On Thursday, October 29th, families gathered under the glow of string lights and colorful papel picado banners to celebrate Dia de los Muertos at Ridgeville Park.
Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Mexican holiday where families honor and welcome back the spirits of deceased family members for a brief reunion. It is celebrated on November 1st and November 2nd, but festivities often start on October 31st.
This was the first year that the Ridgeville Park District partnered with Evanston Latinos, Padres Empoderados (Parents Empowered) and LENS (Latinos en Evanston Northshore) for a joint celebration.
Marlon Rodas, the Executive Director of Ridgeville Park District, said the partnership with other Latino organizations made a world of difference.
“They’ve done other Day of the Dead events, Dia de los Muertos events in other parts of Evanston, so we thought, why are we doing separate events when we all combined them to do one,” Rodas said.
The celebration offered free conchas (sweet bread) and duros de harina (Mexican pin wheels). There was also plenty of face painting, paper-flower making, calavera mask crafts and coloring activities.
One of the tables was a calavera coloring table, with paper masks, magnets and wooden ornaments to color. Nancy Castillo, the Board Chair of Evanston Latinos, was attending the calavera coloring table. She said the table holds elements of Latino culture.
“It means so, so much and it’s beautiful to just have us be in our community together,” Castillo said.
The event also featured live music from Grupo SB, a local band based in Evanston. Attendee Yesica Rico came with her boyfriend, whose friend was in the band.
“The first thing I noticed about this event was how colorful it was and how cheerful it looks,” Rico said.
Rico wasn’t the only one impressed by the decorations. For some, it was their first time attending a formal Dia de los Muertos celebration — like Lindsey White, an attendee who brought her five-year-old daughter.
“Beautiful. I was just taking a video as I walked up,” White said. “The fall trees and the lights and all the colors and the music. It’s absolutely the best kind of ambiance.”
The day before the celebration, community members gathered to build an ofrenda, a decorated altar that honors and welcomes deceased loved ones. The three-tier structure held framed photos, marigolds, skulls and conchas.
“When we build the altar, everyone tells a story,” said LENS co-founder and president Fabiola Zdrubecky. “I remember my family. I remember this when I was little.”
Every year, they have a different ofrenda theme or dedicate the ofrenda to a specific group. This year, Zdrubecky said they dedicated the ofrenda to immigrants because of federal immigration agent activity in Evanston.
Ricardo Villalobos is the Executive Director of Evanston Latinos. He said increased activity in Evanston sparked the need to bring the community together for this event.
“When a community is being attacked the way that we’ve been, isolation happens, and we want to help people get out of that and show that we can still be in a community and be okay,” Villalobos said.
Zdrubecky says the Latino community has a rich culture with valuable traditions, and the community should feel proud to share it with everyone.
“It’s really important that our Latino community feels a sense of identity,” Zdrubecky said. “When our community feels a sense of identity through our cultural events and traditions, then we thrive, we are successful, and then we’re a healthy community.”