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Date: 11/8/2021
HOLYOKE – The Ofrenda that is the central part of the celebration of Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead may look Halloween-like but nothing could be further than the truth.
In Holyoke, last week, the third annual Ofrenda erected behind the Baustein Building on Main Street displayed photos of about 400 people who had passed who were being remembered by their loved ones.
Jason Montgomery of Attack Beat Press in Easthampton is one of several organizers for the event that was also celebrated at 50 Arrow Gallery in Easthampton.
Día de los Muertos takes place near Halloween, but is not connected to that holiday, he explained to Reminder Publishing. As Montgomery said in a press release, “Ofrendas are the focal point of Día de los Muertos holiday. Ofrendas are traditionally built at gravesites, in the home, & include offerings of photographs, food, water, & personal possessions of the deceased … This Ofrenda was designed as a place for our Indigenous Latinx cultural & spiritual expression.”
In Mexico and other Central American countries, people commemorate the lives of loved ones by placing on Ofrendas photos of the deceased, as well as objects that means something.
As information supplied by the Smithsonian Institute noted the origins of the celebration date back to ancient Mesoamerica (Mexico and northern Central America). Those people “believed that death was part of the journey of life. Rather than death ending life, they believed that new life came from death. This cycle is often associated with the cyclical nature of agriculture, whereby crops grow from the ground where the last crop lies buried.”
On the Ofrenda in Holyoke, not only were there many photos, but objects such as a chessboard, a basket of apples, notes to the departed and a toy truck. It’s an opportunity to have “spiritual engagement with loved ones,” Montgomery said. The local Ofrenda came about through the efforts of several people including Montgomery in 2019 when the first altar was erected in the gallery space of the Baustein Building, he said. During 2020, he noted, it was moved outside, making it available 24 hours a day.
This year, he said response because of the pandemic has been greater. “The grief hasn’t caught up to us over the last two years.”
Montgomery noted that imagery associated with Día de los Muertos, such as decorated skulls and illustrations of skeletons, have been appropriated by those who don’t understand the significance of the holiday. The commercialization disturbed him and the other founders of the local event.
“A key part of your spirituality is being sold at Target is deeply upsetting,” he said.
Montgomery said the plans are to continue the annual celebration.