Dìa de Los Muertos
–Mexican Embassy celebrates ‘Day of the Dead’
DPI, Guyana, Saturday, November 2, 2019
In celebration of their rich cultural heritage, staff and consulate of the Mexican Embassy to Guyana on Friday observed their ‘Day of the Dead’.
Translated as ‘Dìa de Los Muertos’ in their native Spanish tongue, dozens of persons of Mexican, Guyanese, Chinese and African heritage gathered at the Mexican Embassy’s Brickdam Headquarters to participate in one of the most anticipated holidays on the Mexican calendar.
Day of the Dead, according to José Omar Hurtado Conteras, Ambassador of the United Mexican States to Guyana, is a multi-day holiday that reunites the living and dead.
The first day is dedicated to children who have died young, the second day is for adult souls while the third day is a grand celebration of all lives.
Families create ofrendas (offerings) to honour their departed family members that have passed. These altars are decorated with bright flowers, photos of the departed, and the favourite foods and drinks of the one being honoured. The offerings are believed to encourage visits from the land of the dead as the departed souls hear their prayers, smell the food and join in the celebrations.
Also, in attendance was Director of Culture Tomika Boatswain and Administrator of the E.R. Burrowes School of Art, Ivor Thom.