“I think that, culturally, it is a very different way of seeing death, but I think it is also a very healthy way of seeing death,” Adrian Molina, co-creator and co-writer of the film “Coco,” said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo. “We have all lost someone and it has helped us make peace (with the loss) to think that they are still with us.”
And for children who did not get to know important members of their families, the tradition of the altar of the dead is an opportunity to hear their stories and address concerns about death.
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“The altar of the dead encourages these conversations and, as parents, we must be prepared to answer the children’s questions,” said Andrea Menchaca, a resident of Monterrey in northern Mexico, who usually dedicates the altar to her father, who died in 2003.
“By putting up my dad’s photo and things, it opens up a conversation about who he was since they didn’t know him,” she said referring to her children, 11 and 9 years old. “It also opens up the conversation about death: They want to know why he died, how he died and what I felt. You tell them that it hurts you a lot because you love the person a lot, but you also give thanks for everything you experienced.”
A movie helped ‘normalize’ a family ritual
Lima, who is also a poet, said that celebrating the Day of the Dead helped her connect to her Mexican roots. However, when she was little, before the celebration became popular, some neighbors did not understand it. “Many were from northern Mexico and did not celebrate it. Others, also due to religious orientations, thought it was like witchcraft,” she said.
She said her mother, who’s a seamstress, would put a sheet on top of the family’s altar during Day of the Dead celebrations, but “I think the movie “Coco” helped a lot to normalize having an altar at home. It also helped because we struggled to find the components of the altar, things as specific as the Cempasúchil flower,” or marigolds that are part of Día de los Muertos celebrations.
After the death of her maternal grandfather in 2016, Lima said, the Day of the Dead celebration was significant since they couldn’t attend the funeral. They looked for a great photo of him and chose to put a blue sail on his altar to remember his blue boat.
In the case of families who don’t celebrate Día de los Muertos, the lives of those who died can also be celebrated through small moments, according to thanatologist Delia Salinas. “For example, at mealtime, if you make a soup that your grandpa really liked, it’s a good opportunity to talk to the children about that family member.”
After ‘Coco,’ a growing acceptance
Both Lima and Molina say that after the release of “Coco,” they saw more acceptance of the Day of the Dead tradition.
“Before the movie, I think there were a lot of people who longed for that connection with their loved ones and maybe a connection with their culture,” Molina said. “We put a lot of effort into helping to invite the audience to understand the purpose of the tradition … to really show the vitality and the love of that practice and, yes, in some way normalize it or help people understand the meaning behind those symbols.”
“We found that there was a really deep emotion that came up in people when they were able to sit with this idea of having permission to talk about the people they miss, having permission to tell stories,” he said.
Currently, numerous cities in the United States hold Día de los Muertos festivals and parades to celebrate Nov. 1 and 2. Cities such as Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi, in Texas, display altars and invite people to participate in the different celebrations. In Los Angeles, altars are set up with offerings and public spaces are decorated with Cempasúchil flowers and confetti.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
