la ofrenda
Today is Día de los Muertos, a day to celebrate the lives of our deceased loved ones. It is believed that on this day, the souls of the dead can travel back to earth to be with us. Leaving an altar with an offering for the souls ensures that they will find their way home.
I thought I’d share with you the altar that we made in honor of our family members who have passed away.
The altar includes flowers, religious candles, fruit, tequila, lime and salt, obleas con cajeta, water, dulce de guayaba cristalizada, a miniature tortilla press and molcajete, dolls my Dad brought me from a trip to Mexico when I was a little girl, pan de muerto, a pillow, colorful striped fabric, papel picado brought all the way from Mexico City and a handmade carpeta de encaje (ornamental lace). Confession: I ate the pepitorias that I made for the altar last night before I got the chance to photograph it, I just couldn’t resist.
I was interested in how others around the world constructed their altars and what they looked like so I curated a project you’ll see below. I asked friends, family and strangers on Facebook and Twitter to submit photos of their altars to share here on The Tortilla. I’ll continue to add items to the curated project over the next few days as I continue to receive more photos.
Here are a few more details from our altar in honor of José’s grandparents, my grandparents, and other family members who have passed away, including my uncle who was killed in an accident earlier this year. May their souls rest in peace.
tequila, limón y sal
pan de muerto
View the entire album of our altar by clicking on the thumbnails:
Thank you to everyone who allowed me to share their photos for this curated project. I spent the last few days searching and collecting items posted on Twitter that contributed to it. I hope you enjoy looking at all the photos as much as I did.
Last but not least, muchas felicidades to Marcela from Culture Mami, who won our apron giveaway from last week! I look forward to seeing photos of you wearing your calavera-print apron made by Lisa Renata. 🙂
- How are you celebrating Día de los Muertos? Who are you honoring with your ofrenda?
Great job curating this! And…I want that tequila glass!
What amazing photos! Beautiful!!
Beautiful!
@Ana Thanks, the curation was so much fun! I spent hours looking through several different search columns to hand-pick tweets. If you click on the curated box, it should take you to my curated.by page where you can subscribe to that curated feed and also see new photos I’ve added. The tequila glasses belonged to José before we knew each other, but I know they came from Mexico. If you’d like, I can ask where he got them in case they’re still made and you can get them in Mexico City during the holidays.
@Monique Thanks! It was so much fun to take photos of my altar. My suegros LOVED it – they sent emails that they thought it was awesome and they were happy I shared the photos with them.
Oh, yes! Would love to get those, or similar, during our trip to Mexico. Can’t wait!
How did I miss this? The altar looks so wonderful Maura! The bottom curated widget thingy isn’t working though 🙁
Loved your altar. I actually set one up for the first time this year for my maternal abuelitos. Nothing fancy, things they loved, and a little art work from my kids. I totally forgot to take pictures though, a la otra.
Beautiful! May I share in a round up I’m doing for my blog?
Hi Kathy, I’d be happy to be included! Thanks for stopping by!