Hey Young Chefs!
I wanted to show you a cool project that I did for my Spanish class. I had to create a “Dia de Los Muertos” altar for a deceased family member. “Dia de Los Muertos” means “Day of the Dead.” It is a Latino tradition to create an altar that memorializes and celebrates the life of a loved one who died. I chose to honor my grandfather, Jaime Casas, who passed away on July 9, 2008. I called him “Papi.”
A “Dia de Los Muertos” altar typically has food, flowers, candles, personal items, clothing, and colorful candy skulls. It is celebrated between October 31 and November 2. Here is what the items on my altar symbolize:
Left Side of the Board
• Café con Leche Cuban Salsa CD – Symbolizes Papi’s love of dancing
• Maraca – Symbolizes Papi’s love of Latino music like salsa & merengue
• Pink and blue skull with tiara – My sister, Soleil and I, made the skull by hand out of clay. It symbolizes his two “princessas,” his granddaughters.
Middle of the Board
• Tinsel Star – Inside the star is a photo of my Papi on a chair. You can’t see me but I was sitting next to him.
• Palm tree, sand & sea shells – Symbolizes the island country of his birth, Cuba
• Mojo Criollo label – Symbolizes his love of cooking. Mojo is a Latino marinade. He loved cooking black beans, ropa vieja, tostones, yucca, and sandwich Cubano.
• Gold fleur de lis – Symbolizes his love of New Orleans, the city he lived in since exiling from Cuba in 1960
• Vase of colored lollipops – Symbolizes his love of dulces (sweets)
• Party blower – Symbolizes Papi’s love of parties, especially birthdays and big family gatherings
• Rosary – Papi was Catholic and was buried with a special family rosary.
• Large photo – The large photo of my Papi was copied from his funeral program
Right Side of the Board
• Family photo – Papi loved his family more than anything. We always had dinner together and celebrated holidays together with my dad’s parents and my mom’s parents. The picture was taken on Mother’s Day 2009.
• Butterfly – I made the butterfly from a clothes pin and a coffee filter. It symbolizes Papi’s transformation and flight to heaven.
• Postcard, business card, and picture of Eliana eating a Cuban Sandwich – Papi did not live long enough to see my cookbook come out. I dedicated it to him. He would be so proud.
Candles
There are three kinds of candles on the altar.
• Tall blue candle in the middle of the altar
• Multi-colored candles in the middle of the altar that spell out my Papi’s name, J-A-I-M-E
• Big candle with blue skull at the bottom of the altar
Maybe you can create a “Dia de Los Muertos” altar for someone you love who passed away. It’s a great way to remember them and celebrate their life.
Get creative!
Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana
It’s beautiful and colorful. Papi would be so proud of you, Eliana!