- Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is an annual Mexican tradition celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2 that honors people who have passed.
- This year, altars of remembrance are on display at the Cesar Chavez National Monument in Keene, honoring and celebrating the lives of lost loved ones.
- Members of the community and monument staff collaborated to set up over ten altars, or ofrendas, which are on view until mid-November.
The Cesar Chavez National Monument is an important place for many. Community members came together recently to put together beautiful altars to honor and celebrate the life of those lost, a Day of the Dead tradition.
"It's a special place that we like to come and visit, especially this time of the year," said monument visitor Mario Estrada.
The visitor center at the monument is filled with altars of remembrance, something that both local residents and monument staff collaborated on.
Mario Estrada came from Palmdale to visit the altars, something he wanted to do to honor people's legacies.
"It's a celebration of their life and the things they enjoyed when they were still with us," said Estrada.
Park Ranger Miranda Hernandez has had a front-row seat to the setup, watching the tradition come to life for the past three years.
"To see the amount of work and the meticulous nature with which these loved ones set up these ofrendas, I mean, it means something to them to believe that their loved one is gonna come back tonight," said Hernandez.
The location where the altars are, though, are special for another reason.
"As I was growing up, I used to remember stories of my father and my uncle reminiscing of a guy named Cesar Chavez… how he used to walk the streets and organize people. One anecdote that my Dad told me is they would look at each other and say, 'Hey that guy's gonna be famous one day,'" said Estrada. "And here we are, he'll live forever."
The altars will be on display to view until mid-November.
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