Festivities in Focus | Día de los Muertos celebrates life, death

After a pandemic hiatus, the Day of the Dead event returned to Seattle's El Centro de la Raza.

Women in elaborate dresses and face paint

Young women dressed as La Catrina wait to take photos near the altars during El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration in Beacon Hill on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.  (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

For the first time in nearly three years, visitors to El Centro de la Raza in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood bustled their way through vendors and festivities marking Día de los Muertos.

The center’s annual in-person gathering had been put on hold since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving celebrants to mark the annual celebration of life and remembrance of the dead remotely, or in smaller, more private ways.

Handmade dresses for women’s La Catrina performances are seen here at El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration in Beacon Hill on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. La Calavera Catrina is a Day of the Dead tradition in which women paint their faces as a skull and wear elegant dresses and bonnets. The original image of La Catrina comes from an illustration satirizing rich, well-dressed women, but its meaning has evolved to symbolize an acceptance of death and remind people of their morality. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

The crowds returned this past weekend to a celebration held outdoors, in late-pandemic fashion, and featuring vendors selling artisan crafts from Mexico, families snacking on pan dulce (sweet bread) and young women in skull-painted faces and elegant dresses debuting as the traditional La Calavera Catrina — known more simply as La Catrina, “the elegant skull.”

Altars feature photos of those who passed away and include offerings like fruit, personal trinkets and artwork. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Luna Garcia, left, and Magali Sanchez great each other at El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration. Garcia’s mother, Francisca Garcia, was an original curator of the event and passed away earlier this year. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

For business owner Alejandra Pérez Nuño, the event marked the first time since the pandemic that she could sell her products in person.

As the owner of Teporingo!, she sells blanket backpacks and tote bags with different designs of traditions and elements that represent Mexico. Since moving from Mexico to the United States in September 2021, she has struggled to sell those products through Amazon. That lack of online engagement worried Pérez Nuño.

Young women dressed as La Catrina perform a fashion show at El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Young women dressed as La Catrina wait to take photos near the altars during El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Visitors line up for food at El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

“I was super-nervous [to sell here] because I was like, ‘Oh my God, I don't know if people [will] like my products,’” Pérez Nuño said.

Those fears were put to rest as celebrants purchased much of her inventory.

“To see that people in this community, in this event, like my products is amazing," Pérez Nuño said, beaming. "It's like a home to me.”

Suly Altamirano sells jewelry and artisan pieces at El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration. Altamirano started her business “to support [her] community” in Mexico and recently moved to Washington to pursue school. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

The return of the Dia de los Muertos event comes as El Centro de la Raza celebrates a milestone. It was 50 years ago that activists peacefully occupied the abandoned Beacon Hill elementary school the center now calls home. That protest lasted three months and was spurred by frustrations over a decline of social services in Seattle. The center has since become a center for social justice, support of those in need and service for the Latino community. The Dia de los Muertos celebration has become an important date on its calendar. 

Dresses are handmade for women’s La Catrina performances, seen here at El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration in Beacon Hill on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

A major part of that celebration has always been the ofrendas, or altars, featuring photographs of departed family, friends and idols, along with bright flowers, sweet foods and personal tokens of remembrance.

Renee Almatierra visits an altar. Almatierra used to work at El Centro de la Raza and came back to visit during one of her favorite events. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Among the photos on a number of those altars this year was that of Francisca Garcia, who had worked on curating this year’s event before passing away in July. One of those photos was provided by Garcia’s daughter, Luna Garcia, who was invited by organizers to place something on an altar in her mother’s honor.

Francisca Garcia’s picture is featured at an altar at El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration. Garcia was an original curator of the event and passed away earlier this year. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Luna remembers her mother as a “force of nature,” and said she had a “certain amount of magic about her.” She added that her mother loved this event, a tradition passed on by Luna’s grandmother.

Día de los Muertos is “not only a time about remembering those who have passed,” Luna said, but “celebrating their life and making sure that we celebrate each other when we can.”

Young women dressed as La Catrina perform at a fashion show during El Centro de la Raza’s Día de los Muertos celebration. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Altars feature photos of those that passed away and include offerings like fruit, personal trinkets and artwork. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

This photo essay is part of an ongoing series on holiday celebrations. If you have a celebration you would like Crosscut to attend, please let us know by emailing amanda.snyder@crosscut.com

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