Each year in early November, Mexican communities remember family members who have died by setting up shrine-like "ofrendas" loaded with fruit and flowers, photographs of their dead loved ones, and foods and objects cherished by the deceased.
Other items include skulls made of sugar bearing the names of the deceased, candles and marigolds. These items are said to honor and remember those relatives and guide them with light and fragrance back to visit the living, where they will be welcomed with favorite items.
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At 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2, visitors can create ofrendas and enjoy "pan de muertos" or bread celebrating the dead, traditional baked treats and "atole," a corn-based beverage.
This year's event holds special poignancy for Community Services Librarian Armando Ramirez, who is from a farming family in the town of Cocula, in Jalisco, Mexico, and whose mother died last year.
A homemaker who spoke no English, she relocated to America in the late 1960s with her husband to raise their 10 children. Ramirez is the third.
He plans to set up a special ofrenda for her, with foods she enjoyed, candles, the Mexican utensils she used, and something in green, her favorite color.
A local librarian for 20 years, Ramirez says that Half Moon Bay "hit me in the right spot" for Day of the Dead celebrations. The staff supported the event and the Coastside is the kind of place, like small Mexican towns, where Day of the Dead is embraced.
"Through the library, I try to maintain the cultural aspects of the Day of the Dead," he said.
In Mexico's cities, he said, Day of the Dead is disappearing and Halloween is taking its place, and in the United States, people do not see the holiday as they do in Mexico. "In little towns, they do the celebration very different from here."
For information, call 726-2316.
Meanwhile, Puente de la Costa Sur staff is planning to be a part of the Nov. 2 Half Moon Bay Library celebration by building their own ofrenda.
And on Saturday, Nov. 3, the South Coast community is invited to a celebration from 6 to 10 p.m. in the Pescadero Elementary School multipurpose room.
It will offer food, a raffle, and dancing to the Los Unicornes band.
Proceeds will benefit the Pescadero Education Foundation and enrichment programs.
Admission is $5 for adults, and free for students and children.
For information, contact Pat Talbot at patt@southcoast.net.
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