Casa de Cultura director Miguel Angel sees the Day of the Dead as a celebration of life. “It is a way to poke fun at death,” Angel said.
“Since we are all going in that direction, why not laugh at death while we are alive? The flowers and the sugar skulls, the pan dulce, all are reminders that life is sweet.”
Central features of the day of the dead, or dia de los muertos, are the “ofrendas,” which are altars or memorials to the deceased, and “calaveras,” various representations of skulls and skeletons.