San Juan Capistrano Real Estate: Dia de los Muertos

The San Juan Capistrano Library presented a Day of the Dead festival last weekend that my wife and I attended. Dia de los Muertos is a week-long holiday when the souls of the dead return to be with their families for one night, Nov. 1 and the early morning of Nov 2.

The Library featured altars, paintings and best of all ...dancing. But first the altars - the celebration is not sad and dreary but cheerful. People are happy to think that the person they loved will return to be with them and enjoy the pleasures of life with their family. The altar, or Ofrenda, is loaded with the things he or she loved in life because the spirits of the dead return to partake of them (tobasco sauce, adult beverages, etc.).

The altar includes four main elements of nature - earth, wind, water and fire.

Earth is represented by crop: the Mexicans believe the souls are fed by the aroma of food.

Wind is represented by a moving object: tissue paper is commonly used to represent wind.

Water is placed in a container for the soul to quench its thirst after the long journey to the altar.

Fire is represented by a wax candle. Each lit candle represents a soul and an extra one is placed for the forgotten soul.

The kids (and adults) enjoyed face painting, decorating sugar skulls and dancing. The stage was filled with colorful costumes and lively whirling dancers.

Death in the Mexican culture doesn't have the same meaning as it does among North Americans and Europeans. Mexicans joke about death and poke fun at it in their art, literature and music. You'll often see toys and candies in the shapes of skulls and skeletons. Death is thought of as in inevitable part of the natural cycle and like life, death is filled with ironies, not the least of which is that the dead are never really dead but return for this one night of the year.

Brian Jones, Realtor

ZipRealty

Contact me at 949-422-1636 or

brjones@ziprealty.com