Despite what its name might suggest, Naperville’s Día de Muertos celebration was filled with life, music and merriment as it returned for a fourth year Sunday to the city’s downtown Riverwalk Grand Pavilion.
The event was hosted by the Alliance of Latinos Motivating Action in the Suburbs (ALMAS).
Día de los Muertos is widely celebrated Nov. 1 and 2 in Mexico and Latin America and by Hispanic communities in the United States. Loved ones who have died are honored with food, music, community gatherings and homemade altars called ofrendas.
“Catrinas,” young women made up with skeleton body paint, roamed the grounds Sunday posing for pictures throughout the afternoon.
Juliza Jimenez, 21, of Yorkville and her sister Juliana, 14, both underwent the lengthy spray body-painting process and wore the colorful costumes Sunday.
“I really like it,” Juliza said. “Not just to celebrate Day of the Dead, but to be there for the community.”
People added photos and mementos of loved ones who have passed to a seven-level community altar. The Community Panteón, or cemetery, provided four-by-four space and mock tombs for people to personalize.
The event also featured music and dance performances as well as food and art vendors.
Sculptures of Catrinas and alebrijes — brightly colored Mexican folk art creatures — were scattered throughout the grounds.
Lauren Navarro, one of the founders of ALMAS, said that despite the fact that she’s Mexican, she didn’t grow up celebrating Día de Muertos. She said it’s “something I picked up” working with the Mexican American community in Naperville.
The event took on special meaning to her this year.
“My mother just passed away, and now to be able to be here and celebrate her, I think that’s really beautiful,” she said.
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