing, joyful, melancholy, comforting, but almost always meaningful. It's one of my all time favorite projects.
We're just starting to really talk about día de los Muertos at home. At age 5, Ellie is getting really into it. She loves the idea of talking to and about the spirits of our loved ones and ancestors and welcoming them into our home … We put together an altar over our fireplace. We've put up photos of our ancestors, some flowers from our garden (I normally have marigolds, but they died this year in transit during our move, so it's black-eyed susans this year), and the kids each chose some ofrendas - rocks, seashells, Hershey's kisses, and some plastic food to represent their favorites. Since we have a mischievous cat who will eat and chew real food, we thought this was a safer option!"
Photos of ofrendas (offerings) by Michelle Martin-Baron.
More Photos
Families celebrating the Day of the Dead (Biblioteca Pública de Geneva/Geneva Public Library. November, 2019).
Shared memories (Biblioteca Pública de Geneva/Geneva Public Library. November, 2019).
Children and college students decorating and enjoying skulls in the public library of Geneva. (Biblioteca Pública de Geneva/Geneva Public Library. November, 2019).
Tanya Taylor collects books to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and Day of the Dead (Biblioteca Pública de Geneva/Geneva Public Library. November, 2019).