Day of the Dead celebration alive in Las Vegas

Mona Shield Payne/Special to the Sun

Friends, from left, Briana Toms, 8, Ana Sandoval, 9, and Herlinda Paz, 8, giggle while watching the young male performers of the Mariachi Juvenil Acero sing during the annual Life in Death: Day of the Dead Festival Sunday night at the Winchester Cultural Center and Park.

By Erin Dostal (contact)

Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009 | 10:12 p.m.

“The Mexican is familiar with death; jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it,” read a plaque in front of Beatriz Parra’s “ofrenda” to Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada, the creator of the La Catrina etching popular in Mexican imagery.

The quote, by Mexican writer Octavio Paz, evokes the meaning of Día de los Muertos, a Mexican holiday also known as “Day of the Dead.”

The idea behind the Day of the Dead is that in Mexican culture, death is not to be mourned or feared. It is something to be celebrated and respected. Nov. 1, All Saints Day, is meant to be a day of feasting and remembrance.

That holiday is why, on Sunday, the sweet scent of marigolds and the sounds of a mariachi band floated through the Winchester Cultural Center and Park during the Life in Death Festival.

The festival is from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday. The event features Mexican dancers, music and “ofrendas,” or offerings to the dead.

The key items on any ofrenda are bright flowers, candles and food. The colors, smells and music are meant to draw the souls of the dead to the food for them to enjoy.

Mona Shield Payne/Special to the Sun

An altar in memory of Jose Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican engraver, illustrator and artist, is presented by Beatriz Parra at the annual Life in Death: Day of the Dead Festival Sunday night at the Winchester Cultural Center and Park.

Those who are going to attract the souls of the dead have to make the trip worth their while, Parra said. That’s why Day of the Dead is a party – not a time to mourn.

Traditionally, ofrendas are covered with foods the person enjoyed in life. If they liked Oreos or hot dogs, those items would be appropriate, Parra said, giggling.

“Even though (Posada) was very popular, he was buried in a grave with a lot of unknown people,” said Parra, a 55-year-old Las Vegan and artist. Her ofrenda was covered with traditional foods Posada likely would have enjoyed: Spanish rice, tequila and pan de muerto or “dead bread.”

Frank Luevanos, 60, of Las Vegas, had an ofrenda honoring Mariachi musicians. “People notice when you play instruments, but when you pass away, sometimes nobody remembers,” he said. That’s why he and his wife Marta, 60, and son, Gerardo, 30, chose to honor the Mariachi.

Participants weren’t only from Mexico. One group, from Ecuador, displayed its own unique ofrenda, complete with actresses displaying traditional cultural garb.

The park was lined with ofrendas on one side and vendors on the other. On a stage, Mexican musicians performed before an eager crowd. People munched on tacos and sipped frozen drinks, viewing the ofrendas and having fun.

“This is our first time coming to the event,” said Stacey Costa of Henderson, who had just finished a beef taco. “It’s interesting to see how a different culture views death.”

Costa brought her twin daughters, Sophia and Gabriella, 10, to the event to expose them to a culture different from their own.

Irma Varela-Wynants, a cultural specialist and organizer of the event, said the core of the event was honoring Mexican and Latino culture.

“(Participants) put their heart into it,” she said. “I think that’s what is beautiful.”