by Mia Costales
Every fall, community members gather in Old Town Eureka to celebrate Día de Muertos Festival de Altares, a community event celebrating the two-day Mexican holiday that honors the lives of deceased loved ones and celebrates their souls’ return to the overworld. Ofrendas line the gazebo, full of cempazúchitl, pan de muerto, copal, food and gifts. Mariachis perform classics like La Llorona and La Bruja. Most importantly, families come together to honor their culture and pay respects to the ones who came before them. However, this year was different — the celebration was canceled due to concerns that undocumented attendees could be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Somos Medicina Collective is a non-profit organization founded by Xochi Quetzalli, with the goal of organizing events celebrating Latiné culture. The collective has been responsible for hosting the Día de Muertos Festival de Altares in Eureka every year since 2019. On Oct. 27, Quetzalli released a statement on Instagram announcing that this year’s event would be canceled.
“With a heavy heart, we have decided to cancel our Day of the Dead Festival of Altars celebration this year,” the statement read. “In short, we feel that we cannot bring our people together safely at this time, when we are being targeted and kidnapped. We thank you for understanding and wish you a beautiful celebration con sus muertitos at your altares in your homes.”
Heightened instances of violence directed towards Latinos in the past months have caused many to be wary of celebrating publicly. On Oct. 30, Carlos Jimenez, a 24-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot and critically injured by an ICE officer in Ontario, Calif. According to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, 59,762 people are being held in ICE detention facilities as of Sept. 21. While there are still no confirmed cases of ICE sightings in Humboldt County, some Latino locals are taking precautionary measures such as avoiding public events such as Día de Muertos.
Despite the cancellation of hundreds of Día de Muertos celebrations throughout the country this year, Centro del Pueblo remained one of the few organizations that continued with their celebration. Centro del Pueblo Executive Director Brenda Peréz stressed the importance of showing up for her community even in times of struggle.
“We decided to continue with our event because we work with the purpose of revitalizing our culture,” Peréz said. “We wouldn’t have that if we interrupt. We decided to be firm with the decision of sharing our culture because that’s a statement of who we are. We are here to stay, and such an amazing time like Día de Muertos has to be protected by everyone coming together.”
Anna Martinez, a senior political science major with a law and policy concentration, was one of many Cal Poly Humboldt students who celebrated Día de Muertos and put up an ofrenda to honor her grandpa.
“Whenever I go to events like that, I’m reminded of the community around me,” Martinez said. “I think it goes back to feeling sort of disconnected to my community here in Humboldt, it being so isolated. Having those events really shows us that we’re not alone. We have a lot of events with our community about like ‘know your rights’ and ICE and stuff like that, but sometimes it’s just nice to have an event where we can all just come together and sort of be happy and dance or watch people dance.”
Centro del Pueblo’s Día de Muertos event was held in the Eureka Theatre. It featured performances from Cal Poly Humboldt’s Mariachi Mar Pacifico, Danza Azteca and Ballet Folklorico, as well as ofrendas from community members and clubs such as McKinleyville Highschool’s Latinx club.
“[Día de Muertos] in my opinion, is also a strong piece of advocacy [for] practicing our rights, our human rights,” Peréz said. “So, when someone cancels, that really affects us immigrants. When someone cancels it, it’s a message of sometimes censoring our culture.”
Mia is a journalism major and the Editor in Chief of The Lumberjack. She hopes to give a platform to underrepresented communities through her writing and provide the public with thoughtful and informed stories. In her free time she enjoys cooking, reading and playing the violin. Contact her at mdc140@humboldt.edu.
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