30 Years of the Altar de Muertos

I placed my first Day of the Dead offering back in 1993. I was 13 back then and a huge fan of Germán Valdez, Tin Tan, a Mexican actor from the Mexican cinema Golden age. His comedic timing, his multi-talented nature – he was a good singer, and a decent dancer – and according to several biographies of him I had read, he was quite a compassionate human being who constantly supported those around him. I chose him as the first person to honor in my offering, and next to the “altar” my mom suggested I put a white piece of thick paper, so people could go and write the names of those they wanted to honor.

Back then I had no one close to me on the other side. No grandparents, no relatives, no friends… so choosing a celebrity was quite natural for me.

Along the years I have lost several loved ones, and the names have started to pile up. I even keep a dedicated box where I keep the pictures of those who regularly make it to my offering: my grandparents, my uncle Tonatiuh, my uncle Roman, my friend Philson who, although not being Mexican nor believing in these sorts of things, is always up there. If I had an ultrasound of my dead baby it would be as well, but it didn’t even come to that, so for them I only have a spot in my heart.

I tried to place my offering wherever I went – I even set a small one while living in France in 2006, and of course I found nice places where to place my offering while living in Guanajuato, Mexico city, and back in Guadalajara.

I have mentioned it before: for me this is a very meaningful time of the year that serves as an opportunity to reflect, to remember, to be thankful and to appreciate those who left a mark in my life – whether they were present in it, like my friends or relatives, or not, like the actors, musicians, writers and philosophers who have been honored in my very humble homage to them.

So, this year it is the 30^th anniversary of this beautiful tradition in my life, and I am very proud of doing it every year, of having a box in my basement where I keep all the things for my annual offering, and to keep adding to it every time I find something pretty I’d like to include.

On November the 2^nd I’ll toast to my loved ones and have my yearly conversation with them. If you can, do the same with your loved ones who have already left this plain, and be thankful for those who are still around.