08 October 2006

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is coming up November 1 and 2. If you need to put together your ofrenda (altar), two great resources are Corazon del Pueblo which is on International between 48th and 49th in Oakland, and Casa Oaxaca which is on Solano Ave. in Albany near the BART tracks. Corazon definitely has much more but there are a couple of fun things at Casa that you won't find at Corazon. The Fruitvale Dia de los Muertos Festival is on Sunday, November 5, where you'll find many items for next year's ofrenda. I love the concept of the whole celebration, because it is, in fact, a celebration. The more comfortable we become with celebrating the memory of our deceased loved ones, the better and healthier our lives will be. Some good books for children: Day of the Dead by Linda Lowery, Day of the Dead – A Mexican-American Celebration by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith, and Day of the Dead – A Latino Celebration of Family and Life by Carol Gnojewski. We found all of these and more in the children's room of the Oakland Main Library. Click here for a short history of Dia de los Muertos. When Ry and Si and I finish with our ofrenda, I'll post the pictures.

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