Cutline: Artist Luz Rosario works on a Catrina skeleton for the Day of the Dead celebration at Finn River 

By Thais Oliveira 

El Dia de Los Muertos is a multi-day celebration of our loved ones that passed, colorful days of remembrance embraced by Mexicans as perhaps one of their most important traditions. On November 1st and 2nd, families visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried to clean and decorate their graves with ofrendas - pictures, favorite foods and drinks of the deceased - and orange marigolds, which are thought to attract the souls of the dead to the offerings. 

Here in Port Townsend, the Mexican community keeps the tradition alive not only by building their personal shrines at home, but also sharing the culture and its importance. 

Artist Luz Rosario grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico, where Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated big and wide. When she moved to Los Angeles, there were no loved ones in the cemetery, but they continued being remembered in ofrendas at her home. A dancer and arts major with a love for props for the theater, Rosario met paper mâché artists in charge of the big skeletons for the Day of the Dead celebration at Hollywood Forever, the city’s famous cemetery, and felt right at home. She was part of the event for many years, until the party got too big and, in her opinion, lost its purpose of bringing the immigrant community together to grieve and celebrate.  

But that was not the end. Right after Rosario moved with her family to Port Townsend, artist and librarian Jeanne Simmons invited her to celebrate the day and share her culture at the Port Townsend library through crafting and building shrines together with kids and adults.

Covid put a stop to it until last year, when Rosario coordinated a big event at Finnriver Farm & Cidery in Chimacum with traditional music, a community altar done by the Spanish students at PTHS, another one done by her, alongside shrine workshops and tamales.  

This year, she is at it again with the help of her husband and KPTZ DJ David Bonobo, JCIRA (Jefferson County Immigrant Rights Advocates) and Finnriver sponsorship. Starting on Friday, Nov. 3, Rosario’s impressive community altar will be open for viewing and the public is encouraged to bring photos of loved ones to add to it. DJ David Bonobo will spin salsa and cumbia until 8 p.m. On Saturday, LA-based Ensemble Ximarron will play traditional songs and latin dance rhythms including Son Jarocho, Son Huasteco, Cumbia, Son Cubano, Nueva Cancion and Trova.

Hector Marquez, Rosario’s friend from that very first Day of the Dead celebration at Hollywood Forever cemetery and the lead musician of Ensemble Ximarron, is flying to Port Townsend specially to play at the event. JCIRA will be hosting a table by the altar offering traditional hot cocoa and cookies and collecting donations for their programs.  

“Dia de los Muertos is a unique experience of grief and celebration,” says Rosario. “Life is a rotation, a continuation. The deceased live in us through their genes, their love, their stories.” She added that by celebrating them, we keep a connection. “And by doing art together for the altars, we talk about them with our kids, our grandkids. What they liked, how they were, how they played with us. And by doing that, we remember and take them to the next generation.”   

In downtown Port Towsend, Cassandra and Lisette, La Cocina owners and partners, will be sharing their families' traditions in food form.  On both Nov. 1 and 2, a special Dia de Los Muertos three-course dinner is being offered for the third year in a row. Chef Lissette Garay built the menu inspired by her family traditions from the state of Michoacán, known for many food specialties like chilaquiles and posole, and Sinola, a coastal region of Mexico known for seafood. Garay's paternal grandmother spent a lifetime making fresh corn tamales that underwent the nixtamal process (a traditional maize preparation process in which dried corn kernels are cooked and steeped) in her home, selling them from the trunk of her car.

Her maternal grandmother prepared freshly rolled-out flour tortillas for her family by hand every morning. When the duo decided to open their own café in town, it was important to embrace the cultural cooking practices her family has been using for generations and honor their ancestors. At home, the couple annually assembles an ofrenda with pictures of those who passed, candles, marigolds, food and special trinkets like a cigar and small bottle of Patron.